Don’t Sabotage Your Job Search with Faults Assumptions
Most
job seekers understand that the job market has changed radically over the last
few years. Sadly, however, many still
hold to job-search assumptions that do not apply to our current market
conditions. If you believe any of the
following five statements, you could be dragging your job search out longer
than necessary. Cut your job search
time by knowing the truth about the job market and learning how to combat these
assumptions.
Chances are, your last job search
was in the mid to late 1990’s when the job market favored job seekers. Even up to 2001, jobseekers (and even
employers) lived under a rosy glow of unrealistic optimism. In the last few years, however, most job
seekers have noticed a drastic drop in the market demand for their career
skills. Persons who were once courted
by recruiters and headhunters from top firms wonder why they are no longer
receiving calls with enticing opportunities.
For many job seekers, frustration and lack of confidence have replaced
optimism.
Action: The job seeker of 2004 will avoid
discouragement by developing a strategic action plan that involves a high
degree of proactive and systematic effort.
This is couldn’t be farther from the
truth. The reality is if the best
information isn’t in the top four to five inches of your resume, it’s doubtful
anyone will notice. Try this out for
yourself. Open up your current resume
on your computer. Do you see the entire
first page? Probably not. Most likely when your resume is opened, the
reader will see the top four to five inches.
You must sell the reader in those first few inches or he/she is not going
to bother scrolling down to read more.
With the volume of resumes that employers and recruiters receive, who
has the time to hunt out the good material on a resume?
Action: If your current resume isn’t making
best use of the top four to five inches, consider using a hybrid format that
will allow you to place your best assets up on top where you’ll be noticed and
called.
I learned early in my recruiting
days that employers turn down perfectly qualified candidates because the
resume’s focus is too general. A
one-size-fits-all resume gives the impression that the job seeker is uncertain of
his career goal. An employer once told
me that if a candidate is interested in two completely different positions, he
must not be very good at either.
Action: The most effective resumes leave no
doubt as to the job seeker’s career objective. If you have more than one career objective, you need more than
one resume.
The
truth is the quality of your cover letter often will determine whether your
resume gets read at all. The worst
offense, however, is to send a cover letter that sounds as “cookie-cutter” as
junk mail.
Your
cover letters will create a stronger first impression if you remember the
buying motives of each of these major categories of recipients:
·
Executive
decision makers are most interested in your ability to help them achieve
their corporate bottom-line objectives.
·
HR screeners look for the
best qualifications match.
· Third-party
recruiters need strong selling
points to help present you to their corporate clients.
Action: If you keep in mind the buying motives
of your cover letter recipient, you’ll win their attention more often than not.
That may have been true back when you
had less interview competition. But
today, employers have the advantage of choosing from the best talent available,
because so much of the best talent IS available. Since you’ll probably be interviewing against candidates at least
as strong as yourself, you’ll need to distinguish yourself through superior
interview preparation.
Action: Remember that the best way to prepare for an interview is to
think of an interview in three parts:
·
Ask questions to uncover the interviewer’s hidden buying
motives.
·
Answer questions based on the interviewer’s buying motives.
·
Ask closing questions to win the job offer.
(To read a full-length article on the
three essential interview skills visit my article archive at www.AlphaAdvantage.com. Follow the articles link to “Win Your Next Position with Three
Essential Interview Skills”.)
Once
you are free of false assumptions, you’re less likely to fall victim to many of
the disappointments, frustrations and anxieties associated with an extended job
search.
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Deborah
Walker, CCMC
Resume
Writer ~ Career Coach
For
more in-depth information on resumes, job-search strategy and interview skills,
check out the article archive at my website: www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email:
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
Toll-free
phone: 888-828-0814
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