Monday 16 May 2011

Job Search Success Tip - Narrow the Scope of Your Exploration


You're working in a job that doesn't offer you the kind of personal and professional growth you've been searching for. You're left unfulfilled, and even worse, you're beginning to dread going back to the office each day. You've been working with several headhunters, without success. You've been spending several hours a day reviewing job leads, submitting your resume, and trying to follow up on a timely basis. It seems like you're doing everything right - so what's going wrong?

Many job candidates who find themselves in an unfavorable situation like the one described, often begin to widen their search. They feel like perhaps if they are open to a variety of positions, they will be more likely to land something.....anything, that will get them out of their current situation. The truth of the matter is in order to gain faster results in your job search, you must narrow the scope of your target position.

What is a target job? Prior to looking at any prospective employment opportunities, it is important to set up the parameters of the search. To complete this task, the candidate must create a list of between twenty and thirty prospective employers that have an excellent reputation in their industry, and whom they would personally want to work for. After completing the list, the next step is to obtain the contact information for each of the hiring authorities responsible for staffing your area of expertise.

Why not just submit a resume through a website? In order to stand out from your competition in the market, it is imperative that you take additional steps to set yourself apart from "the pack." It is far easier to visit the HR website and perform a copy and paste of your resume. The problem with this is that every uninformed job seeker is doing exactly this. Your resume has between five and ten seconds of screening time with any recruiter or hiring authority. Considering the brief time frame you have to "wow" the employer, it's obvious the successful job seeker has to take steps above and beyond, to maximize their candidacy.

The secret is in the follow-up. By setting yourself up for a successful job search, you're placing yourself ahead of other employment seekers. Since you took the time to research the companies you are targeting, and obtained the hiring manager's name and contact information, you can easily follow up until you get either an invitation to interview, or a rejection letter. Never assume that because you have not received a call from the company, they are not interested in interviewing you.
Your resume could have been on a secretary's desk, and she misplaced it. Perhaps Human Resources' computer system crashed, and they lost all of the submission data on the date you sent your resume. Something could have happened that prevented the call, and your resume got lost in the shuffle. For this reason, it's important to remain diligent in your follow-up efforts, and they will pay off in the long run.
Manage your job search like you will perform on the job for the employer. When you're serious about obtaining your next position with one of your target organizations, you will naturally articulate this through your words, preparation, and actions.

Likewise, when you take a half-hearted approach toward a career search, you will not obtain the intended results, and consequently, end up spinning your wheels. Make every effort to effectively manage the employment exploration process through strategic planning and action steps, and you will ultimately land your next job in the most expedient manner.

By  Chris Archer

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