Finding Job Openings

Knowing all the places took look for a job is important. Many miss out on great opportunities because they don’t even know they are out there. Make sure you are connecting with all the job openings listed.

Through our job hunting information system, you will be able to connect with virtually all openings from all worthwhile sources. But, the first thing that is important to understand here is how the public job market is formed.

When employers decide to hire someone… there is an event that leads to their decision. Typically, someone has retired, quit or been separated. Turnover leads to over 95% of all jobs opening up. Now once that decision has been made to fill a job, what do employers do first? Well, they look within their company… and they look at candidates on file in their recruiting database.

If they can’t fill a job that way, what do employers do next? Some consider referrals and those who network their executives. If that doesn’t work, they need to go public and see if they can fill their job openings.

Let’s briefly talk about public openings. Over 300,000 employers now post their openings.

You can also find openings in 2,000 newspapers, 2,100 magazines and over 1,500 job boards. Employer websites represent the fastest growing means of recruiting staff. There are more than 300,000 employers who recruit this way… and many of them recruit through their website exclusively. The sole exception may be when they go to an executive recruiter for a very senior executive. So, if you’ve pinpointed your best prospects, check out their websites.

Newspapers have declined rapidly, but in many instances can still be a good source for lower and mid-level openings for professionals. Trade magazines are a worthwhile source for those seeking middle level and upper mid-level openings. Many director and vice president openings, where industry knowledge or experience is important, can still be found in these publications.

The problem with all the job boards is simple. Once you get past the major boards, most will have only a few listings suitable for you. Even on the largest boards, a person can waste an enormous amount of time, only to find out that there are many duplicate listings, and some appear over and over again for months. By the way, whenever you respond to any type of opening, if you respond by email, also send a response by first-class mail.

One way to increase your number of opportunities is to understand the process of upgrading or downgrading ads. For example, a company advertising a Vice President position may be willing to hire an Assistant Vice President or Director, who could move up to Vice President within a year. After all, it isn’t so much the title they are after as the skills and talent. That’s an example of downgrading the opportunity you see… and encouraging you to respond to situations you might have otherwise bypassed.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Have a Plan

Just like with most things in life, the better you plan, the better off you’ll be on your path. Looking for a good job is the same in this regard.

In today’s competitive arena most people will never get enough interviews with a hit-or-miss approach. This leaves too much to fate. Think of it this way. Chances are you’re marketing a “product” with millions of dollars of earnings capacity remaining in your career.

That much value deserves your best effort. Besides, job hunting is a numbers game. So, why take a chance at doing a lot of things haphazardly, without a well designed plan? Similar to any company who is about to market a new product, a good plan can cut job hunting time in half and save money. It also helps people produce better results, and when people generate a lot of activity in a concentrated time period, they feel better and do better. Much better.

Recapping the components of your overall marketing plan

Job hunting goals:

We surface all critical information about you and then decide on the goals that will best advance your career.

Liabilities: We identify liability issues that might restrict your success… and arrive at ways for minimizing their impact.

Assets and transferable skills: We pinpoint these and incorporate them into your resume, letters, and your personal website.

Industry alternatives: We will suggest the industry alternatives that we feel are best for you.

Action plan for getting interviews: We will lay out a step-by-step plan… a weekly agenda… that will guide your search. This is your complete track… a game plan. It will include a plan for your approach to interviewing and negotiations.

We all have seen many career fields change dramatically over the last decade. Fields that once offered great opportunity have become financially confining with limited growth possibilities. Does print advertising offer the same career possibilities as it did a decade ago?

Does selling in the steel industry? Does being a doctor and a general practitioner? Career fields change at a much faster pace than most people realize. Experience has proven that if you take a narrow view of yourself, you could be making a mistake. For example, if you see yourself as a specialist (e.g., a banker), you may believe you are locked into a given career. On the other hand, you may feel you have few options because you are too much of a generalist.

The better you plan your search, the better your results. Do your homework and find out what is best for you. What do you really want?

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

A Strong Interview

Once you have gotten to the place where you are getting calls from businesses that want to bring you in for an interview, make sure you are ready to go. Do not think of an interview as just a simple back-and-forth of questioning. This is where the boss will get to know you and your personality so make sure you give them something to remember. No one wants to hire someone who comes off as boring, monotone or disengaged altogether. Make sure you let them know you are the person they want, without actually saying that.

Thousands of case studies can’t be wrong. In more than 5000 documented successful job searches, one of the factors people mentioned most often for their success in interviews was learning how to tell action-oriented stories that were clear examples of how they’ve contributed in the past.

When you think about it, you can see why it’s so effective. To prepare hard-hitting stories, people need to be specific about the challenges they faced, the precise actions they took to get things done, and the results.

When you are specific, you are telling a memorable story that gives you a lot of credibility, and it’s also very accurate, neither overstating nor understating your role. Employers appreciate this, they get a firm grasp of the way you operate, and how your approach would work for them.

Improving interviewing skills is just one of many things ERI does for its clients. We have to give people everything they need to in order to run a successful job search — clear goals, their best industry prospects, a better resume that neutralizes liabilities ahead of time, and dramatically greater exposure to opportunities in the public and private job markets.

Free Job Hunting Info users are 10 times more productive with whatever time they have to devote to their job search, because of our Job Market Access Center (JMAC), which puts at their fingertips 97% of the public openings right for them, and makes them 40 times more effective at accessing private openings that are not published or online. It took years and millions of dollars to develop, but it has totally changed the way people find jobs above $50,000.

Free Job Hunting Info creates a personal marketing website for them so they can network with many more people in much less time. JMAC also provides news that signals emerging jobs in a person’s area, and we also provide research on companies and industries for direct contact with employers who are good targets.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Consider Your Options

Knowing what you have to look for, and what you should be looking for, is not always clear to people as they search for work. With the economy slowly recovering, it is important to have a keen eye when it comes to looking at the working world so you can identify the options which are best suited to you finding success, the quickest.

The first way to do this is to increase your awareness of the fastest growing industries and companies. These firms have to go outside their industry to find the best talent and skills.

The second way is to list characteristics of your industries and find similar industries. We use software to compare your industry’s characteristics with 2,500 others, e.g., 35 industries may be an 85% match.

Keep in mind that projecting some form of an “industry hook” is the next best thing to having industry experience. Group your possibilities three ways:

(1) close industry hooks, easy possibilities

(2) medium industry hooks, next best

(3) far reach or stretch industry hooks

When changing industries, you also don’t want to overlook your leverage power, the added benefits you may bring by virtue of your contacts or knowledge. You may be able to bring a team with you that helped in similar situations.

Despite our recent economic slowdown, new companies have sprung up throughout America. Established organizations are reexamining the way they do business. Medium-sized companies are expanding. New industries exist that are employing tens of thousands.

The more you appear to know about an industry, the easier it is to generate interviews. Virtually all employers look for “common ground” when hiring a new person. For example, do you have experience in or knowledge of similar product lines, distribution channels, manufacturing methods or problems in their industry? There can be other similarities. Consider the scope of operations, the role of advertising and promotion, the importance of the sales organization, the influence of labor, and other items.

Naturally, the harder it is to demonstrate knowledge of an industry, the less likely an executive is to make a move into it. That rule applies to all major disciplines: sales, marketing, finance, manufacturing and operations. It is less important in staff disciplines.

Gathering as much information as you can while you search will help to give you guidance. Most people are throwing anything and everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. This won’t work as well as having goals in mind as you are hunting for your job as you may not be as focused, which means you could be missing opportunities.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Stay Classy

When you are leaving a job for any reason, make sure to be classy, and, more importantly, not to burn bridges. You never know when burning bridges will come back to haunt you, so make sure you make good choices and part on good terms.

Perhaps the ramifications will not occur immediately, but the world is a pretty small place when you think about interpersonal connections in your field.

Don’t think this applies to you? Get on Facebook and see how many of your friends and coworkers are friends with others who they did not meet through you.

Even if you are unhappy with your current place of business, play it cool. Something else will come along sooner or later, but nothing will be gained by talking ill of coworkers or the boss, or, worse, making a scene in the office.

“I was overlooked for a promotion, and while seeing red, I made it a point to make sure my boss knew that he made a mistake. I wasn’t fired, but I never moved up the ladder while at that business and got a poor reference when I left,” said Steven Jackson of Denver, a blog follower.

If you have to vent to friends and family, as we all do from time to time, make sure you pick the ones who are not associated with your job.

It is best not to express displeasure to any friend in your related felid. You never know if you might want to work with, or for, them one day and they will remember your attitude and work issues.

Some may complain to coworkers at happy hour about some of the projects they had to work on because they felt like they could be done more efficiently. When one of those co-workers was promoted at a different company, some stuff you said may come back to haunt you if you wanted to work there.

Also, just because you don’t care for your boss, doesn’t mean they are not popular with other higher-ups and business professionals, who you might want to work for one day.

Every day won’t be perfect nor will you like everyone you work with, but such is life.

Pick and choose your battles wisely, is another saying, which coincides with not burning bridges. Making a huge scene or airing dirty laundry might feel good for a moment, but if it costs a future job, you will feel like an unemployed fool.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Don't Be Intimidated by the Interview

Most people don’t like being put on the spot or public speaking in general, so the job interview can be very intimidating. If this is the case for yourself, you must get past that point and realize the interview is when you will seal the deal for your next job.

Being called in for an interview is a bigger deal these days than in the past, as a lot of applicants don’t make it to that point because of a poorly presented resume. If you have been called, you are on the right track. That is a big deal, and now it’s time to keep the momentum going.

One way to get ready for an interview is to practice, don’t go in cold. Not being ready is where a lot of worry will steam from. If you practice, you will have more confidence, which you will show to the boss. A great way to go about practicing is to think of questions that might be asked of you in the interview and then formulate your answers. If you are going for a job similar to one you have had, you already know some of the questions you may be asked. No matter what, there will always be something asked you did not think of, don’t be thrown off. Remember these questions are the best opportunity, other than your resume, to shine and get the job. An employer wants to hire someone who handles pressure well, so falling apart in the interview would be a bad sign.

Your resume showed what you can do as a professional in a position, but the interviewer now wants to meet the person behind that paper. What are you like? Will you add to the overall feeling of the office? The bottom line of the business is important, but so is how all the personalities in the office mesh. So, show your confidence, and tell why you would add to the chemistry of the office, while positive helping the company.

You will most likely be asked about your hobbies and interests outside of work. This is a great question as it gives more insight to you. Employers like people who work hard, but also know how to enjoy their free time. If you notice something in the boss’s office that shows they enjoy a hobby or sport you do, talk about it. This is a good way to make a connection and show the boss you have great taste.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

Contacting Potential Employers

Making contact with employers is the best way in which to get a job. Simply filing out a resume and sending it in may work, but it will not work as well as making contract with people.

Know the best ways to make contact to have the best chance for success. Every day we all receive direct mail. However bad junk mail looks, the ones you see again and again are working; otherwise, the senders wouldn’t be wasting their money.

One thing that makes it work in many cases is that long copy is used. That’s what it takes to motivate all of us to action from unasked-for correspondence.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say a lawn mower shop has a new product. And you and your next door neighbor are both out cutting your lawns on a hot day. However, your lawn mower breaks down. Then, the mail carrier arrives at both residences with mail that tells you all about a new lawn mower. It gives a long explanation of why it’s superior. Now, your neighbor will look at the mailing piece for two-seconds and toss it. He isn’t in the market for a lawn mower. On the other hand, they have reached you at the right time, you are likely to read it. Now when you job hunt, your situation is similar. You need to reach the right person. No one else counts.

Some people don’t believe in direct employer contact. They think that anything you send to an employer is thrown away. Certainly, this has some truth, since the great majority will throw away your materials in seconds.

But if you’ve ever needed someone with certain skills, then you know you want the easiest way to find a good candidate. And if a good resume or letter reached you at the right time, you would take action on it. Sending the right materials, to the right person, will get the attention of some decision makers. But, timing is very critical. You need to reach a decision maker that might be looking for someone like you. Even if your timing is bad, companies scan the resumes of the better candidates into their database. Then, as they develop a need, this is usually the first place they turn. Contacting employers directly allows you to reach potential buyers quickly. If you want, you can reach the entire universe of all your best prospects.

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!

A Good Attitude

A good attitude goes a long way when looking for a job. You may start out with your hopes high and feeling confident, but after a few times of hearing “no,” you may start to get down and feel sorry for yourself. This is a mistake that will take its tolls on how you present yourself to companies while trying to find gainful employment.

It is tough out there right now, so you have to keep plugging away and know that you will have to fight for every opportunity you are presented with. With so many looking for work right now, you have got to make sure you stand out. You, like everyone else, will hear “no” sometimes, but you need to learn for the situation and keep moving forward until you are hired.

Being bitter, and other negative feeling for yourself or businesses, will not do any good. They will hold you back and take effect on how you go about finding a job. You may even get to a point where you just give up because you think you won’t catch a break, this is a terrible idea. So don’t go down that slippery slope. Have you head in the game the entire time you are looking for a job.

Look at every opportunity you are given when going after a certain job and take what you can learn from it. If a business likes something on your resume and the way you presented yourself, then you know that is in good shape, but if you are told you could have done something differently, or feel as though you could have expressed an idea or skill better, then make sure you do so next time you are in front of a possible future boss.

If you start getting bitter or angry, it really will start to come through when you are presenting yourself to people. You may not even realize it, but your demeanor does change and people can pick up when something is a little off. Negative emotions tend to give a certain impression, no matter how good you think you are at hiding them. So, if you keep a good outlook, than this wont be a problem and you will have a greater chance of finding that new job at a quicker pace. Learn all you can when you hear “no,” and have a plan of attack when you are ready to move forward to hear, “welcome aboard.”

For more Free Job Hunting Info be sure to follow us on Twitter, check us out on Facebook, read our blog, or visit our website!