1) Know your skills.
2) Have a clear job objective.
3) Know where and how to look.
4) Spend at least 25 hours a week looking.
5) Get two interviews a day.
6) Follow up on all contacts.
Know Your Skills:
One survey of employers found that 90 percent of the people they interviewed could not explain their skills. They could not answer the question, "Why should I hire you?" Knowing what you are good at is important in interviewing. It also helps you decide what type of job you will enjoy and do well. Most people think of "skills" as job related skills. Everyone has other types of skills that are also important for success on a job. The two most important types are self-management and transferable skills.
Self-Management Skills
Write down three things about yourself that you think make you a good worker. The things you wrote down may be the most important things for an employer to know about you. They have to do with your basic personality, your ability to manage yourself in a new environment. They are some of the most important things to bring up in an interview. Then see if you have any other skills beside any skills you have. Skills could be that you are productive, punctual and honest and that you accept supervision. Other attributes could include being able to coordinate and that you complete assignments on time.
Job Content Skills:
These are the skills you need to do a particular job. A carpenter, for example, needs to know how to use various tools and be familiar with a variety of tasks related to that job. Use separate pieces of paper to list the special job content skills you have from previous jobs, hobbies, training or other life experiences. Use separate sheets for each group of related job content skills as needed.
Include any job related skills you have gained, even if you don't intend to use these skills in the job you are likely to look for. Later, you can decide which of the skills you have best support the job you want. After you are finished with separate lists, list the job related skills you have below that you would like to use on your next job.
Have a Clear Job Objective:
Even if you don't have a specific job title, you must know the type of things you want to do and you are good at before you start your job search. This means defining the job rather than a job. If you already have a good idea of the type of job you want, answering the following questions will help you define it even more clearly.
What type of special knowledge do you have that you might use in your next job? Perhaps you know how to fix radios, keep accounting records or cook food. Write down the things you know about from schooling, training, hobbies, family experiences and other sources. Perhaps one or more of them could make you a very special applicant in the right setting.
What type of people do you prefer to work with? Do you prefer to work by yourself, to be part of a group or to supervise others? What type of work environment do you prefer? Do you want to work inside, outside, in a quiet place, a busy place, a clean place, have a window with a nice view?
Where do you want your next job to be located-what city or region? Near a bus line? If you are open to live or work anywhere, what would your ideal community be like? How much money do you hope to make in your next job? Many people will take less money if the job is great in other ways - or to survive. Think about the minimum you would take as well as what you would eventually like to earn. Your next job will probably be somewhere between.
How much responsibility are you willing to accept? Usually, the more money you want to make, the more responsibility you must accept. Do you want to work by yourself, be part of a group, or be in charge? If so, at what level? What type of work environment do you prefer? Do you want to work inside, outside, in a quiet place, a busy place, a clean place, have a window with a nice view?
What things are important or have meaning to you that you would prefer to include as a basis of the work you do? For example, some people work to help others, some to clean up our environment, build things, make machines work, gain power or prestige, or care for animals or plants. Think about what is important to you and how you might include this in your next job.
Your Ideal Job:
Use the points above to help you define the ideal job for you. Think about each one and select the points that are most important to you. Write them on a separate piece of paper. If you need help figuring out what type of job to look for, remember that most areas have free or low cost career counseling and testing services. Contact local government agencies and schools for referrals.
Know Where and How to Look:
One survey found that 85 percent of all employers don't advertise at all. They hire people they already know, people who find out about the jobs through word of mouth, or people who simply happen to be at the right place at the right time. This is sometimes just luck, but this book will teach you ways to increase your "luck" in finding job openings.
Traditional Job Search Methods:
Help Wanted Ads: Everyone who reads the paper knows about these job openings. So competition for these jobs is fierce. Still, some people do get jobs this way, so go ahead and apply. Just be sure to spend most of your time using more effective methods.
The State Employment Service: Often called the "Unemployment Office," they offer free job leads and other services in addition to the unemployment compensation checks for the unemployed. Each state has a network of these offices. Only about 5 percent of all job seekers get their jobs here. This service usually knows of only one-tenth (or fewer) of the available jobs in your area. Still, it is worth a weekly visit. If you ask for the same counselor, you might impress them enough to remember you and refer you to the better openings.
Private Employment Agencies: One out of 20 job seekers gets a job using a private agency. This means that 95 percent don't. Private agencies charge a fee to either you or the employer. Most of them call employers asking if they have any openings, something you could do yourself. Unless you have skills that are in high demand, you will probably do better on your own. And save money...
Sending Out Resumes: According to a survey, a job-seeker would have to mail more than 500 unsolicited resumes, to get just one interview. A much better approach is to contact by phone the person who might hire you to set up an interview directly and then send a resume. If you insist on sending out unsolicited resumes, do this on weekends-save your "prime time" for more effective job search techniques.
Filling Out Applications: Most applications are used to screen you out. Larger organizations may require them, but remember that your task is to get an interview, not fill out an application. If you do complete them, make them neat, error free, and do not include anything that could get you screened out. If necessary, leave a problem section blank. It can always be explained after you get an offer.
Personnel Departments: Hardly anyone gets hired by someone in a personnel department. Their job is to screen you and refer the "best" applicants to the person who would actually supervise you. You may need to cooperate with them, but it is often better to go directly to the person who is most likely to supervise you even if there is no job opening just now. Remember that most organizations don't even have a personnel office, only the larger ones.
Informal Job Search Methods:
Two-thirds of all people get their jobs using informal methods. These jobs are often not advertised and are part of the "hidden" job market. How do you find them?
There are two basic informal job search methods: networking with people you know and making direct contacts with an employer. They are both based on the most important job search rule of all: Don't wait until the job is open!
Most jobs are filled by someone the employer meets before a job is formally "open." So the trick is to meet people who can hire you before a job is available! Instead of saying "Do you have any jobs open?" say "I realize you may not have any openings now, but I would still like to talk to you about the possibility of future openings."
Develop a Network of Contacts:
One study found that 40 percent of all people found their jobs through a lead provided by a friend, a relative or an acquaintance. Developing new contacts is called "networking" and here's how it works:
Make lists of people you know. Develop a list of anyone you are friendly with and then make a separate list for all your relatives. These two lists alone often add up to 25 to 100 people or more. Then think of other groups of people with whom you have something in common, like people you used to work with; people who went to your school; people in your social or sports groups; members of your professional association; former employers; members of your religious group. You may not know many of these people personally, but most will help you if you ask them.
Contact them in a systematic way. Each of these people is a contact for you. Obviously, some lists and some people on those lists will be more helpful than others, but almost any one of them could help you find a job lead.
Present yourself well. Start with your friends and relatives. Call them up and tell them you are looking for a job and need their help. Be as clear as possible about what you are looking for and what skills and qualifications you have. For each original contact, you can extend your network of acquaintances by hundreds of people. Eventually, one of these people will hire you-or refer you to someone who will!
Contact Employers Directly:
It takes more courage, but contacting an employer directly is a very effective job search technique. Use the Yellow Pages to identify types of organizations that could use a person with your skills. Then call the organizations listed and ask to speak to the person who is most likely to hire you. There is a sample telephone script later in this chapter to give you ideas about what to say.
You can also just walk in and ask to speak to the person in charge. This is particularly effective in small businesses, but it works surprisingly well in larger ones, too. Remember, you want an interview even if there are no openings now. If your timing is inconvenient, ask for a better time to come back for an interview.
Where the Jobs Are:
About two-thirds of all new jobs are now created by small businesses. While the largest corporations have reduced the number of employees, small businesses have been creating as many as 80 percent of the new jobs. There are many opportunities to obtain training and advance in smaller organizations, too. Many do not even have a personnel department, so non-traditional job search techniques are particularly effective with them.
Spend at Least Twenty-Five Hours a Week:
Average job seekers spend about five hours weekly actually looking for work. They are also unemployed an average of three or more months. Decide how many hours per week you plan to look for a job. Spend at least 25 hours per week if you are unemployed and are looking for a full-time job. The most important thing is to decide how many hours you can commit to your job search, and stay with it.
Decide on which days you will look for work. How many hours will you look each day? At what time you will begin and end your job search on each of these days? Look at the sample job search schedule that follows to see how one person planned her time. Create your own schedule on a sheet of paper or, better yet, buy a weekly or monthly planner at a department store or stationery store.
Schedule how to spend your time each day. This is very important since most job seekers find it hard to stay productive each day. You already know which job search methods are most effective and you should plan on spending more of your time using these methods.
Get Two Interviews a Day:
The average job seeker gets about five interviews a month, fewer than two interviews a week. An interview is face-to-face contact with anyone who has the authority to hire or supervise a person with your skills. They may or may not have a job opening at the time you interview with them.
With this definition, it is much easier to get interviews. You can now interview with all kinds of potential employers, not just those who have a job opening. Many job seekers use the Yellow Pages to get two interviews with just an hour of calls by using the telephone contact script discussed earlier! Others simply drop in on potential employers and ask for an unscheduled Interview and they get them. Not always, of course, but often enough.
Getting two interviews a day equals 10 a week, over 40 a month. That's 800 percent more interviews than the average job seeker gets. Who do you think will get a job offer quicker?
Follow Up On All Contacts:
Contact your references and let them know what type of job you want and why you are qualified. Be sure to review what they will say about you! Since some employers will not give out references by phone or in person, have previous employers write a letter of reference for you in advance. If you have a bad reference from a previous employer, negotiate what they will say about you or get written references from other people you worked with there. When creating your list of references, be sure to include your reference's name and job title, where he or she works, a business address and phone number, how that person knows you, and what your reference will say about you.
