What is the first thing most people do when they start looking for a job or decide “to test the waters?” They go to the job boards!
What is your actual mission? Your mission is to
GET MORE INTERVIEWS (and a job offer that you are excited about).
It is NOT to see how many resumes you can send out. And yet, what most people do when they start looking for a new opportunity is to go to the boards and fire off resume after resume.
As we discussed in a previous article, there is nothing wrong with going to the boards. But, as noted, the Number One Mistake most job seekers make is to start responding immediately to the postings and firing off resumes to them online.
Why? Well, it used to work, and thus, that is the way most people have become accustomed to going after their next opportunity. BUT, remember, the rules of the hiring game have changed…FOREVER!
A great analogy is the following excerpt from Brandon LaFell’s blog. (He is a former standout wide receiver for Louisiana State University and currently a National Football League hopeful. I have put some key points he makes in his blog in bold face type.)
OK, you’re probably thinking, “What in the world does this blog have to do with job boards and job hunting?!” In a word—EVERYTHING!
Brandon’s comment “The biggest challenge has been learning to do techniques differently from how I was taught in high school and college” is EXACTLY how you must think when it comes to finding your next opportunity in today’s economy. Firing off resume after resume to positions on the job board is the OLD WAY. But looking for a job that way today is analogous to “high school” and “college” football. The economy of the new decade is like the NFL . . . You must NOW learn how to do things differently.
Brandon also states, “It’s not good enough to just be one of the best college players out there. There's a lot of hard work you still have to put in. . . .”
As a professional, you are good at what you do, whether it be sales, accounting, R&D, engineering, marketing, production, etc., but just as Brandon doesn’t try out for the NFL draft every single day, neither do you “try out” for a new job every single day. In today’s economic environment, it simply isn’t good enough to be the best at what you do. You can’t rely upon on past accolades and accomplishments. It’s a whole new “ball game.” You’re going to have to go “back to the basics,” work your tail off again—just like a “rookie”!—if you are to have any hope of being “drafted,” i.e., getting HIRED!
What do I mean by “working your tail off again”? Well, for starters it doesn’t mean sitting in front of your computer hour after hour applying for positions online. (I’ll get to what I mean by “hard work” in a moment, so please bear with me.)
“Even though I’m used to practicing and training, I’ve never worked out like this,” Brandon continues.
How about you? Are you willing to put in the necessary “practice and training” to win your next job? Are you prepared to “work out” like you’ve never “worked out” before in terms of a job hunt?
In a later part of the blog, Brandon states, “(Steeler’s running back) Willie Parker gives me advice on what to expect at the combine (NFL draft) and in the pros.”
Are you listening to the advice of the “pros,” or are you continuing to rely solely upon your own counsel, continuing to do the things that worked in the past but no longer do? Are you willing to learn and then apply what you’ve learned if it will help you land your next job, if it will help you “stand out from the crowd”?
If you have read this far, then I know you are willing to
learn what works and do the hard work of application.
So back to the job boards! First, let’s consider the typical life cycle of a job opening.
Hiring managers have meetings. They think through upcoming possible employment needs. Or, they may be watching the lack of performance regarding certain employees. They begin to keep their eyes open. They talk to colleagues. They make a few phone calls to people they know and trust and ask the question, “Who do you know?”
Do you remember from the first article in this series how many positions are filled from internal referrals, i.e., people within the company who recommend someone for hire? The figure is 26.7%, or nearly three out of ten. Many more positions are filled as the result of external referrals, and then, of course, there are the positions that are filled by recruiters.
Fact: One-half (or more) of a company’s openings are filled before they ever get posted! So, what you see on the job boards are “the leftovers” that most everyone is competing for.
Let me give you a couple of examples of what I’m talking about here.
We recently posted an ad for an opening in Charlotte, NC. We received 570 resumes in just three weeks! Let me tell you what these 570 applicants can realistically expect to receive for their efforts.
Typically, hiring managers want recruiters to present only three to five candidates for any given position they are trying to fill. So, let’s assume we present the maximum number of candidates, five. Your odds of being presented are 0.9% (5/570 = 0.00877 or, rounded up, 0.9%). Since only one person will be hired, your probability of being hired is now down to 0.18%.
Here is another example.
A potential client company received federal stimulus money which created 20 positions. They posted the positions and received over 14,000 resumes, i.e., 700 per opening. This gives you a 0.7% chance of being presented and a 0.14% chance of being hired!!
In the economy of the new decade you are now in the “NFL” and the “rules” of the “hiring game” have changed…FOREVER!
In “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets we examine, in detail, the SIX “channels to market” job seekers should use to get their information in front of a hiring manager:
Today, what actually gets YOU in front of hiring managers are networking, direct mail and phone calls. BUT when using these methods, you still have to know what to say and how to say it! It is one thing to know you need to throw a touchdown pass, it is quite another to actually be able to do it.
And this is the “hard work” we referred to earlier—properly crafted direct mail followed up by effective phone calls. That is hard work! It gets you out of your comfort zone! “How do I do this?” you ask.
In “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets we show you how to get off the job boards and how to actually do the things that will get you HIRED! We teach you what to say and what not to say, as well as what to write (and how to write it) and what not to write.
But can you do it? Of course you can! Despite a constant deluge of “doom and gloom” news about the economy in general and the job market in particular, people are still getting hired today, as you will see in the next article, “Is Anybody Getting Hired Today?”
