More Effective Ways To Look For Your Next Job

Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 2:00 AM | 2 Comments

The big – the huge, the enormous – Internet job houses are good but to a certain extent. These days, you just cannot rely exclusively on them. Research and statistics show that less than 20% of the jobs get filled with the help of these monstrous online houses.

I think they can be good sources for advice – they have good articles about career planning and such but you just cannot rely on them completely.

You just cannot post a resume on these boards and then sit comfortably on your lazy-chair by the phone and hope you would get a call and someone would offer you a job. That is, most probably, not going to happen.

There are other more effective ways you can try.

Networking through personal contacts

Personal contacts are the most effective way to job search. Research shows that more than 80% of jobs get filled via referral compared to 20% if you just used the big boards.

Networking means more than name dropping. It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. That is the mantra these days and I think it makes sense.

Whether you are using social networking Web sites like LinkedIn or Twitter or personal referrals, it’s important that people know your strengths, skills and the value you bring to a company before they refer you.

Be specific and very clear about the kind of companies you want to work for and why you are interested in them. It will help your personal contacts have a clearer sense of who you are and make it easier for them to refer you to the right person.

Career advisers are not recruiters

Career consultants and advisers may not get you a job per se, but they can be effective in helping job-seekers brand themselves, a trend that is becoming more important in an economic climate where competition for jobs is intense.

Beware that some are expensive. Unless you are a C-level executive looking for a position and you can afford them, I would not give them the exuberant fee that some of them charge. But talk to a couple of advisers.

Recruiters, private employment agencies

Don’t confuse recruiters and private employment agencies with career consultants and advisers. Recruiters, sometimes known as headhunters, are hired by companies and organizations to fill open positions.

Many times they are hired to fill executive positions, and they are always paid by their clients, not by you – the job-seeker.

Fees typically represent a percentage of the job-seeker’s salary which they charge the clients and not the job-seekers. They are worth checking out, especially those that specialize in your field of interest.

If you are a student, try internships

Internships can be great ways for students to gain real world experience in their area of study. Some interns are paid a salary and the internships often lead to full-time employment upon graduation.

Also, if you cannot get a job right away out of college, try working as a volunteer to get experience. The downside? while you are still in college, many internships are unpaid, which can be a financial burden to students who rely on summer work to make ends meet.

Go to job fairs

My own personal experience is they are good but beneficial to a chosen few. However, do make job fairs part of a multi-pronged approach to meet employers in person and possibly find jobs.

Career placement offices at your school

It used to be that companies recruiters would land at your school placement office – a bunch of them – and they would hire a few – the very best – while the students are still in their final year.

My research shows they still practice that. However, like before, their criteria for hiring is quite stringent.

Don’t discount Government employment services

States provide employment services in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.

Information about federal government jobs is available from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s USA JOBs, or FED JOBS websites.

In a Nutshell
Even as jobs become harder to find, too many job-seekers rely on a tunnel-vision strategy that makes use of only one or two job-search methods. That strategy may eventually land you a job, but it’s likely you will spend more time being frustrated than interviewed.

Take a multi-pronged approach. And better yet, get out of that lazy-chair and do some positive and effective networking. Don’t be bashful about it.

Listen to Johnny Paycheck

You have to be confident about yourself to successfully look for your next job. Else follow Johnny Paycheck.

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