Tag Archives: Finding jobs

When is your resume thrown away?

Posted on November 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.  (Gardner)

Hiroshima, WWII:  “I sure wish I could find rice for my family. Hey, what is that lone airplane doing above the city? Oh well, I’ve got more important things to worry about.”

Sometimes timing is everything and you are worrying about the wrong problems.  For your resume there is a timing pattern you must understand.  You have to break through the following pattern to get hired:

  1. Your resume arrives along with 100 others.  The secretary trashes 80 after a 10 second review apiece.
  2. The secretary trashes 10 more after giving them 45 seconds apiece.
  3. Her boss gets the 10 remaining resumes and trashes 2 after a 10 second review.
  4. The boss throws away 3 more viable resumes.  He just doesn=t have the time to deal with more than 5.  For the 3 trashed, something is not quite right.
  5. He calls the 5 remaining candidates, starting with the best one.

Can you see why knowing when your resume is thrown out is critical?

Every time you send out a resume and fail to get an interview you should ask, “Who threw away my resume?”

Ask the question of yourself.  Also ask your recruiter and the HR person at the company.  Beg, if you have to.  You need to find out when and why your resume is not being considered.  Also be sensitive to the recruiter and HR.  They may lie to you.  They don’t want to argue.  They want to be powerful and all-knowing.  Play on that and ask for advice as you try to find out when your resume was trashed.

Next time we’ll talk about how to get past the screenings and into an interview.  For now, try to figure out when your resume is being thrown away.

Something To Do Today

Make some calls.  Find out where your resume is being trashed.

Ask some friends, they may be able to give you some ideas too.

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Posted in Resumes

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Halloween and your job search

Posted on October 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Tips for job seekers and Halloween trick or treaters are just about the same.  Think about how each of these directly applies to looking for a job.

  1. If you are scared, get your dad (a coach) to help on a few doors.
  2. Dress for success.  Look the part from your hair to your shoes, bag and greeting.
  3. The neighborhood you call on defines the size of the treats you get.
  4. Not everyone is giving out one pound candy bars, but they are all worth visiting.
  5. The more houses you call on, the more likely you will get a one pound candy bar.
  6. Go BACK to the biggest house with the best candy later.
  7. The most successful trick or treaters plan their routes and run from door to door.
  8. If you don’t knock, they won’t answer.
  9. If the porch light is out, you won’t get any candy, but you may get advice.
  10. Some of the scariest houses give the best treats.
  11. You get more treats if you start early and work late.
  12. Asking for candy in the traditional way works, ingenuity may get you more.
  13. Helping a little kid can double your take.
  14. Always say thank you.
  15. Sometimes they just ran out of treats, sorry.
  16. Going with friends (groups and social media) can make a scary neighborhood safer.
  17. It is a night of cold calling, even if you know the people.
  18. Trade candy (leads) afterwards to get what you really want.
  19. If you go to a party instead, and complain, you won’t get a big bag of candy.
  20. Don’t blow out the candle in the pumpkin.
  21. Do it again next year, only better, now that you have experience.

Wow!  I could write 21 articles based on those points.  Let me make a few quick points instead.

  1. Planning and preparation. If you want the best chance of quick success, take 15 minutes each day and an additional 4 hours each week to review results, make lists, THINK, and plan for the coming week.  And make sure you have resumes that are attractive so people to call you back.
  2. Work hard and fast. Actually do what you plan.  Make calls and contacts daily.  It is amazing how often luck follows hard work.
  3. Go back again. You should be talking to your best prospects at least monthly.  If you spend 15 minutes thinking and looking for a reason to call, you can usually come up with a helpful reason to call almost anyone.
  4. Work together. Share leads.  Offer to critique other’s resumes.  Suggest websites, books, and other job search ideas.  A lot of people find the perfect job in the castoffs and contacts from someone else’s search. Go to someone else’s house and both of you make calls at the same time.
  5. Be polite. Just because they say “No” doesn’t mean they hate you.  Say thank you and contact them again if it is a company you really want to join.  Never burn bridges or “blow out the candle” with anyone.

Have a great Halloween, and an even better job search.  Good luck finding that one pound candy bar!

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Posted in Accomplishments, Attitude, Finding jobs, Focus, Networking, Perseverance, Resumes, Time management

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Great And Glorious Campaigns – the job search

Posted on October 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today, I knew it then as purpose.  (Davis)

“We all thought Richmond, protected as it was by our splendid fortifications and defended by our army of veteran, could not be taken.  Yet Grant turned his face to our Capital, and never turned it away until we had surrendered,” reminisced Robert E. Lee.

Abraham Lincoln was strongly urged to remove Ulysses S. Grant from command by Grant’s two senior leaders.  Lincoln replied,  “I cannot spare this man, he fights.”

Grant’s first army unit as a General had driven away two other Generals in the previous month.  The unit was insubordinate, untrained and outright rebellious.  Yet they followed Grant.

The year before the US Civil War, Grant was an alcohol abusing store clerk who only kept his job because he worked for his father-in-law.

What changed in Grant? Passion, focus, and high purpose.

Do you have a career plan? A job search plan? One that really suits your talents and skills?  If one plan of attack fails are you willing to immediately switch to another?  As the job market changes are you ready to take advantage of previously unseen opportunities?  Are you constantly preparing?

Your passion may be your family, church, job or club. It is probably a combination of them.  If you take the time you spend on your job, concentrate, plan and execute, you can do wonders.  If you slackly follow orders, give the minimal possible and expect to get a raise before you work harder, you will stagnate.

Where can you go to succeed?  What can you do?  Do you have to relocate your family? Do you need a new job?  A new career path? What can be your great purpose at work?

Acres of Diamonds can give you some directions along that path.

Click on this link and I will send you a free copy of Acres of Diamonds.  I need your full ground mail address.  Tell your friends to ask for a copy.  They’ll enjoy it too.

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Posted in Attitude, Finding jobs, Perseverance, Time management, Uncategorized

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The Phantom Girl Scout Networking Mistake

Posted on September 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

Last night my wife Laura got a call.  A woman called Laura’s cell phone, and Laura’s number is rarely given out.  The caller said, “I’m a Girl Scout raising money for a trip.” Laura heard something about cookies and knew that Girl Scouts don’t sell cookies in September.  The Caller-ID was blocked. The woman never identified herself. Hmm.  It sounded like a crank call or a con job.  So Laura firmly told the caller,  “Girl Scouts don’t sell cookies this time of year, I’m not interested.” Laura hung up.

A minute later Laura’s cell phone rang again with the same blocked ID.  Laura let it ring.  No reason to encourage crank calls.  When she got a voice message she listened.  An upset mother, who never identified herself, told Laura that she had no excuse to be so rude to her daughter.

So now we are trying to figure out who we offended. At this point we are not even sure cookies were mentioned.  Maybe Laura just assumed she said “cookies”.

The Job Search Application

You are a potential crank caller or con job when you call a hiring manager you don’t know.

That Girl Scout made a few critical mistakes:

  1. She didn’t identify herself
  2. She didn’t identify the person who sent her
  3. Her starting point was ambiguous
  4. She was calling at the wrong time of year
  5. She was “not human”

Number 5 is the real problem.  By having a problem with the first 4, she guaranteed that Laura did not see her as a human, but as a threat, crank call, or con artist.

When you are calling to network, be very clear who you are and who sent you.  Let the person know exactly why you are making this particular call.  Realize that they probably do not have a job for you – it is the wrong time of year.

To turn yourself into a human.  First say in 10 seconds or less you are job hunting.  Less is better. They will tell you if they have a job opening. Then give them something they can easily help you with.  Ask them to recommend a business association, certification, trade publication, online community, or to link to you in LinkedIn. Get their email so you can send them contact information in case they think of something else.

Thank them for their time and hang up.

Send them a thank you email.  Now put them on your list.  Make a few notes so that they are human to you too.  Figure out what would interest them that you can do for them every 2 to 3 weeks.  Every time they see an email or hear from you, you become more human.  Every time you help them, they want to help back.

Don’t be a Phantom Girl Scout.  Be a human.  Get them to like you and want to help you.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Networking

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Referrals vs Monster

Posted on August 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

Even a fox can get a job guarding a henhouse if he has good enough references.

 Internet job boards fill 13% of jobs, recruiters fill 4%, and referrals fill 26% of jobs according to one survey.     So where do you want to concentrate your job hunting time?

But there are so many jobs on Monster, Dice and Career Builder, shouldn’t I try to get those jobs? 

Absolutely!  But that doesn’t mean you should automatically send a resume through those services. 

22% of jobs are found on a company’s own website.  Gotta like that.  Still, don’t even apply at the company’s own website until after you have tried to take advantage of this country”s main job finding system: Networking into referrals.

Print out the jobs you want that you find on the internet.  Make a list of the companies.  Next to each company, make a list of people you know who work there.  Include people who know someone who works there.  Add a list of recruiters who can get your resume past HR (Human Resources) and directly to the hiring manager.  Get into www.linkedin.com and see if you can find someone working at that company.  (Link to bryan@dilts.us to expand your network.) Add the people at companies your are targeting to a list.

Your objective is to find someone who can drop your information on the hiring manager’s desk.  Look at your whole list before you make a move.  Who has the best chance of helping you?  Who is the best connected?  Is it a professional networker–a recruiter?  Is it your friend’s wife?  Get your resume in there and follow up.  If you don’t get a call within a week, try again through another person.

26% of jobs are being filled by networking.  13% are being filled by recruiters.  Shouldn’t networking and recruiters be your main job search tools?  

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Something To Do Today

Get into www.linkedin.com   Link to bryan@dilts.us

List where everyone you know works, their spouses too.  Keep adding to the list whenever you find out where someone works.  Keep track of coworkers who leave.  Start making a list of where everyone who knows you works. It may be worth more than gold to you now or in the future.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking, Recruiters

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Where recruiters find executive candidates

Posted on May 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

A large survey done by Execunet shows that in 2010 executive recruiting companies like AGI are finding their candidates:

  • 44% Networking
  • 21% in their database
  • 14% using online research (LinkedIn, forums, company websites, etc.)
  • 9% from online job postings (Company website, Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.)
  • 9% searching resume databases (Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.)
  • 3% advertising

So if you want to find an executive job, you had better focus on more than just the ads you see.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards, Networking

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IBD and what’s HOT!

Posted on February 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

The contest does not always go to the strong, nor the race to the swift, but that’s the way to place your bet.

Q.  Bryan, what industry will pay me the most over the next 10 years? 

A.  I know how you can find out what industries are hot today.  I am not that good at predicting the distant future.

What is hot today? Follow the money.  To which industries is money flowing the most heavily?  What are people investing in?  Where is the greatest potential for growth?  Where will it be the easiest to get hired and promoted?

If you really want to know, you need to go to your local newsstand.  Ask for a copy of Investor’s Business Daily.  Hidden on page B-4 is a chart that will tell you what you need to know.  It is called, “IBD’s 197 Industry Group Rankings”. You can also subscribe to www.investors.com , but the paper is cheaper.

The chart lists all the major industry sectors in the USA.  Then it ranks them according to how well stocks have performed in the last 6 months.  The industries at the top of the chart are the ones everyone is investing in.  The ones at the end are the ones being abandoned.

Just because money is flowing out of an industry does not mean it is doomed.  It does mean that it will be hard to find a new job in that industry.  It means that you have to show a strong ability to save big money or make big profits to get hired.

I always try to fish where the fish are abundant.  I hunt where the animals I seek are the thickest.  I job search where the jobs and promotions are plentiful.  Time to do a little research to make sure you are looking where the jobs are plentiful.

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Something To Do Today

Buy a copy of Investor’s Business Daily.  Cut out the Industry Group Rankings chart and pin it to your wall.  Study it so that you understand each column.  Compare what is hot today to what was hot a year ago.  Are you hunting where the jobs are thickest?

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Giving your way into a job

Posted on December 23, 2009 | Leave a comment

Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. (Kaye)

Do you know how hard it is to get an administrative job with a symphony orchestra? 

A symphony administrator told me how to do it.  A woman called him and asked for a job.  He said, “I can’t hire you, there is no budget.”

That’s not the end of the story.  She said, “I’ll work for you for free.”  It was a wage he could afford.  She did a great job for 3 months and went back to school.  What do you think will happen when she applies for her next job and has experience and great references? 

You can’t afford to work for free.  Not forever, anyway.  Can you do it for a few hours or days?  Over the weekend?  Helping people out of a bind is a great way to network your way into a job.  They will feel compelled to let others know how much you helped them.  In the programming and computer networking field it is a very common way to work yourself into a company.

I can point to specific examples where this worked for accountants, secretaries, company presidents, salespeople, office managers and more.  These were jobs worth anywhere from $6/hour to $250,000/year. These people all helped someone who mentioned they were snowed under with work.  After a few hours they offered to come in the next day.  After 2 days they said they would help out the next weekend.  The boss, owner or chairman of the board heard about it and hired the person.

If you are unemployed, what’s the damage?  If you have a job, why not spend some of your evening and weekend time helping out with something you don’t normally do?  I know people who got promoted because they came in a few extra hours to their regular job to help their boss out on the boss’s project.

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Something To Do Today

Do you know someone who needs help?  Seize the opportunity.  Go on in and see if you can help.

Tomorrow:      Giving 30 seconds away can get you a job too

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Posted in Attitude, Networking, Perseverance

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Recruiters And The Hair On The Back Of Your Neck

Posted on December 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

Have you ever talked to a recruiter and had the hair on the back of your neck stand up?  …the feeling that you are being lied to?  …the nagging doubt about his sincerity?  …the dread that you are making a big mistake?

You were right!  Listen to your feelings.

Why recruiters lie

Not because their lips are moving.

Recruiters want to be liked.  They wish they could help everyone.  They can’t.  They lie.

What you should do

Whenever you talk to a recruiter you should ask tough questions about what he will do for you.  If he won’t commit to submitting you for a specific job, he won’t.  He may get lucky and a job will come in the next day, but you should not bet on it.  Find another recruiter, and another.

If a recruiter asks you to allow her to market your resume without your looking for a job, ask for weekly progress reports. Don’t let a recruiter stop your job search unless she is getting you interviews.  If she is not making progress, tell her you are going to take back the job search and do it yourself, but she is welcome to continue co-marketing you.. 

You are in charge of your job search. You have to know your resume is being submitted or do it yourself.  A recruiter asking for time to exclusively market you should report back and get results.  Take charge.

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Something To Do Today

List all the recruiters you are working with.  Rate them.  Who do you trust?  Who is getting you interviews.

————

Tuesday December 8th I will be doing free seminars on

1. Make strategic change Stick

2. Get salespeople to kick their own…

3. MasterStream – Sell boatloads more in half the time

These are the full keynote classes that clients fly me in to teach. 

You can click on the class name above for more details.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Recruiters

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Six Ads For One Job – part one

Posted on December 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

You see 3 job board ads with almost identical wording for a job in the same suburb.  You go online and find 3 social network ads that are almost identical from 3 more different companies.  It has to be one job, not 6 different ones. What do you do?

First decide how much you want the job, then give it the time it deserves.

You have to set your priorities first.   Would you quit your job just to apply for it?   Then it will be worth a few phone calls and some research.   Is it so marginal you would NOT quit your job if it paid 5% more than you are earning today?  Treat it differently.

Low Priority Jobs

Look at all the ads.  Are any by a recruiter you know and want to work with?  Give them a quick call.  Often you can get more information from a recruiter than from the company itself.  Ask them if you have a chance at the job.  Do you want the job?  Commit the recruiter to submitting you for the job.  Then call up in two days and ask what they have heard back. 

If you can figure out who the primary employer is and don’t want to work with any recruiting agencies, just apply directly.  For low priority jobs it isn’t worth stressing out about whether an agency or a direct submission will work best.  Call the company in two days to see what happened.

High Priority Jobs

This is more involved.  We’ll talk about it tomorrow.

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Something To Do Today

Look online and find a job with more than one ad. Figure out which ones are from agencies and which is from the actual hiring company.  Make this a habit.

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Posted in Finding jobs, Job Boards

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