The most common time killers in a job search (excluding procrastination) involve interviews that go nowhere, networking meetings that net nothing, and countless job applications that get no response. Here’s how to manage these and other situations so that you can turn waste into haste and jump-start your job search.
A prospective client once came to me for help. “In the past year, I’ve applied for about 100 positions, yet have had no interviews,” she told me in frustration. I was pretty confident that I knew the crux of her problem straight away. It was the emphasis she placed on the number of jobs she had applied for. Usually, just applying for jobs is not nearly enough, especially at more senior levels.
If you’re not, you’re not a good networker– you’ll miss opportunities! Getting meetings (and then “acing” these meetings) is 50% of what you need to do. Keeping in touch following these meetings is the other 50%.
What do you do if a hiring manager says you are “overqualified” for a position? First, you need to know that what they really mean is a) you’re going to want too much money, b) you’re going to be bored and will leave in six months, or c) you won’t fit into the culture. All three of these underlying issues can be addressed with these two approaches:
LinkedIn now makes it easier to find volunteer opportunities. Gain access by going to http://volunteer.linkedin.com or by clicking on the “Jobs” menu option, selecting “Advanced Search,” “More Options,” and then entering “volunteer” in the job title. LinkedIn has partnered with some major volunteer matching sites to make this happen. Here’s why this feature is so great.
Keywords in your resume, LinkedIn profile, emails and ‘pitch’ help to communicate your value. To job prospects, your use of the right keywords tells them you are an “insider” (everyone wants to hire insiders) and that you understand the problems they face. Organizations use keyword filters for candidate searches, so your use of strategically placed keywords will improve your likelihood of being spotted.
When someone is searching on LinkedIn for a candidate with your skills (increasingly LinkedIn is the first stop for candidate searches), keywords in certain parts of your profile matter more than others.
Every so often you will get an interview question like this from HR or a hiring leader. “Greatest weakness” types of interview questions also include “give me an example of a time you failed, ” “tell me about a criticism your boss once gave you,” or “give me an example of an area of development or a situation where you didn’t get the outcome you wanted.” They use these questions, especially for executive hires, to a) find people who have a maturity and ability to self-reflect that allows for improvement and learning from mistakes, and b) screen out people who say something problematic. When forming your answer, keep these three guidelines in mind:
Getting a recommendation on LinkedIn can help your career. LinkedIn recommendations are valued by hiring managers. Why? 1. The first-degree connection giving the recommendation is visible, hence “researchable” on LinkedIn, 2. significant effort is involved in writing a recommendation, adding to the authenticity, and 3. the content’s often descriptive nature helps the hiring manager to understand your value. I would suggest getting at least three LinkedIn recommendations. LinkedIn considers three-plus recommendations to be a factor in “profile completeness,” which figures in it’s search rankings.
Even if your resume, pitch, skill set, and emails are all stellar, at the end of the day your job search is still a numbers game. To improve your odds of landing a position quickly, you’ve got to actively go for a large number of potential positions. That is, don’t just passively wait for the search firm to call or the ad to show up (and then compete with potentially thousands of other applicants). Instead, take the active approach: 1) create a plan that casts a wide enough net to include enough suitable positions (open or currently filled), and
Are you Limiting Your Job Search Potential?
by Robert Hellmann •Getting Interviews, Job-Search Strategy
That is, don’t just passively wait for the search firm to call or the ad to show up, since you’ll get a low return on your time investment. Instead, take the active approach. Start by creating a plan that casts a wide enough net to include enough suitable positions (open or currently filled). Your search must encompass