Archive for March, 2009
Don’t Look For a Job, Look For A Company
Posted by klowrey in Interviewing, Job Search on March 19th, 2009
When looking for a job how much consideration do you give the company? The truth is people looking for a job often don’t consider the company very much. In my experience most job candidates that show up for interviews take at most five minutes to review the company’s website. This is the extent of their company research.
This is not a good game plan. When you choose to accept a position you are making one of the most significant decisions of your life. Think about it, with whom you spend more time with, your spouse or Joe in the next cube over. Usually you spend more waking hours around Joe then the person who you made vows with.
What kind of company is it? Do people tend to work 9 – 5 (at some company’s everyone works until 7:00 PM). How is the commute from where you live? Is the company in a growth field? Do you believe in their core product or service? What kind of charities is the company involved with? How are their employees treated? How do ex-employees speak about their experience with the company?
These are all important questions that you should have answered before agree to work for anyone. If you don’t know the answer then you will find out the hard way.
What to do After the Interview
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on March 17th, 2009
One of my clients asked me what to do after the interview. She went to the interview, sent a thank you letter, and then heard nothing.
Here is what I generally recommend in these situations. I recommend that you be the squeaky wheel. You should error on the side of being the job candidates who raises their hand and says “over here don’t forget about me.”
Many people are worried about annoying their perspective employee, and this is a valid concern. If you play the part of the squeaky wheel you might annoy someone and cost yourself a job. However looking for a job is usually a numbers game and you are going to, more often then not, increase your changes of being hired by being persistent rather then passive.
Are You Making These Job Search Gaffes?
Posted by klowrey in Interviewing, Job Search, Resume on March 6th, 2009
Here’s another great article on job search mistakes to avoid. Liz Ryan is spot on here, and I learned a couple of things. check it out here.
Great Article on Searching for a Job in Tough Times
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Resume on March 5th, 2009
Check out this great article on searching for a job in tough times. I agree with everything in this article except for the part about spending four hours on your resume for each job you apply for.
I believe that it’s best to spend a lot of time upfront on a targeted resume, but you should only need 15 to 20 minutes to tweak your resume for a specific job.
However, if you are applying for jobs in different fields, you should spend the time to create a tailored resume for each career you are interested. By the way you might want to consider a professional resume writer.
Free Job Search Webinar – Avoiding the 10 Biggest Job Search Mistakes
Posted by klowrey in Job Search, Uncategorized on March 5th, 2009
Check out this free webinar. Those who seek the answer always find it.
Take a News Fast
Posted by klowrey in Job Search on March 3rd, 2009
I have a quick tip for anyone going through a difficult job search. Turn off the news for a week. Don’t watch news on TV, don’t read the newspaper, and don’t ready news sites on the world wide web.
The news feed you a steady stream of doom and gloom. Studies have show that people get depressed after consuming large quantities of news programming. So take a break.
Take that time and do something that you love. Talk a walk or go golfing. Whatever it is just don’t turn on CNN. I’ll bet after a week you will have a better outlook.
What If You Have a Job and Are Unhappy?
Posted by klowrey in Uncategorized on March 3rd, 2009
During difficult economic people are still unhappy with their jobs. Sure you are probably grateful to have a job, when others are struggling, but you are still unhappy. What should you do?
If you have a marketable skill set you might want to consider a passive job search. Despite the bad news some employers are still looking for talent. Fair or not employers look upon unemployed individuals as damaged goods. If you are still employed you are perceived as having extra value.
Recruiters would rather steal you away from a company than hire you from the unemployment line. It’s the same with dating. As a guy you are never as desirable as when you have a girlfriend. That’s not fair you might say, well welcome to a little place I like to call reality.
The bottom line is that if you still employed and you have transferable skills you could consider posting your resume on the major job boards. State that you are currently employed by XYZ corp. See what happens.
Networking Tip – Get Out There and Just Do It
Posted by klowrey in Interviewing, Job Search, Resume on March 2nd, 2009
I’ve been talking about networking with respect to a job search. The best advice I can give is to just get out there and do it. Find an active local organization to join and get involved with. Become the kind of member who gets stuff done and is always looking for ways to help others. In addition to being an indirect source of job leads, this is also a great way to improve your resume.
Join some social networking sites (I recommend linkedin.com) and start participating. Find former classmates and coworkers and reconnect with them. If your choose linkedin I recommend that you participate in their answer’s module. You can build significant credibility by getting into the habit participating in the community.
This all comes down to developing the habit of networking. Spend one hour a day for 30 days on networking activities, and I promise the second 30 days will be much easier to network.