Job Hunting Basics: Do you Really Want a Job There?
July 29, 2008
Basics of job hunting: Research the potential opportunities to reach the job you want.
Are you in a typical job hunt mode? Many times the job hunter mistakes activity for progress in finding that new job or the new career. By activity means pushing out a lot of resumes. With the internet, computers and printers it’s never been easier to mail out a huge volume of resumes. There are even some experts that advocate this approach again mistaking activity with progress.
This approach is like going to a gun fight with a shotgun in a dark room. So before we blast holes in the walls and hit nothing important, let’s see if we can bring some illumination to the process.
Essentially, there are two important problems with the “activity is everything” approach to job hunting. First, not having done the necessary research on the potential employer because of the large volume, if you get lucky and there is the initial phone interview, you don’t have the basic information about the employer or the job.
Sure, you can delay and call them back after you’ve done some research but this doesn’t always work. They may be in a time crunch and not give you the extra time, or your computer will crash or you internet access is down so you can’t get the information in time. In any event, you don’t come out of the encounter looking good, and your resume just went into the round file.
Second, if you haven’t put any thought or research into the possibility of working for a particular employer you are put into a vulnerable position. Let’s say you get the interview, and a subsequent job offer. If your career goals are not well defined, you tend to overlook possible negatives on the position and on the employer. You get caught up in the overall process and the possibility of change. Then, only later do you realize you made a big mistake.
The time to research the employer and the possible career fit is before you send out the cover letter and the resume. With a whirlwind of activity how can you possibly do justice to proper follow-up? This is only one of the defects to the “big activity” approach.
The lesson here is to do your research before you send out the resume. Keep a file on each resume sent out. The file will contain the following information about the company: amount of sales, locations, number of employees (get info from the internet or call and get an annual report); products and services; their competitors; recent newspaper clippings and magazine articles; reference information at your local library and other necessary financial data from Standard & Poors. This information is basic.
If possible interview people who now work for the company or worked for them in the recent past. This many times is not as hard as it sounds. For example, needing to get some basic information about a privately held company we found a newspaper story along the picture and name of a recently promoted manager. We called the company and asked to speak to him. He gave us ten minutes of his time to answer out prepared questions.
When you do receive the initial telephone call you’ll now be prepared. Your knowledgeable conversation will communicate to the caller your interest in the company and the opportunity. More often than not, this interest will move you to the next stage in the interview process. You now can take your research and do a more in depth study.
Nothing should escape your notice. In a competitive hiring situation a candidate got the job because he had learned the person he was going to report to graduated from the same college he graduated from. Of course this came up in the interview. And he learned later it was a close call between himself and two other candidates, but he was successful because of his in-depth research.
Do your basic research on the employer before you send out the resume. It will pay dividends in helping you make the early decision if the employer is the right fit for your career. This shouldn’t mean that you are overly critical of rejecting a relatively large number of employers, but the preparation will allow you to focus on the best fit. It’s better to spend your time on proper follow-up and research than throwing a large number of resumes into the mail and hoping something will land on the right desk at the right time.
Your project focus will also help keep you from making a big employment mistake by agreeing to a job offer with the wrong employer or agreeing to accept the wrong position.
Posted by: John Groth
About the Author:
Are you in a typical job hunt mode? Many times the job hunter mistakes activity for progress in finding that new job or the new career. By activity means pushing out a lot of resumes. With the internet, computers and printers it’s never been easier to mail out a huge volume of resumes. There are even some experts that advocate this approach again mistaking activity with progress.
This approach is like going to a gun fight with a shotgun in a dark room. So before we blast holes in the walls and hit nothing important, let’s see if we can bring some illumination to the process.
Essentially, there are two important problems with the “activity is everything” approach to job hunting. First, not having done the necessary research on the potential employer because of the large volume, if you get lucky and there is the initial phone interview, you don’t have the basic information about the employer or the job.
Sure, you can delay and call them back after you’ve done some research but this doesn’t always work. They may be in a time crunch and not give you the extra time, or your computer will crash or you internet access is down so you can’t get the information in time. In any event, you don’t come out of the encounter looking good, and your resume just went into the round file.
Second, if you haven’t put any thought or research into the possibility of working for a particular employer you are put into a vulnerable position. Let’s say you get the interview, and a subsequent job offer. If your career goals are not well defined, you tend to overlook possible negatives on the position and on the employer. You get caught up in the overall process and the possibility of change. Then, only later do you realize you made a big mistake.
The time to research the employer and the possible career fit is before you send out the cover letter and the resume. With a whirlwind of activity how can you possibly do justice to proper follow-up? This is only one of the defects to the “big activity” approach.
The lesson here is to do your research before you send out the resume. Keep a file on each resume sent out. The file will contain the following information about the company: amount of sales, locations, number of employees (get info from the internet or call and get an annual report); products and services; their competitors; recent newspaper clippings and magazine articles; reference information at your local library and other necessary financial data from Standard & Poors. This information is basic.
If possible interview people who now work for the company or worked for them in the recent past. This many times is not as hard as it sounds. For example, needing to get some basic information about a privately held company we found a newspaper story along the picture and name of a recently promoted manager. We called the company and asked to speak to him. He gave us ten minutes of his time to answer out prepared questions.
When you do receive the initial telephone call you’ll now be prepared. Your knowledgeable conversation will communicate to the caller your interest in the company and the opportunity. More often than not, this interest will move you to the next stage in the interview process. You now can take your research and do a more in depth study.
Nothing should escape your notice. In a competitive hiring situation a candidate got the job because he had learned the person he was going to report to graduated from the same college he graduated from. Of course this came up in the interview. And he learned later it was a close call between himself and two other candidates, but he was successful because of his in-depth research.
Do your basic research on the employer before you send out the resume. It will pay dividends in helping you make the early decision if the employer is the right fit for your career. This shouldn’t mean that you are overly critical of rejecting a relatively large number of employers, but the preparation will allow you to focus on the best fit. It’s better to spend your time on proper follow-up and research than throwing a large number of resumes into the mail and hoping something will land on the right desk at the right time.
Your project focus will also help keep you from making a big employment mistake by agreeing to a job offer with the wrong employer or agreeing to accept the wrong position.
Posted by: John Groth
About the Author:
John Groth is a former HR executive and career coach. Go to Career”>http://careernetworkplus.com””>Career Network Plus and find great resources valuable articles and a free seven day career planning guide. Discover up to date career”>http://careernetworkplus.com/career/””>career and recruitment strategies at our blog; all to assist you in planning and managing your career.
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Together: Part 1
July 19, 2008
Kenzoki posted:
In their rare joint appearance at All Things Digital 5, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates discuss their contributions to the technology industry, the qualities they most respect in one another. D/All Things Digital text.
What It Really Takes to Job Hunt… One Searcher’s Honest Reflections.
July 15, 2008
I was recently reviewing comments from successful customers who cared to write us to share their job hunt experiences. Of course, I heard mainly from those who had followed our program of alternative job search strategies. It’s always encouraging to discover that so many people found the alternative system so effective.
But I wondered what it was like to struggle with finding a job when you didn’t use an alternative success system. So often we like to dwell only on the glowing successes. Then I found the story of Tim Johnston who chronicled his job adventure in the Wall Street Journal Career Journal.
I won’t go through the very real trials and tribulations of his hunt. It was painful. It was rewarding. Ultimately it was very successful. What did strike me, however, were his reflections on the job search a few months into his new job.
The first comment he made was, “Never let an employer smell your desperation; it’s completely off-putting . . . . Be comfortable with where you are and who you are, and people will be drawn to you.”
He then goes on to report a couple things he wishes he had known before he got laid off:
1. “Networking isn’t vulgar. I never really understood that before.”
2. “I’m now committed to the careful feeding and watering of my network.”
3. “I’ll try to stay connected during good times and support those who are going through hard times so that I’ll have more folks to lean on (and feel better about doing so) when I hit another rough patch.”
But, what really struck me about this obviously dedicated worker and thoughtful job hunter were his concluding thoughts.
“Going forward, I’ll critically view each work activity and project I engage in to determine how I can maximize value for my employer and myself, and how I can grow from the experience. If it isn’t worth doing, I’ll find a way to get it done quickly or not do it at all. I’ll build a solid record of accomplishments and not have to wonder quite as much about how I spent my time when I need to redo my resume again.”
It took Tom eight months to find a job. My only regret, as I read his compelling story, was that he didn’t use The World’s Fastest Alternative Job Search System. I could have shown him how to shorten his job hunt to as little as two weeks!
If Tom had been willing to give up his old-fashioned methods for finding a job and subscribed to the exciting, fresh non-traditional career advancement strategies, he could have taken the sting out of his campaign and turned it into the career adventure of a lifetime!
Posted by: Paul Megan
About the Author:
But I wondered what it was like to struggle with finding a job when you didn’t use an alternative success system. So often we like to dwell only on the glowing successes. Then I found the story of Tim Johnston who chronicled his job adventure in the Wall Street Journal Career Journal.
I won’t go through the very real trials and tribulations of his hunt. It was painful. It was rewarding. Ultimately it was very successful. What did strike me, however, were his reflections on the job search a few months into his new job.
The first comment he made was, “Never let an employer smell your desperation; it’s completely off-putting . . . . Be comfortable with where you are and who you are, and people will be drawn to you.”
He then goes on to report a couple things he wishes he had known before he got laid off:
1. “Networking isn’t vulgar. I never really understood that before.”
2. “I’m now committed to the careful feeding and watering of my network.”
3. “I’ll try to stay connected during good times and support those who are going through hard times so that I’ll have more folks to lean on (and feel better about doing so) when I hit another rough patch.”
But, what really struck me about this obviously dedicated worker and thoughtful job hunter were his concluding thoughts.
“Going forward, I’ll critically view each work activity and project I engage in to determine how I can maximize value for my employer and myself, and how I can grow from the experience. If it isn’t worth doing, I’ll find a way to get it done quickly or not do it at all. I’ll build a solid record of accomplishments and not have to wonder quite as much about how I spent my time when I need to redo my resume again.”
It took Tom eight months to find a job. My only regret, as I read his compelling story, was that he didn’t use The World’s Fastest Alternative Job Search System. I could have shown him how to shorten his job hunt to as little as two weeks!
If Tom had been willing to give up his old-fashioned methods for finding a job and subscribed to the exciting, fresh non-traditional career advancement strategies, he could have taken the sting out of his campaign and turned it into the career adventure of a lifetime!
Posted by: Paul Megan
About the Author:
Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Find A Job In As Little As 14 Days!” Click on RSS for instant info! http://www.fastest-job-search.com
What if you received only unemployment benefits - do you still qualify for the rebate?
July 14, 2008
I worked for an employer - but he paid me under the table. So, he didn’t get taxed. I made approximately $600 but have no W-2 to show that I worked for this individual. The rest was unemployment. I have a dependent child of 2 years old. Do I get anything for her?
SG: You don’t know all the specifics…I was just asking. You are a JERK and very insensitive. FYI: my under the table was $100 a month. I worked basically for free.
Posted by: farmgirl
About the Author:
SG: You don’t know all the specifics…I was just asking. You are a JERK and very insensitive. FYI: my under the table was $100 a month. I worked basically for free.
Posted by: farmgirl
About the Author:
Steve Jobs Macworld 2008 Keynote in 60 Seconds
July 13, 2008
mahalodotcom posted:
for more see http://daily.mahalo.com/
Unemployment in Iran , Shahrzadnews
July 11, 2008
ShahrzadNews1001 wrote:
Trailer: 1001 seconds on Unemployment in Iran. 1 of 12 documentaries made by shahrzadnews.org
Riz Khan - Unemployment in the Arab world - 12 Sept 07
July 4, 2008
AlJazeeraEnglish wrote:
Riz speaks with Ron Bruder, a successful American businessman who took a deep look at the problems of the Middle East after the attacks of 9/11 and founded Education for Employment which now operates in several Arab countries.
Fabulous Job Hunting Secret… How to CREATE Your Own Job!
July 1, 2008
Get ready for an amazing alternative job hunting secret! If you’ve been in the job market recently, you already know it’s tough. Not because there aren’t excellent job opportunities out there. But because employers’ expectations are so much more demanding.
Employers want you to come in prepared to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework. They expect you’ve taken the time to learn about their organization and its goals. They also require that you show very specifically how you can make a contribution to the company’s bottom line.
The purpose of an alternative job hunting secret is to come at the job market from a totally different perspective. For example, you learn to see job search from and the employer’s point of view. When you do, then you’ll also appreciate discovering the huge advantage you have when you do your homework and you come to a face-to-face meeting or interview armed with critical insider information.
You are ready to implement one of the most powerful and exciting alternative job hunting secrets around. It’s called “job creation!”
That’s right! You can actually create a job for yourself on the spot. Here’s what to do (after you’ve done your homework):
1. List in writing the specific areas within the company where you bring something unique to the table. This is not a review of your work history. Indicate the specific department, products, services, etc. within the organization where your proposal would apply.
2. Send an email or letter to the decision-maker who would have an active interest in the kind of proposal you wish to present. Do NOT ask for a job. Rather, briefly outline the specifics you bring to the table for solving a certain problem, or contributing to growth, or opening up new doors for the company, etc. Then ask to meet for a discussion of your ideas or proposal. Indicate you’d like to call shortly to set up such a meeting.
3. Prepare a “Bio-Action” resume specifically designed to back up your alternative job hunting proposal.
4. Do NOT go in for an interview, but rather to discuss your proposal to see if there’s any interest. What’s exciting about this alternative job hunting secret approach is that neither you nor the employer is under any pressure to make a job decision. An opportunity can emerge if you are good at showing the value you bring to the table. Once again this takes preparation–doing your homework.
When you approach a carefully targeted organization and the specific decision-maker who could have a genuine interest in you, you’ve dramatically moved the odds in favor of a discovering a hidden opportunity for yourself. And you’ve eliminated all the competition!
Posted by: PAUL BOWLEY
About the Author:
Employers want you to come in prepared to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework. They expect you’ve taken the time to learn about their organization and its goals. They also require that you show very specifically how you can make a contribution to the company’s bottom line.
The purpose of an alternative job hunting secret is to come at the job market from a totally different perspective. For example, you learn to see job search from and the employer’s point of view. When you do, then you’ll also appreciate discovering the huge advantage you have when you do your homework and you come to a face-to-face meeting or interview armed with critical insider information.
You are ready to implement one of the most powerful and exciting alternative job hunting secrets around. It’s called “job creation!”
That’s right! You can actually create a job for yourself on the spot. Here’s what to do (after you’ve done your homework):
1. List in writing the specific areas within the company where you bring something unique to the table. This is not a review of your work history. Indicate the specific department, products, services, etc. within the organization where your proposal would apply.
2. Send an email or letter to the decision-maker who would have an active interest in the kind of proposal you wish to present. Do NOT ask for a job. Rather, briefly outline the specifics you bring to the table for solving a certain problem, or contributing to growth, or opening up new doors for the company, etc. Then ask to meet for a discussion of your ideas or proposal. Indicate you’d like to call shortly to set up such a meeting.
3. Prepare a “Bio-Action” resume specifically designed to back up your alternative job hunting proposal.
4. Do NOT go in for an interview, but rather to discuss your proposal to see if there’s any interest. What’s exciting about this alternative job hunting secret approach is that neither you nor the employer is under any pressure to make a job decision. An opportunity can emerge if you are good at showing the value you bring to the table. Once again this takes preparation–doing your homework.
When you approach a carefully targeted organization and the specific decision-maker who could have a genuine interest in you, you’ve dramatically moved the odds in favor of a discovering a hidden opportunity for yourself. And you’ve eliminated all the competition!
Posted by: PAUL BOWLEY
About the Author:
Paul Bowley manages EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and innovative e-business strategies . . . since 1985. Check out THE WORLD’S FASTEST JOB SEARCH PLAN! And grab our stunning FREE REPORT! http://www.fastest-job-search.com/job-search-web-site.html