Smart Job Searching: Focus, Plan, Persevere

How many more jobs and careers do you expect to hold until you retire? If you are like most people in the fast-forward, technology driven, highly competitive global economy, the correct answer is "Quite a few!" Job search savvy is critical in this age of rapidly shifting jobs. Here are a few tips to help you effectively manage the inevitable.

Ready, Aim, Focus! When I see people floundering in a job search, it's because they aren't focused. Failing to commit to a readily understood job title, or two, or three is a big mistake. If you actually do have three distinct, viable career options, then you'll need to have three targeted resumes. Each one should focus on the marketable skills, experience, and credentials that support the requirements of the desired position. Why is focus so important? In the clogged communications of corporate America, you must have a tightly focused approach to cut through the clutter. No one has the time to read an objective statement like this: "To acquire a position that utilizes my experience and education, that offers opportunity for advancement, yada, yada, yada." How about "A mid-level marketing position" or "A telecommunications sales position" or whatever your objective du jour might be. Recruiters and hiring managers are begging, "Just be specific!" Don't worry, you won't 'limit yourself' to anything other than the type of position you really want. And you're only committing to this title for the moment, not for the rest of your career.

Job Search Economics 101: It still takes money to make money.

For those of you who want to find your next job in a day or two, for $29.99, I have a question. What are you thinking? The quality of your next job directly affects your quality of life! Why is it then, that so many people want to find that next job without taking the time to consider their options and launch a well-planned approach? Why not get professional help?

As a career services professional, I've witnessed these inappropriate fits of thriftiness time and time again. Ironically, most folks don't have a problem dropping several hundred dollars on interview attire, but seem to think that a thoughtlessly prepared resume and perhaps a form letter is all that will be needed to get those interviews. If that's all the more prepared they are, I would say that they had better be prepared to wait a long time for that interview, and hope the interview suit still fits by then!

The Receiving End:
What Recruiters & Hiring Officials Really Want

A survey of HR managers and recruiters on resumes and related issues

As the moderator of an HR / Recruiter Panel Discussion at the 1999 Professional Association of Resume Writers’ convention, I learned that professional resume consultants, just like job seekers have plenty of questions than ever when it comes to the “receiving end” of our finely crafted job search documents.

As a follow-up to this informative discussion, I decided to survey yet another panel of experts. In November of 1999, I e-mailed a group of 40 hiring officials with ten key questions. Respondents included recruiters and private HR consultants, as well as HR managers representing the financial industry, the computer/engineering/technical recruiting fields, a regional public utilities provider, a major marketing firm, and a mountain ski resort.

Is your Dream Job on Hold? Here's A Wake Up Call

Happy New Year! If one of your resolutions for the New Year was to take a quantum leap forward in your career path, congratulations. There has never been a better time to position yourself for the next step up. The nature of our relationships with employers has changed radically and forever, and so has the number and types of opportunities available. Even as companies struggle to compete in a fast-forward global economy, the average job seeker's prospects for building skills and earnings have never been better.