Archive for November, 2008
November 28th, 2008 | 
Author: Today’s economic news may be gloom and doom but it needn’t derail your job hunt. You can still win a great job, even in a lousy economy. You WILL have to get smarter in your job search strategy, though.
Here are 5 tips to incorporate into your job search approach during the recession:
1. Research Your Options
Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the web through Google or Yahoo. Start with “best industries work recession” or “recession jobs 2008″ to uncover articles describing some of the more “recession-proof” sectors to target.
2. Change Your Focus
Start asking yourself the question, “What’s in it for them?” as opposed to, “What’s in it for me?” Especially in an economic downturn, you’ll want to stay focused on what you can accomplish for your next employer. Show them that you understand the macroeconomic “bigger picture” of the role you play in moving the company forward.
3. Sell Results, Not Skills
Leave behind that old mindset that your job-related skills or length of service are selling factors. The new mindset is to think of yourself as a mini profit-and-loss center rather than just an employee. Employers today buy results and are less impressed with candidates promoting a long laundry list of skills. You’ll want to define the many ways your past and present job performance are assets to your next employer.
4. Start Talking Money
The recession has made the private sector economy even more bottom-line oriented than ever. Hiring managers categorize employees into one of two distinct groups:
- those who help make money
- those who help save money.
Which One Are You?
For example, Barry worked as the human resources manager of a mid-sized company. While much of his work focused on compliance issues, he noticed that the company was paying many thousands of dollars to locate and hire good employees. As a result, Barry developed and implemented an in-house employee referral program that netted three quality hires in a six-month period. This saved the company almost $70,000 that the company would have paid for recruiters and advertising costs.
Barry saves money for his company and this is an accomplishment future employers will want to hear about.
Rethink your current or past job to understand your position in the bigger corporate P&L picture. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- How did my work improve the performance of my department or company?
- How many roles did I perform that saved the company the expense of added employees or contractors?
- How has my work made the work of others (employees and managers) easier, faster and more effective?
Collect specific examples of the benefits that your company gained from the work you’ve already performed. Clarify the specific benefit your company received by making money or saving money, and write them down.
5. Add Achievements to Your Resume
Employers don’t hire employees, they hire problem-solvers. Your new resume should be a hard-hitting sales tool designed to accomplish one goal: get the interview. To demonstrate this, add a specific achievements list to your resume. Take the list that you developed in the previous section and hone it down to your biggest and most notable accomplishments. Now, describe the benefit that your employer gained from each example. This will put you several steps ahead of your job-seeking competitors. Plus, you’ll now have some talking points ready for that next phone interview.
Summary
Don’t let all the hype about the recession spook you into a state of panic. By revising your tactics to include a more solution-selling approach to employers, you stand a better chance of getting hired in today’s faltering economy.
Authors Bio
As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Author of “Job Search Secrets Unlocked” and “Paycheck 911,” Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and offers free insider job search secrets at: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.
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The current economic meltdown is just the tip of a much larger iceberg that will have far reaching economic implications for all of us here in the U.S. Tens of thousands of layoffs in and beyond the financial industry will only be the start of more sober times as companies across the country will be forced to rethink their future hiring plans.
One fact seems certain. All of these circumstances will combine to have huge ramifications for job seekers. The failing economy and a constantly rising unemployment rate, will require individuals to take a fresh approach to their job search.
Referencing the most recent economic crisis, Neil McNulty, Principal Recruiter, McNulty Management Group states, ” The game has changed, but the rules remain the same: now, more than ever, job seekers need to change their mindset from looking for ‘openings’ to looking for ‘opportunities’…and opportunities are borne out of crisis and chaos, and exist even in the worst economy.”
This means that you, as a job seeker, must look beyond job postings and move into marketing yourself to the managers of the companies and organizations who are experiencing problems that you can solve.
1) Change Your Mindset
Move away from being a passive job seeker to an active problem-solver. Don’t just rely on the Internet to find job openings. Scour the marketplace to find the hidden jobs that aren’t advertised. Most jobs are not posted or advertised. The best jobs are often found through networking, word-of-mouth and informational interviews.
2) Stop Thinking of Yourself as Just an Assortment of Job Skills.
See yourself as a product to package and market, and then create your own marketing campaign to find your desired job. This includes having a state-of-the-art resume, and sharpening your interviewing skills.
3) Sell ROI
View yourself in terms of Return on Investment for an employer. See yourself as a mini-Profit and Loss Center. Be prepared to demonstrate ways you have helped to positively impact the bottom line of your past or current employer. This means demonstrating ways you’ve helped make money or save money for an employer or clients. As employees, we all touch money. Some of us may be closer to it than others. Regardless, we must find ways to prove this in short “sound bites” when given the opportunity.
Remember, it’s not about you, but about the employer. All communication with a prospective employer must answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
The road ahead will be littered with casualties, no mistake about that. We could sit by and whine about the circumstances. We could wait for the government to initiate a “bailout” package that might somehow rescue the unemployed. Or, we could take charge of our own lives and power ourselves forward regardless of the hysteria of others. Joseph P. Kennedy said many years ago, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. That statement is just as true today as it was then. We all share this rocky, tough economy in common, whether employed or not. We can respond as victims of the economy or we can get tough and get going.
Authors Bio
As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Author of “Job Search Secrets Unlocked” and “Paycheck 911,” Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and offers free insider job search secrets at: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com/.
For professional help writing your resume we highly recommend DistinctiveWeb.com. These licensed professionals can turn your job skills and history into a high quality, powerful resume that is guaranteed to get you the interview.
If you’re a do-it-yourself type then this e-book is a must-read. For less than $10 101 Before and After Résumé Examples is a comprehensive, downloadable manual of professionally written sample resumes that show you step-by-step (using 101 REAL before-and-after examples) exactly how to create your own job-winning resume – or transform one that isn’t working for you!
Also recommended is Secrets of a Successful Job Search. This is a one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred program that will guide you step-by-step through every phase of the job search start-to-finish. You will benefit from expert guidance and straight-to-the-point tips throughout your job search and your entire career with this proven system and simple-to-follow strategies that you can use over and over again to advance and promote your career faster than you ever thought possible.
You have decided to update your resume for any number of reasons – but the reason isn’t important. What is important is this – if you are going to the trouble of writing your resume, then do it right so you actually might have a shot at the job you want/need. Otherwise, why bother. First let’s look at the facts of life in the real job market world:
Research has proven that approximately one out of two hundred resumes results in an interview. No interview – no serious chance of getting the job. Research has also shown that resumes are seldom read, they are scanned. We have found that the same thing applies in other markets as well. For instance few people read a web page entirely. Instead they scan it looking with a critical eye.
Your resume is your advertisement for YOU. The first few lines can make or break you. If it is well written you have a chance of getting the reader to respond.
An effective resume is really powerful but subtle advertising copy. You are selling a product – you. Difficult, yes because you have a large personal investment. More difficult though - most of us do not think in a “marketing mindset.” The thought of “selling” something (even ourselves) sends chills up our spine. But if you want to improve your chances in the job market it is necessary to hone these skills.
There are two things you must not do:
- Hard sell your product - YOU!
- Make any claims that are false – EVER!
Get over any modesty about yourself or your skills. You must be willing to “toot your own horn.” Good advertisement will attract more buyers than the “best product” the majority of times.
What You Must Do:
Focus on the employers needs and not your own. Most probably the person reading your resume is the person responsible for selecting “the best candidate” for the job. In other words, they care how the person they select will perform. They are not just some lowly clerk buried in some basement. They have a responsibility to someone higher up, so your resume must have a direct appeal.
If you are applying for a job in a field that you already know well then you probably already know what would make a person desirable. If you are not sure then do some research.
- If you know someone who works for this firm then you already have an advantage, ask them. If not then research the company, what they do.
- Read the job description carefully pulling out the “action” words. These are also called “keywords.” These describe the type of person or skills that they are looking for.
- You could call the HR person and ask what they are looking for. They may not tell you but it won’t hurt to ask.
- You can research the companies website. Many times they will have a HR link and you can find information that way.
This is important so don’t guess but do the research as well as possible. Every step along this path should convey one message – that you are an exceptional candidate for this job.
Once you know what the job is about and have your set of “action” or “keywords” then start tailoring your resume to show them how your job skills fit those key words. For instance if they want someone that knows how to make a spreadsheet, tell them about how you created reports and saved the company time and money. You get the idea.
When writing your resume focus in on what you did that “brought value” to your former employer. Did you create a time saving measure? Take on extra roles to free someone else up? Were you promoted to a higher lever because of a certain “skill” you possess? Most importantly – did you bring in money or do something that saved the company money? Make these part of your resume.
If you’re a do-it-yourself type and want to write your own resume then this e-book is a must-read. For less than $10 101 Before and After Résumé Examples is a comprehensive, downloadable manual of professionally written sample resumes that show you step-by-step (using 101 REAL before-and-after examples) exactly how to create your own job-winning resume – or transform one that isn’t working for you!
Also recommended is Secrets of a Successful Job Search. This is a one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred program that will guide you step-by-step through every phase of the job search start-to-finish. You will benefit from expert guidance and straight-to-the-point tips throughout your job search and your entire career with this proven system and simple-to-follow strategies that you can use over and over again to advance and promote your career faster than you ever thought possible.
For professional help writing your resume we highly recommend DistinctiveWeb.com. These licensed professionals can turn your job skills and history into a high quality, powerful resume that is guaranteed to get you the interview.
