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Searching for a Job in a Difficult Market
By Nicole Spicer
www.OARIP.com
January, 2010
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26.9 Million Americans are unemployed, settled for part-time work or have just given up looking for work, 17.3% of the work force.
It is a buyers market, you will probably have to step up your game and step out of your comfort zone.
It is a new world, what worked in job searching before may no longer work.
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We Tweet our movements instantaneously; we text in real time to anyone who wants to read and respond; we email dozens of important
and not so important messages daily; we FaceBook and YouTube all our personal news worthy and not worthy to print… so why are you still searching for a job the same way?
Step into the 21st century, burn that old-school résumé, move fast and network like your life depended on it, because it
does.3
Secrets To A Successful Job Search:
#1 Perfect Paper
You have 30 seconds to capture the recruiter’s interest in you and your
professional profile. You are competing with hundreds of other
qualified candidates… what makes you different?
Stand out amongst the crowd. Don’t write a one-size-fits-all résumé,
build a Professional Promotional Profile in order to submit the
perfect paper for each opportunity. 4
Build your Professional Promotional Profile (PPP), one complete document mapping your entire career in detail and promoting your skills and experience.
All other career documents will flow from the PPP, specific to each situation: targeted résumés, online applications, cover letters, profiles, bios, email introductions, internet postings, etc.
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We spend a minimum of 2080 hours a year on the job, there is a lot of great content there to tell your professional story… do
you know every detail? Write everything down; the more the better for the
PPP. Organize your information into action statements of
one or two sentences: Situation, Action and Results. Create specific and measurable statements, include
who, what, where, when, how and results whenever possible.
Craft your PPP to be interesting to the reader and graphically pleasing to the eye.
Make it easy to cut and paste elements into different documents as needed. 6
Your completed Professional Promotional Profile is your career bible. All other
career documents will flow from this one source. You will be able to easily construct
specific and relevant documents for whatever is needed.
Profiles, applications and cover letters specific to each job description.
Short executive bios and email introductions. Professional profiles for web; networking,
social and business sites. Highly detailed career profiles for applying to
online job boards and company databases. 7
The harsh reality that there is a serious lack of open positions like we have never seen.
The early bird will get the worm. Move fast and stay focused on the end result.
Now that you have a completed PPP you can move faster than most to craft and
submit that Perfect Paper. Stay focused on what the employer is looking for in the job description and give it to them,
nothing more and nothing less.
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Focus on companies that you want to work for and know they are a match to your skills and experience.
Surf the internet daily for new companies, positions and leads.
Set up agents to keep you informed on the companies and open positions.
Check job board sites, corporate websites, professional networking groups, social and business sites.
Contact all of your colleagues, friends and family – let them know you are looking for a position and you are open to all possible leads.
Consider all reasonable positions including part time, contract and temporary. 9
Studies have shown that up to 95% of new hires are made through networking,
direct contact or a referral. The power of networking is remarkable, it is effective
and free… how big is your network?
The objective of networking is to build relationships that will assist your
efforts in securing a position and/or advancing your career. If managed correctly, your network will grow
exponentially. 10
You will cultivate the hidden job market, find out about jobs before they become public.
You will get your profile directly to the decision makers within the company.
You build your own brand, become a known quantity and increase your comfort level each time you make a networking statement.
You gain insider information about the hiring practices of specific companies.
You get the opportunity to promote yourself and communicate that you are an intelligent, capable professional.
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1. Perfect Paper – Know who you are professionally, write it all down and use it to promote yourself as the best candidate for the job!
2. Fast and Focused – Know who you are and what you want, have a plan, go after it and take action every day!
3. Never Stop Networking – Know the market and the players, cultivate relationships and win that insider assistance! 12
Create a daily confidence builder routine. Meet weekly with a small group of colleagues or with a mentor with whom you can share ideas, information and support.
Know thyself and be true to it. Do a fearless inventory of who you are, personally and professionally. Be confident in who you are.
Create a PPP and remind yourself of all you have done. Write down all you have accomplished in those hundreds of thousands of career hours. It will serve you well with documentation and verbal communication. 13
