Archive for January, 2010

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Investment Associate, New York, NY
Product Manager, Los Angeles, CA
Analyst Intern – Private Equity, Chicago, IL
Strategic Consulting Analyst, Cambridge, UK
Portfolio Analyst, San Francisco, CA

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The rapidly changing economic conditions are having a profound impact on the job market. If you are one of the thousands of professionals who are unemployed or who are facing unemployment in the near future, there are some Realities you need to face. Job search is never easy and it is getting tougher every day. Unemployment is one of the most stressful events in life but it can be overcome with the right attitude, the right tools, and the right plan.

Buy Side vs. Sell Side

This sounds strange but the job market is just that – a market. You have buyers and sellers. Buyers are employers who are seeking to “purchase” the talents of human capital assets to add to their operation. Sellers are job seekers who are seeking to “sell” their experience and skills to employers who need it. Most people don’t like to think of it that way because it seems impersonal but that’s a Reality.

In a tight economic market, there are more sellers (job seekers) than buyers (employers seeking to hire). Just like a person who is hesitant to invest or spend money during market instability, employers are hesitant to hire during wobbly economic times. Many consumers will hold off on buying that new car or that new large screen plasma TV they’ve been thinking about. Likewise, employers hold off on hiring. They make do with the current employee base or even start thinking of cutting back.

The easiest and fastest ways for companies to cut costs is to cut the work force. Layoffs are a Reality of bad economic times. Stock prices fall and layoffs occur. Sometimes it is a gradual reduction in force where they work it through retirement buyouts, severance packages, and hiring freezes. With a dramatic change in company financial status, drastic and sudden reductions in force can occur. The first thing to get hit in cutbacks is always the workforce.

The Fear Monster

Those sudden layoffs are scary for everyone in the company, even those who make it past the axe without getting slashed. Tension abounds. Fear prowls the hallways. One of the best weapons against fear is information. Lack of information breeds wild assumptions and leads to more uncertainty. Everyone should try to stay as informed as possible about actual events and conditions.

Another weapon against fear is preparation. The worst position you can be in during bad economic times is standing flat-footed with a deer-in-the-headlights posture. Be ready. In relation to job search, that means you need to have a great, up-to-date resume and understand how modern job search works. You need to have a personal network that is kept warm at all times and not simply dragged out of the closet when you need it. You need to be open to opportunities and new directions and be able to evaluate them closely. Be realistic about your current situation. If you are in an industry that is going to get hit hard by a recession, start looking at alternative career paths that are more stable. Be more flexible in the type of work you are willing to consider.

When you are prepared with all the tools you need for a job search, a layoff is not so scary. Even if a layoff does not affect you, having your resume ready makes you prepared for unexpected opportunities that come your way.

Selling in a Glut Market

So you have over twenty years experience and a great track record of success? That’s good but many, many other people have the same background. They are your competition and they are angling for the same job openings you are targeting. Like Coke and Pepsi, there is often very little difference between candidates so how do employers decide whom to interview and whom to exclude from consideration? They decide based on the resume. It’s a job search Reality – employers include candidates based on their resumes. If your resume is not aggressively selling your skills to the buyer (the employer), you will be excluded from consideration and not be called for an interview.

Penny-wise but Pound-foolish

Many job seekers get caught flat-footed and are unprepared for a sudden loss of employment. Many make that worse by puttering along for weeks using an ineffective resume that doesn’t generate interviews. They waste time and opportunities while their funds dwindle until they are in desperate straits with very few options. They come to a realization that they must have a great resume in order to compete in the glut market but they can no longer afford to get help from a professional. The Reality is if they had just invested in a new resume before they were laid off or if they had taken immediate action and started the whole job search process with a great resume, they could have avoided being stuck in a no-win situation.

Job Search Technology

The hiring process and technology are irreversibly enmeshed together. Online job boards, resume databases, intelligent hiring technology, web-based interviewing, and online applications are NOT going to fade away. The paper resume mailed through the postal service or faxed is NOT coming back. Face this Reality now and deal with it. The use of technology in hiring and job search is here to stay and those who learn to adapt will thrive. Those who stubbornly refuse to learn how to use the tools and understand how hiring is done in today’s world, or who live in a state of denial about the use of technology in hiring will fall by the wayside.

Take Action

When facing a job search, you must take action. Learn about how to job search in today’s market. Get the best tools available (resume and cover letter). Be aggressive and proactive rather than reactive and passive. Work your network. Understand the system and how companies hire. Face the facts that it will take longer and be more challenging than the last time you changed jobs. Savvy job seekers know when it is smart to invest in professional help to reach their job search goals. A professional resume writer or coach can help guide you through the market and help you find success.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 75,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Tags: Advice, Careers, Doostang, Job Search

By Alesia Benedict, CPRW, JCTC GetInterviews.com

Private Equity Analyst, New York, NY
Sales & Marketing Intern, Los Angeles, CA
Investment Associate, Washington, DC
Director – Strategic Partnerships, Boston, MA
Portfolio Management Associate, Bay Area, CA

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Does it seem like it is taking longer to find a new job these days? By keeping a positive attitude and taking aggressive steps, you really can find your next position more quickly. Here are five tips to jump start your job search and help you land a new job faster!

1. Consider your job search a full-time job.

If you are unemployed, finding your next job IS your job. Work it like you were getting paid to job search because, in essence, you are! For every week you are unemployed, you LOSE several hundred or even thousands of dollars depending on your target salary. You can avoid that loss by keeping your job search as short as possible. Get up in the morning at your normal time, shower, dress, and get in your home office or at your kitchen table and get busy.

Talk to people as part of your “job search job”, just as you would in a normal work environment. Do not allow yourself to become isolated. Utilize online networking. Research local opportunities to get out and get in touch with real people either through free classes, volunteering, or civic organizations. Your “out of office” activities do not necessarily have to be job-related as long as they bring you into contact with people. Job search has always been a person-to-person activity; technology has just changed the methods a bit. Don’t spend eight hours in front of your computer and expect things to happen without actually talking to a real person!

2. Invest in yourself first.

Many people wait until they are completely out of funds to consider investing in their job searches. Of course, by then, it’s too late! When you lose your job, treat it like a natural disaster and think “what are my priorities?” Two of the first things you should do— invest in a great interview suit (if you don’t have one), and start spending wisely on your career-marketing activities.

Have your resume and cover letter prepared by a highly experienced and knowledgeable resume firm. Your resume and cover letter will be your “marketing brochure” and will be crucial to opening doors. They really should be top-notch so don’t skimp on them. A great resume writer can be a valuable asset to you in your job search. If you invest in yourself and your career first rather than last, your job search will be shortened simply by the aggressive approach you have taken!

3. Use technology to your advantage.

Technology is a tool that can compound your job search efforts exponentially. Use it wisely! The Internet is a bottomless goldmine of information ranging from networking on sites like LinkedIn to finding salary information or company details. Job boards have a search agent you can set to snag new job advertisements and send them directly to your email. Newspapers are online so you can research local markets from across the country or across the world! Keeping organized in your job search is a huge challenge that technology can help you conquer. Set up an Excel spreadsheet to track job ads you answer. Create a contacts database in Access, Outlook, ACT! or OpenOffice.

4. Cast a wide net.

Job search is a numbers game. The wider your net, the more leads you will snag. The more leads you have, the more opportunities you will have. Be sure to set your job search agent keywords to pull as many job leads as possible. Get in contact with dozens of recruiters. Don’t stop at networking with the ten people you know well. Make contact with EVERYONE you know and get to know new people, too. Directly target hundreds of companies, regardless of whether they are advertising open positions or not.

5. Follow up, follow up, follow up.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. A client reported the other day he finally got the job he was targeting because he wouldn’t go away. He followed up and kept in touch through email, follow-up letters, and phone calls. He maintained contact on a regular basis until they granted him an interview. He got the job! While completing all his new-hire paperwork, the HR manager said she had put him on the interview list simply due to his tenacity over other qualified candidates. In fact, there were other candidates who were more qualified “on paper” but he showed a positive attitude and a never-give-up character. His “squeakiness” paid off!

Job search is a process involving several factors – communication, marketing, organization, and information. Job seekers who work the process diligently receive better results and enjoy shorter job searches. Wisely investing in career marketing early improves results as well. There is nothing more expensive than unemployment! Working smart to generate leads and opportunities pays off! Use these five tips to work smart, generate leads, and seize opportunities to land a great job faster.

About the Author:

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the President of GetInterviews.com, the country’s leading resume writing firm. They provide professionals with customized, branded resumes and career marketing documents. Her and her firm’s credentials include being cited by JIST Publications as one of the “best resume writers in North America,” quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and published in a whopping 25+ career books. Established in 1994, the firm has aided more than 75,000 job seekers to date. All resume writers are certified writers. GetInterviews.com offers a free resume critique and their services come with a wonderful guarantee — interviews in 30 days or they’ll rewrite for free!

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Tags: Advice, Careers, Doostang, Job Search