How To Get Hired By Being Obvious
|
If you want a drink of water, do you hire a focus group or pick up the Yellow Pages? No. You go to the kitchen, fill a glass and drink. You take the shortest route to fill your need.
The path is obvious, right?
Your job search is the same way. The formula for success can be obvious, if you take the time to look at how others have found employment before you.
Here are three ways to find work faster by "being obvious."
Obvious Tip #1: Follow Up With Employers
You can't get hired if employers don't know you exist.
So, if you're sending out resumes with no response, or going to interviews without getting job offers, you need to follow up better with employers. Because you may have fallen off their radar.
Know this: getting hired may be your #1 priority, but it may rank around #459 in the mind of a busy employer. That means you can't depend on them to call you back. It's up to you to take action.
You have to follow up.
But as many as 90% of job seekers FAIL to do so, according to my observations and those of hiring experts like Elizabeth Laukka, National Recruiter for Minneapolis-based Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
"It so rare to receive a thank-you note or follow-up phone call that these really stand out for me. I get them from around 10-20% of the people I interview," says Laukka.
And what if you don't have an address to send a thank-you letter to?
"I would absolutely give my mailing address to candidates who wanted to drop something in the mail -- all they have to do is ask," says Laukka.
Obvious Tip #2: Don't Alienate People Who Can Help You
In this age of Palm Pilots, Day Planners and other organizational gizmos, there's no excuse for not staying on top of the details in your job search.
Example: I agreed last month to write a resume free of charge for one local man. He replied once to the three emails I sent him. And he never did return my phone call.
I figure he's either been hired (and no longer needs a resume) or can't keep track of his phone and email messages. In either case, he won't be getting my help.
Here's the reality: the people most able to help you find a job are busy. And they're mentally keeping score of how quickly and professionally you respond to their emails and phone calls.
So it behooves you to treat everyone you meet in your job search with courtesy. Respect their time. Return their phone calls. And they will champion you with hiring managers.
Obvious Tip #3: Ask For The Job
OK. I saved the best for last. That's because if I had put this tip first, I would have scared half of you away by now.
Let me explain.
Any successful job search all boils down to two simple facts. You must:
1. meet the right hiring authority, and
2. convince that person to hire you.
It follows that, the more hiring authorities you can meet, the faster you'll find work.
So, why don't more people just introduce themselves to prospective employers and ask for a job? Is this method too obvious? Frightening?
I don't know.
But I do know one thing. If you do this right, you will get hired. Fast.
Here's an example shared by Claire Nelligan, from the WorkForce Center in Minneapolis.
"I knew a job seeker who wanted work as a baker. We wrote his resume and was going to mail it. But I asked him to put on his business clothes and walk the resume in to his top three prospective employers," says Nelligan.
Nelligan told him: "Ask for the manager. Introduce yourself. Tell them you want to work there. Tell them that you appreciate they are busy, and quickly share what value you would bring to their organization. Give them the resume and tell them you will call to set up a convenient time to answer any questions they may have about how your skills could meet their needs."
What happened next?
"He was interviewed on the spot and left with a job offer," says Nelligan.
Now, can you expect to walk into Trump Tower, ask to meet The Donald and get a job offer as his next apprentice? Probably not. But you can tweak this method to match your personality and ask to meet almost any hiring authority you choose, so long as you're persistent and professional.
Now, go out and make your own luck!
Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others.
As a reader of this publication, you're eligible for a special offer. Get your Free Job Search Kit ($25.00 value) at the Guaranteed Resumes Web site - http://www.gresumes.com
|
|
|
How To Success On The Job From Job Hunting To Keep Your Job And Get Most Of Out Of It
INTRODUCTION
This article will prepare you for the difficult task of job hunting. Not only will it show you how to get a job but it will show you how to keep your job and get the most out of it. You will be able to use the most modern psychological measures in dealing with other people so that you are always ahead. Follow the instruction in this book and see yourself go to the top.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR JOB HUNTING
Know What You Want
You should be perfectly clear of what you want. Don't give yourself vague objectives such as "any job that pays." Make your objectives and goals very definite and specific. Your first step to getting a successful job is knowing precisely what you want. ...(related: Employment)
Talented People
I was asked last week for an article about employment, "What is your favorite 'employment phrase'?"Wow, talk about tough questions! What sprang to mind were all the phrases that people should avoid like the plague, so I had to do some fast thinking to come up with one that I loved. After mentally narrowing down my options, I settled on one: 'talented people'.When used correctly, this has an 80% chance of success. Here's how to use it: in the interview, when asked why you want to work at XYZ corporation, you reply, "I would love to work at XYZ because I really want to work with a group of talented people, and your reputation in the field is incredible." This im...(related: Employment)
Waiting For Lightening To Strike
Author and management guru, Peter Drucker says, "People adjust to the level of demands made on them." I would add, we also adjust to the level we demand of ourselves. At some point we grow up and pass for adults by how we look. To match that look with action requires both discipline and determination.I'll give you an example from my life. My son was born when I was twenty-six. I made the decision to stay home with him the first two years. But, I knew I needed brain stimulation and interaction with an adult world, so I decided to pursue my interest in writing. I wrote my first article, sent it to a magazine and waited. Every day I anxiously checked the mail to discover if today would launch my writing career. When the manuscript was finally returned with a regrets note, my a...(related: Employment)
Interpersonal Skill Building -- Yank The Suckers & Weeds
According to the National Gardening Association, suckers are rapidly growing shoots rising from an underground root or stem, often to the detriment of the tree. They can be very irritating and annoying for they bear no flowers or fruit. Rather than cut them off, one way to get rid of them is...(related: Employment)
Negotiating Skills: How To Obtain The Salary You Want
Salary negotiating is an important topic that must be addressed prior to your initial interview with a prospective employer. Knowing your bottom rate, and being able to live with it [or on it?] is an important thing for candidates to uncover before the first interview. Why then do so many of us make the tactical mistake and go to the interview unprepared?One of the first mistakes ? a real killer ? is to tip your hand too early in the interview process on what you will accept for a salary. Many interviewers will attempt to screen you ou...(related: Employment)
Free Resume Template: The Only One Youll Ever Need
WARNING: This article is likely to make you mad.In fact, I'm pretty sure it will.I imagine you were hoping for a free resume template in this article that you could download and fill in. Well, you won't find...(related: Employment)
How To Crash - Proof Your Job Search
Think you have the speed, endurance, and know-how to fix what's broken? Bet not. The smartest people in the world are those who can leave their ego at the door, and know when its wise to seek help.Since crashes are usually preventable, when is it a good time to seek professional assistance?before or after the disaster? Talk to local firehouse or police headquarters and they'll chant the mantra, "Prevention rules." Smarter to avert the fire or crime, rather than fight it later. It costs much more after-the-fact. Same goes for your job search.? Gain better, faster exposure to opportunity and decision makers by setting a career foundation that's heavy on target marketing.? Pr...(related: Employment)
Resumes And First Impressions
Hunting for a position in a new career field? Trying to take your new education or skills and transform them into a job with a future?I've spent the last few weeks working in a placement service trying to help people find that first "career" job; trying to help them make the transition from student to employee. I see the same mistakes over and over again. Here are a couple of things to be aware of as you search for that fresh start.1. The Skim Rule - Understand that most recruiters will only take less than 30 seconds to skim a resume for further review. ...(related: Employment)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved | Free Articles and Information | Employment