You Start Monday

Advice is easy.  Action is rugged.

For the past several years I have been giving out advice to people to help with their job search.  I have passionately spoke about what “you must do” and what to not do.  Many have come back to thank me once they found what they were seeking and thanking me for what I contributed.

Some did not.

For the first time in over 13 years, I am starting my own job search.  The last time I worked for someone was in 2002 and that position was offered to me through reference and not my own efforts.  Now I have found it necessary to seek an opportunity with an employer and build on my career.

I am Scared

As I look over the final touches on my resume, add my ResuBean, and get ready to start laying the first seeds of my job search, I can truly say that I am scared.  Business has taken much longer to grow than I expected and I must take full responsibility for that.  Because of that I feel that I am coming off of a failure.  Now as I start speaking with companies about their needs and how I can help them, I have in my mind that I did not do such a great job for me – my last employer.

I must take this and make it a positive.

Defining my Search

What will become important for me is to lay definition to what I am seeking and why.  I am one of those that hates the rhetoric that you get from candidates when you ask about their future plans.

To join on with a forward thinking organization that can utilize my talents.

Bullcrap.

Might as well give the world peace answer in a beauty pageant.

Right now I am too sketchy when I think about my future career plans.  Not that I do not have any but frankly I have not thought about working for someone else in many many years and I need to do some defining and redefining.

Fighting Hypocrisy

I will share here what my results and efforts are in the job search.  There is so much that I preach that will be necessary to do.  As I go through the process, it will be interesting to see if I follow what I preach or take short cuts.

Good reason for you to follow this story because I look forward to people calling BS when I do not do what I am supposed to.

So here is who I am:

I have owned a recruiting firm for nine years.  I have worked in a number of disciplines and industries.  Prior to this I was an Executive Recruiter with an agency in manufacturing.  Experience also in advertising and leadership positions in the restaurant industry.  Air Force veteran.

I will be looking for positions in recruiting and talent acquisition, though I will be open to anything to move up.  I will be looking for manager – senior manager to be close to commensurate with my level but will be open.  Really I want to learn.  I want to get on with a great group and learn.

I will be seeking out positions with large recruiting firms and corporations.  There are two things that will be working against me.  When speaking with corporations, sometimes they view an external recruiter as not understanding full process of what they do.  The other is that I did not take the time to finish my degree.  I am taking care of that now and will be complete next year or shortly thereafter.

So let’s see where this takes me.  If you are searching for a position, please comment along and tell us your adventures.  Also if you disagree with what I am doing, please let me know.

Next post will be about structuring and defining my search and my first moves.

What do you think should be my first move?

Standing out is not as hard as you think

Here is the way you are told you must find a job.  Go online to one of the big job boards and search for jobs that fit you.  Once you find these jobs then apply to all of these companies.  All, not some, all of these companies use an online system that simply sucks your resume in.  Then do some jobfairs, collect unemployment.

If all that fails, go door-to-door and beg for a job.

Then do the same thing again tomorrow.

If you follow this ridiculous process that has evolved from technology and lazy people, you will be hard-pressed to find a job.  You will be one of maybe a thousand applicants that go into a machine and disappear.

I went to a job fair this last week to introduce a new product the ResuBean.  In doing so I met a fantastic recruiter named Carlos.  He had energy and a comfortable feel that would just reel people in.  At the end of the fair, I joked with Carlos that he was so impressive that maybe I should give him my resume and apply for an opening.

“Oh I cannot take your resume Derek.”

Carlos explained, “We have a system and all candidates must apply online.  All of the people that I met today must go home and apply online.  We are unable to accept resumes any other way. ”

All of these people that Carlos made a personal connection with are now lost to a system.  Instead of trusting the ability of the recruiter to bring in the talent, now it is up to the machine.

Find a Job without a Job Post

To find a job, you must be ahead of the power curve.  What I mean by this is if you are relying on the internet job postings to show you openings then you are behind.  You must research and network with people to find companies that are ripe to hire people like you and go to them directly.  Go before the job is announced publicly.

After a job is announced, you must give into the process of the company and get your resume fed to the big machine that supposedly is used to make the company more effective.  You will need to apply through the HR.

I suggest the only people that should be applying through HR are the people that would work for HR.  The only way to do this is to go before the job is announced.

Finding Ripe Companies

Maybe a big company is hiring a bunch of sales types and that would possibly mean they will need support people like you.  Apply to this company.  Maybe a local company just announced they won an award of new business.  Apply to this company.  Maybe you have a friend that is very happy with their employer.  Apply to this company.

Do not apply by blankly sending your resume to the company.  Find the person that you would be working for or a similar person and contact them.  If they have some staffing pains and could use your assistance, they will call you.  Job opening or no job opening.

Use Technology

There are these things called QR Codes that were developed by a company called DensoWave.  DensoWave offers an open copyright on these codes and their use.  When you build a code and put it on your resume, it makes your resume look different – even more innovative.  It calls attention to you.  This is what we want…attention.

The ResuBean uses exactly this technology to attach your personal mobile web site.  You can do the same.  Simply think of ways to get off of the paper your resume is printed on and get them to call you.

Door-to-Door 21 Century Style

Meetups, mixers, functions, socials and clubs were all tailor-made to help you find a job.  Use them to your advantage.  Take a Resume Card or something simple to give away at the function so that people remember you.  Going from business to business is not effective.  They have built systems to keep you from doing that.  Meet the hiring managers and people you would possibly work for in a common area…like an industry meetup.

Make an individual connection.

Continue to Apply Online

With all this said, take a few minutes every week to apply to all the jobs online you are qualified for.  Simply feel the pain that you are too late on those companies.  Expect nothing from them.  Use the companies you apply to to help you formulate a good list of companies to target.

Whatever people tell you that you must do in a job search, including me, do not do it.  Not just that.  Be unconventional and do much more.