Hunting for a new job has changed radically.
When your parents were your age, they may have found job postings in the classifieds section of the local paper. Perhaps Dad showed up at a hiring manager’s office to drop off his glossy resume. Your mom probably networked entirely in person, while wearing a very boxy business suit. But today’s job searching environment is different. The Internet has sparked new norms, and employers have different expectations for how they’ll interact with candidates. Your mom may have the best intentions when she gives you career advice, but here’s how job hunting has changed since her time.
Your presence is not required.
Your mom may have earned a job after going door to door to see which businesses were hiring and handing off her resume in person. That strategy is no longer commonly accepted and may get your resume quickly tossed in the trash.
Your next job won’t appear in the local paper.
Job hunters are combing through job boards on computers — and their mobile phones — to find the most recent openings. But better search capabilities mean more applicants. In the past, you may have been one of 15 candidates. Now, you’re likely one among hundreds.
Kicking off a cover letter with “Dear Sir or Madam” is a bad idea.
This stodgy greeting is enough to make a potential employer cringe. The outdated language may have worked in 1985, but today’s hiring managers prefer to see their name or the name of the department you’re pursuing in the greeting.
You don’t need to call to follow up on an application.
Put the phone down. A generation ago, calling to follow up with a hiring manager may have been an essential part of the process. That’s not true today. Phoning the hiring manager will likely tick him off, and may show that you don’t understand how hiring works these days.
Your patience will be tested.
Prepare for the interview process to move at a glacial pace. Many companies have added steps to their hiring process, with extra rounds of interviews and a small platoon of interviewers. Be patient. Your dad may have landed his first job with an on-the-spot offer, but finding a job today job takes time.
Being qualified isn’t enough to land you the job.
With employers receiving hundreds of resumes for each job posting, looking great on paper may not be enough to score you the job. Some of the decision-making criteria will simply be out of your hands.
Networking doesn’t just happen in person anymore.
Networking doesn’t only take place during informational interviews and professional happy hours. While those networking opportunities exist today, professional contacts are increasingly developed over social media, including LinkedIn and Twitter.
The hiring manager may call unlisted references.
Your mother probably didn’t tell you that a hiring manager can call anyone you’ve worked with, not just the references listed on your resume.
You shouldn’t expect to hear back — at all.
Your parents probably think it’s rude when a hiring manager doesn’t respond to an application, even with a gentle rejection note. And it is a little impolite. But don’t expect to hear back from every job you apply to.
You don’t need to put every job on your resume.
Employers don’t want to know about that summer five years ago when you served fast food at Wendy’s. They want the recent and the relevant.
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10 Things Your Mom Didn’t Teach You About Job Searching originally appeared on usnews.com
