Countless job hunters do what they think they are supposed to do to get a job, without success. Time after time, job applications are met with either utter silence or chilling rejection. Maybe you’ve been networking in person and on LinkedIn, also without success.
If these scenarios sound familiar, a few tweaks in your approach can help you gain the traction you seek. Here are some common job hunter attitudes and actions that need fixing:
1. ” I’ll do anything.” Whether out of desperation or a sincere desire to just get working, some job hunters apply to anything and everything in hopes that something sticks. They wind up saying something like: “I keep sending my resume to lots of kinds of jobs, and it gets me nothing.”
While you might view flexibility as a virtue, it may at the same time be self-defeating. Remember that employers hire people who answer their needs, and in this regard, they must fit the defined areas of expertise, education and experience detailed on any job description.
Don’t just apply to “anything” and call it a job hunt. It isn’t. Instead, be discriminating and apply to fewer, better-targeted positions.
Just as you want your resume to be given full consideration, show the same respect for employers by carefully evaluating which job positions actually speak to the value you can provide to a new employer, and limit your applications to those roles.
2. “I just found you on online. Can you get me consideration at your company?” Besides being brazenly self-serving and presumptuous, you are asking a stranger to place his or her reputation on the line by vouching for you. LinkedIn makes it easy to find people at almost any company.
You certainly should try to network with people in your target companies and beyond, but remember that networking is not about asking for favors. Rather, it is about building relationships. When you have established a relationship with someone, he or she will be much more motivated to want to help you.
Just because someone has accepted your invite to become a 1 st degree LinkedIn connection doesn’t mean that you are entitled to make presumptuous “asks.”
Ask new connections if they have time, at their convenience, to spend a few minutes talking with you by phone to get to know each other. Make sure to offer to be of help before you ask for help, and make sure that the person knows how and why you are credible before you ask them to stick their neck out for you.
3. “I really want to work for company X. I’m showing my interest by applying to every new position they post.” Sometimes the company is new to town, or maybe it has a stellar reputation as a place to work. More often than you might imagine, people apply to anything and everything in hopes of getting noticed and getting their foot in the door.
The problem is that when you do this, you get attention of the wrong kind. Virtually every company of size has an applicant tracking system. Once it establishes your profile, it will collect all of your applications and communications with the company in your online file, and staffing specialists will question your lack of focus.
Chances are that if the positions for which you have applied are different enough, you’ll get labeled as a pariah, so that even when that really strong-fit position opens up, the reaction will be, “Why is that candidate still trying to waste my time?” rather than, “Great, a position this person actually fits. Let’s speak with him.”
4. “I’ll get a recruiter to get me a job.” Maybe you think you’re too busy to do a job hunt, or that you’ll find a recruiter that some company will pay to find you a job. But keep in mind that recruiters work for the companies who pay their bills. When you happen to fit the profile of someone with scarce talent in demand by a recruiter’s client, great.
Of course, people get hired because they were recruited to new roles. But recruiters are responsible for a very small percentage of total hires in the economy. You are their inventory, which they sell to their clients.
You may have common interests and a strong relationship. But remember: In the end, they work for the companies who commission them to find talent, not job searchers who abdicate their hunt to them.
Find a few recruiters who specialize in placing people with your skill set and industry experience. Network with them, show them your value and why you are better than 80 percent of the other candidates they see, and you’ll have an ally in you hunt for a new job.
Happy hunting!
Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic “I’ll apply to anything” searches into focused hunts for “great fit” opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.
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