Employment search black holes

Posted on 05. Oct, 2005 posted by Bill in Employment News

A friend of mine asked me to go to lunch to talk with her boyfriend Don (not his real name) who has had a difficult time finding a job. He had been laid off from his job nearly a year ago and had now become very frustrated and depressed after getting nothing from hundreds of sent resumes and a couple of phone interviews.

While sitting and talking with Don I determined he was intelligent, well educated, well groomed, articulate and personable. So what was wrong?

After a few minutes it became apparent what his main problem was. He was doing what millions of job seekers do when looking for a job. They become passive and send their resumes and cover letters to answer job advertisements, particularly to the large employment Internet sites, or blindly to human resource departments.

This approach works fairly well in some professions where there is a strong demand for employees with specific qualifications. But for the majority of positions there are dozens, hundreds and even thousands of candidates responding for only one advertised position.

Sending your resume to one of the big employment Web sites or to a human resource department can be like dropping it in a black hole – never to be heard from again.

The resume usually ends up, along with a multitude of others, with recruiters or human resource department personnel. These very specialized professionals have their purposes, such as screening job seekers from the managers that need a position filled, but finding you a job is not one of their goals.

Recruiters and human resource personnel are no better than the person occupying their position. Some perform their duties quite well and others are completely inept.

My wife who is in management in the health care industry, which actually has shortages in some specialties, needed more nurses in her department but was not getting applicants from the employment advertisements. An experienced registered nurse called her and wanted to know why she had not heard anything about her resume sent in a couple of months before.

My wife had never seen it. Checking in the human resource department files, she found it filed away by a human resource staff member.

Guess who got hired?

The lesson is clear. Don’t leave it up to others to find you a job. Don’t be passive.

Contact managers in organizations you are interested in working for. Still send the resumes through the regular channels but also send it to the department or line managers.

And there are other methods to utilize.

When I asked Don how he got his last job, he said a friend had recommended him. In other words, networking. However, this time he had not utilized his contacts, in part because he was embarrassed.

Be active. Get out and network. If you lose your job, don’t suddenly become anti-social. Ask friends to go to lunch. Go to chamber of commerce, business and social functions. If you don’t have a lot of money, go to free or inexpensive events.

Focus on the organizations you want to work for and where you have the best chance of being hired. They may or may not be the same type of employer. If you do not have the resources to keep looking for the job you really want, take one you can get and look for the more desirable position when you have an income. It is easier to look for employment when you are not stressed.

Remember that the only person that can find you a job is you; so stay active in the search process.

EmploymentDigest.net

Employment search black holes

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