|
10 STEPS TO WIN IN JOB SEARCH
by Wendy S. Enelow, CPRW, JCTC, CCM
President – Career Masters Institute
- Job Search is sales. You have a commodity to sell – YOURSELF.
Be sure to package and present it as professionally as you would any
other product you were selling. Remember, you’ve got lots of
competition, so be sure to highlight your product’s outstanding
features, benefits and performance.
- Job Search has a defined process. There is a beginning
(assessment and planning), a middle (implementation, job search and
interviewing) and an end (negotiations and final offer). It is a natural
progression through which every job seeker must pass. Each stage is
essential to success.
- Know “who” you are. Any effective job search begins with a
clear analysis of “who” you are – your most distinguishing qualifications
and characteristics. What do you enjoy? What do you dislike? From what
activities have you achieved the most satisfaction? Develop a clear
picture of the “professional you” as a baseline to guide your career
planning and job search.
- Define your objectives and determine “how” you want to be perceived.
Your resume must communicate an immediate message of who you are. This may
be different than Item #3 above. This “who you are” relates to how you
want to be perceived, and links directly to your current objectives. For
example, if you’re a customer service representative seeking a sales
position, you’ll highlight your skills in customer relationship management,
product presentation, negotiations and the like. However, if you’re that
same customer service representative interested in a management career,
you’ll highlight your skills in training, team building, personnel
supervision, budgeting and related management functions.
- Write a performance-based resume. Success sells.
It’s that simple. The most powerful and effective resumes are those
that highlight success, results and achievements. They don’t
over-inflate them; they are clearly and succinctly highlighted.
- Never underestimate the value of your cover letter. Here are
the stats: 33% of all recipients NEVER read cover letters; 33% of
all recipients glance at the cover letter after they’ve read the
resume; and the remaining 33% ALWAYS read the cover letter first.
Your letter must immediately communicate your value to an
organization for you never know which 33% will receive it.
- Key words are essential. Although you do not want your resume
to be a “laundry list” of key words, you do want to be sure that you
have integrated them within the text of both your resume and your
cover letter. Many companies and recruiters utilize information
technology tools to review incoming resumes. If your resume does not
contain the “right” language and key words, you’ll never get past the
gatekeeper.
- Job Search is multi-channel marketing. For any product to
sell, it must be merchandised through the appropriate marketing channels.
In job search, those channels include targeted direct mail and email
campaigns, Internet resume and job postings, job lead reports, networking,
advertisements and more. How you design your individualized marketing
strategy depends entirely on your career objectives (e.g., type of
position, type of company, size of company, geographic preference).
- Leverage the Internet to your advantage. There are two ways
you can use the Internet in your job search. Option 1 is to search
for job postings, an extremely viable strategy for many job seekers
(especially those in the technology industries). For other
professionals, and for most senior-level executives, searching the
Internet for jobs is not a good use of your time. The other option
is to post your resume on the Internet for review by companies and
recruiters. THIS is a great strategy for everyone!
- Interview to win. The interview is the final stage in the sales
process. You’re there to present the product, negotiate the deal and
close the sale. It’s that simple yet, as we all know, very competitive
and complex. It is critical to research as much about the company,
its products, services and operations as you can. This allows you to
focus your answers on their critical issues. Know that you’ve already
passed the first test (the phone screening or initial resume review)
and approach each interview with confidence and strength.
About the Author: Wendy S. Enelow
|
|
Why Shouldn't We Hire You?
Effective Personal Marketing