The Executive Brand » Job Search

13 ways to make your job search harder and longer

Gayle Howard — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:25:19 +0000

We all change jobs for a multitude of reasons; a career that is going nowhere, a toxic work environment, an unreasonable boss, new skills, or a desire to follow our dreams. No matter how much we want something new, one thing is for sure: the process of submitting applications, writing letters and attending interviews is tedious and time consuming, and most of us could probably think of a thousand things we’d rather be doing. Obviously, we would all prefer a job search that is quick, efficient and easy; you apply, you’re interviewed, you’re shortlisted and you receive a job offer.

A quick and easy job search usually incorporates the following factors:

You have current experience in the same industry for which you are applying.
You are currently at a similar level to the position being advertised.
Your skill set and those being advertised are a match.
You are approachable and an able communicator; the entire ‘package’.
You are widely known and have a good reputation in the industry.
There are no obstacles that will prevent you starting quickly.
You are not seeking a senior-level role (CFO, CIO, CEO, COO and higher).

On the other hand, your job search is likely to be significantly extended if any of the following apply to you:

You are seeking a job outside your current industry. First-hand industry experience is frequently more important than the job itself. Knowing how the industry works, identifying the key players and having access to the right people is highly desirable from an employer’s point of view. While someone from a different industry may bring in new ideas and a fresh perspective, employers are usually looking for the tried and true.
You are looking to make a significant move in leadership. It is easier to secure a promotion in your existing company where they know you, than asking for a new employer to take a chance on your potential. You have ambition; those competing against you may have more than a decade of leadership experience. It is a hard sell, but can helped by industry knowledge, a good reputation, and skills considered ‘hot’ in the marketplace.
You have a skill set in an industry in decline, or in a technology that is dated. Dated technologies can make you a ‘guru’ where legacy systems remain in large companies; however if you don’t update or transition your skills, those systems will disappear along with the need for your services. Don’t bank on the fact that your long expertise in a rapidly declining technology or industry makes you more desirable. Positions come and go, industries come and go. Meantime, you can improve you chances if you have a solid network of people who sing your praises. These people may have worked with you in the past and will recall your successes. They are your greatest supporters, so nurture your relationships with them.
You only have some of the required skills and need more training. Applying for a job where you have fifty to seventy per cent of the listed skills makes you an outside chance at best. There will be people competing against you who have 100% of those skills and long-term experience using them and this will make them the ‘must have’ candidate. If you are keen to break into a new industry, then identify gaps in your skills and pursue training to acquire them.
You are applying for a role that has less responsibility than your current position. Many job seekers think applying for jobs that they were doing ten or more years ago, will be a no brainer for the employer. After all, why wouldn’t a company want someone with this added-value? Well, there is more to hiring an individual than just his skill set. A new hire must fit in with the existing team, the culture, and fit the employer’s succession plans. If a former CIO joined a team of 20-something customer service officers, it would seem like “Dad” had joined the department. Without knowing it you may start to repress their enthusiasm, start to manage them or give them the benefit of your experience; all great value adds from your perspective, but not the employer who is looking for a trainable young person on the rise. You’ve heard the ‘over qualified’ speech from a recruiter? That’s why. You are diminishing your value. Either apply for roles for which you are properly qualified and are at your level, or if you are looking at scaling back, consider consulting where you can make your own hours and choose when to work.
You are relying on experience from several years ago to position you for the advertised role. Whatever the reason for the gap between what you used to do and what you want to return to, you’re going to find it a difficult sell in the market. The perception will be that your skills are outdated and you will be competing with people who have current experience in that role and industry. It is not impossible to return to what you want, but it will take longer. You will need to rely on a professional with a vision to present your skills properly initially and then later, an employer who shares that vision to hire you. Using non-traditional routes for job search, hiring a professional resume writer to sell your skills, and nurturing your network are your best bets.
You have been out of the workforce for some time either bringing up family, caring for parents, through ill health or incarceration. Again, using your network to pave the way for you is more likely to succeed than applying for jobs through the traditional job application route. The longer you have been out of work, the more your skills will be considered outdated. Training would help.
You are currently unemployed and have been unemployed for more than six months. This doesn’t apply for executives where gigs tend to be few and far between and the average job search may be six months or more; after all, there are only so many $200,000+ jobs around). However if you are seeking roles that match your experience, skill set, industry and age, and you’re still unemployed, then red flags will fly. People want people who are wanted. It’s that simple.
You need your employer to sponsor you for a working Visa. You may be the most wonderful, highly skilled professional in the world, but an employer will take one look at the government paperwork required to facilitate a new employee and get cold feet quickly. Large companies are often unafraid of jumping through these bureaucratic hoops however, but you had better have a unique skill set that is unavailable despite a nation-wide search. Executives with top-level experience, strong reputations and a proven track record are the exception with many companies willing to go to great lengths to secure such a professional. Regardless, the job search is always going to be longer than the norm.
You are seeking an international placement from your home base. Looking for a job in one country while you live in another, is difficult. Often you have no idea if your application has been received by the correct parties and time zone issues can limit communications. Employers are fearful as to how long it may take you to settle and you can’t arrive for an interview the next day if needed. Your chances are improved when the role is at senior level, you have a global reputation, and a network of cheerleaders to validate your expertise.
You are applying for a role where you are not a ‘fit’ with the culture. Do you visit the company, or view the website and see an emphasis on youth? Is the reception desk fronted by a young woman who could moonlight as a catwalk model? If you don’t fit that culture, then apply elsewhere. Are you a woman in a man’s world or vice versa? You may find your job search extended if you are outside the company’s vision. Using your network will help you break through and be seen. Your reputation will help.
You are looking for a part-time / job sharing position. Just about every mother with a small child yearns for a part-time or job sharing position and it is not unusual for such a role to receive hundreds of applications where you can simply get lost in a crush of competitors. Your best bet is to seek out your prior employer and if you were valued there, pitch them the value of retaining your services part-time.
You are hanging out for the right salary. Many people get a salary number in mind and will knock back great jobs and good offers based on what they believe is their value. But markets change and a reality check is needed. Your salary package prior to the global financial crisis may not be possible in the market today. You are only worth what the market is willing to pay. As time goes by, particularly if you are unemployed, holding out for a salary match to a bygone era is counterproductive, may smack of greed, and could speak volumes about your ability to understand current trends. Remember there is more to a job than the salary alone. If you are unhappy where you are, try putting a dollar value on emotional turmoil, your health, and how your situation affects your family.

None of these “difficult” scenarios are deal breakers leading to certain unemployment or failure. However each scenario, can lead to a prolonged job search if the proper research and preparation is not followed. Learning about companies and their cultures, and preparing and nurturing your network for the job search can speed up the process considerably.

It’s all about taking risk and committing to something you really want.

And doesn’t that make your eventual success so much more worthwhile?

Job Search: You can’t be helped, if you don’t listen

Gayle Howard — Thu, 12 May 2011 05:29:27 +0000

Looking for a job can be a time when your faith in people is restored. The friend who pays for your resume because you can’t and asks nothing in return; the neighbour who brings you a newspaper clipping of a job she’s seen that sounds “just like you”. Or the new Twitter follower who is moved to refer you to a professional who may help. You can be down in the dumps only to find that a wonderful opportunity springs from nowhere when you least expect it.

Yes, all sorts of people are willing to help you, or offer advice. The only thing you need to be able to do is stop talking and start listening.

Today I received a telephone call from a job seeker. I’ll call him Pete.

Pete had arrived in Australia at the end of 2008. He had held a job for a short time with the same international company that he’d been working with overseas, but the global financial crisis put an end to his assignment, and sadly the company couldn’t find another role for him. After a frustrating period of unemployment, he found a job. It wasn’t to his liking nor was it in his area of expertise, but it was a job. Now, that role too, was ending and Pete was back on the market again.

As Pete went through his background, it was clear he was upset. He talked of how recruiters only wanted someone with “local” experience, how he had toyed with the idea of changing careers but he didn’t know where to start, and how he had never been unemployed in his entire career before coming to Australia. Australia, he said, was a nightmare.

Despite having a full day of writing to do and deadlines beckoning, I felt for Pete. Not because I thought we could do business; he’d already told me that funds were non-existent. I wanted to help him organise his thoughts which were going in a hundred different directions, steeped in negativity, and obviously counterproductive to anything remotely like a successful job search.

For the majority of the 30 minutes we spent on the telephone, Pete wasn’t listening. I asked him about his job search methods, asked him about his areas of expertise and provided five pieces of job search advice that most people pay to receive. As I asked questions and explained the best ways for job search to work for him, Pete was off in his own world. He talked all over the top of me, interrupted me, and complained bitterly about how no-one would help him, when he was talking to a person who was helping him.

He was just talking too much to hear.

When I offered a suggestion, he said it wouldn’t work. When asked if he’d tried it, he told me he hadn’t.

When I recommended he call his original employer that he had tenure with in another country and here in Australia, he said they wouldn’t be worth calling. He hadn’t investigated that option, indeed had no idea what their hiring practices were right now, but felt sure they wouldn’t be hiring.

After 21 years in the careers industry, I know a lot about looking for a job. So much so that people pay for my knowledge and I was offering it free in that moment. Pete though was too busy allowing his emotions to control him. He didn’t want advice, he didn’t want help, he didn’t want to listen; he just wanted to vent, challenge and argue.

In an hour from now, Pete will probably wonder what that website was again, and wrack his brains to remember any of my tips. Or, maybe he didn’t hear anything at all and continues to tell anyone who’ll listen, that nobody will help him find a job.

Help is everywhere; you just need to be open enough to listen and accept it.

An Over-50s Career Changer? Surprisingly, it’s Possible!

Gayle Howard — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 09:30:38 +0000

The chance of changing careers when you’re an over 50 jobseeker is as likely as George Clooney being without a date on a Saturday night.

At least, that’s what many people think.

But not “Sharyne” who has done just that.

Sharyne is a determined, career-minded woman who at 53, relinquished a lucrative career as a General Manager in favour of a different life. As a senior manager her career was busy, involved, exciting and challenging… and now was the right time to get off the roundabout and seek a less stressful existence.

For those who have never tried, downsizing from a leadership role is every bit as challenging as trying to reach for a management job when you’ve never had one. There are always objections and in the situation of downsizing, you are always looked upon with suspicion. People can’t believe you are giving up a well-paying job for a lesser one and prefer to think that you’re in some way burned out, unsuccessful or have done something that prevents you from a “better role”. Competitors will be the right demographic and tick all the boxes, and it is obvious where employers’ investments will go as the “sell” for the recruiting firm is easier.

More than 30 applications through the SEEK job board in Australia in a month, had yielded little in the way of results. Sharyne was told she was too expensive, or too experienced. For one job, she progressed to three interviews, but the final, with the HR Manager of the company, put an end to that dream. According to Sharyne the interviewer seemed personally intimidated by her experience.

Sharyne decided it was time to try something new.

Instead of endlessly applying for jobs and being one of hundreds to respond, Sharyne decided to be proactive and use her network of contacts. This way, she could approach people who knew her and had confidence in her abilities. If one of them had a job, or knew of a job coming up, then she would be in the enviable position of being the sole candidate, and not one of many who may fit the demographic for the role.

Now on her new mission, Sharyne reached out to her network, one of whom was a lawyer she had worked with at her prior company. He knew Sharyne; knew the way she worked and could see how she could be an asset to his business. Within weeks, Sharyne was working as his legal assistant capitalising on commercial legal experience she had acquired years before.

From General Manager to Legal Assistant at age 53. All it took was a willingness to think outside the traditional job search methods and consider the power of networking.

Sharyne is now in a job she loves, is challenged sufficiently without being run into the ground, and salary-wise there is room to move.

Her optimism and confidence, as well as her willingness to try networking to help her change career paths, have not let her down.

As she says,

“I never despaired about securing a new position. I was confident that I had the skills and experience needed to be effective in an assistant role. I also understood that age alone is not a barrier and that my ongoing professional development would ensure I had the contemporary knowledge to remain relevant in today’s business environment”.

The fact is, mature employees are highly valued. Their work ethic is sound, and many who are ‘empty nesters’ don’t have the problems surrounding parental leave and reliability.

If you think you can’t be a successful over 50′s jobseeker, think again. If you think being over 50 and a career changer is impossible, just ask Sharyne.

She’d beg to differ.

Another Year, A New Job Search Begins

Gayle Howard — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:00:23 +0000

The New Year’s fireworks have heralded a new beginning. For many, it’s the continuation of a long and frustrating job search that carries over from the previous year. For some, decisions have been made to take action and throw off the constraints of a job that now holds little appeal or that failed to live up to expectations.

Regardless of your personal situation, it is important to acknowledge that things have changed. If you’ve been on the job hunt for some time, then re-evaluate your methods. If it didn’t work for you last year, then a change in the calendar is hardly going to deliver something different. Or, in the words of Albert Einstein: “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

What you should know and do:

Applying for the largest, most prominent job advertisements means you are throwing your hat into the largest pool of applicants possible. Recruiters have hundreds of qualified candidates at their fingertips with these jobs, so if you don’t tick every box, you’re likely to be out of the running. Yes, you may score the role. You could also be hit by lightning or win Lotto. No need to stop the practice entirely, just understand the limitations of this strategy and have other alternatives ready.

Job Search Consultants will go to the internet to search your name. What will they find? Do your negative opinions and comments on blogs, Facebook and Twitter about everything from poor tradesmen to inedible restaurant food, your last employer and your cynicism about companies and people abound? These all combine to build a rather unflattering portrait of the type of employee you may be. Perhaps you can’t find anything. In today’s world the lack of a personal or professional online footprint may be of concern to recruiters—particularly when searching for executives where a good reputation and a solid centre of influence is highly regarded. Work on getting your online presence cleaned up and consistent. You can thank me later for this insight.

The hidden job market is alive and kicking and remains the best and strongest way to get a job. How do you access it? Through people. That’s right. People. Why be one of a hundred equally qualified people vying for one prominent advertised job when you can be the only candidate? Who do you know? Where would you like to work? Where are your former work buddies working? Have you had a coffee with them lately for a catch up? Do you know what projects they are working on? What problems they are experiencing? Getting inside knowledge through casual conversation is one of the most successful ways to spin yourself into the fold. They need someone with your talents and experience; they just don’t know it yet. It’s up to you to make that connection. Maybe they just need a contractor or a consultant to get them through; that’s fine. Once you’ve proved your worth, they’ll be reluctant to let you go.

Take a long hard look at yourself. In fact, write it all down on a piece of paper. How do you dress? Are you a relic of the ’80s? Do you still act like a wayward teenager when you’re 30? Have you turned into a grumpy, cynical, complaining person that you’d never thought you’d become? Are you obsessed about your age so much so that your constant references to it force people to re-evaluate you and hire someone younger? Are you carrying around emotional baggage? Still angry and bitter about how you were treated? It shows. Do something about it. Be ruthless with what are your best and worst attributes. At worst, you’ll need to commit to an attitude readjustment and a new suit. At best, you’re perfect. Congrats.

Come to terms with the fact that that you are not an expert in everything. You may be the best at what you do, but that doesn’t mean you are an expert at tax returns, financial planning, dentistry, or writing your own resume. Admit that you don’t know everything and delegate the things that matter to professionals who can do it better than you. Less time unemployed means more money and a return to normalcy for you and your family.

There are hundreds of services for people wanting work. From coaching to resume development, through to interview preparation services, and more. But if there was one definable “something” that characterises job search now and in the foreseeable future, it’s “Communication“.

Communicating your value to others at interview
Communicating with your business and personal networks to expose hidden job opportunities
Communicating your value online at places such as Linkedin and Twitter and most of all…

Communicating the truth to yourself so that you can get the most out of who you are, your life, your career and enrich the lives of the people around you.

I’m thrilled to be a member of the #CareerCollective. A group of professionals who share their combined expertise with the job search community in the form of articles on a specific topic once a month. Job Search Trends in 2011 is this month’s topic. Please visit the links below for other articles by these talented professionals. Oh! and please follow the hashtag #careercollective on Twitter

Social Media Recruiting to Grow Further in 2011, @debrawheatman
Another Year, Another Job Search Begins, @GayleHoward
In 2011, Increase Your Prospects With Better Differentiation, @WalterAkana
4 Lessons Learned From Job Search in 2010, @Careersherpa
Your Career Action Plan for the New Year, @KatCareerGal
Trends Job Seekers Should Look For in 2011, @erinkennedycprw
Things Every Job Seeker Should be Thinking About in 2011, @expatcoachmegan
Let your presence be known or send out a red flag, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes
How to find a job in 2011: Pay attention to emotional intelligence, @Keppie_Careers
2011 Employment Trends Supercharged with Twitter, @KCCareerCoach
3 Traits for Facing Weather, Employment and Chronic Illness, @WorkWithIllness
Everything old is new again @DawnBugni
Career Trend 2011: Accountability + Possibility = Sustainability, @ValueIntoWords
Career Tools to Check Out in 2011, @barbarasafani
What Was in 2010, What To Expect in 2011, @chandlee
The Future of Job Search: 3 Predictions and 2 Wishes, @JobHuntOrg

How are those New Year’s Resolutions Panning Out?

Gayle Howard — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:59:53 +0000

Don’t tell me, because I’m about to guess. Your New Year’s Resolution to lose a few pounds? It’s been broken already hasn’t it? Sure it has! You’re only human after all! And that other resolution; the one where you said that this is the year you’re not going to destroy your health by running yourself into the ground with work? Remember that? It only lasted until the second day back from vacation didn’t it? And here you are again on last year’s treadmill.

Am I psychic? No. It just sounds like me that’s all!

So okay those goals perhaps weren’t realistic, or perhaps you didn’t want them as much as you thought you did when you were kicking back with friends and relaxing on your vacation. But here we are and it’s nearly the end of January. If you had a resolution to get a job, or change your existing job, or even to take your career to the next level, just what have you done about it? You created the desire at New Year, but did you ask yourself the question “How?”

First and probably the most important thing you need to get right in your head is “What do I really want to do?”
Seem obvious? Perhaps not. Some of the worst decisions we ever make about our careers are the ones where we close our eyes, jump and hope for the best.

Don’t like my boss? I’ll just tell him off and just find something else!
I hate my job! I can’t stand it anymore so I’m going to leave. I’ll take anything; anything will do!
I’m just going to write a “general” resume so I can play the field and apply for a lot of different jobs. I have a lot to offer!

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard those comments throughout my 20-year career! And you know what? Without a plan, without a vision, without giving it some strong thought, these pronouncements are as useless as those New Year’s Resolutions you made that didn’t make it past the first week.

Some of the worst career decisions are made through a series of knee-jerk reactions. Hate the job, just leave! But where? What to? How do you know that the next job is not going to be exactly the same? Are you going to leave that one too?

What about giving it a bit of thought? Ask yourself… “What is it I dislike about this job? What specifically? Is it the tasks, the industry, the type of people I deal with? Is it the repetitive nature of the tasks? Have I been here before? Did I start this job because I didn’t like the last one? Am I forming a pattern here? Am I going to find myself right back in the same position again?”

These are questions you need to explore and examine. If you’ve been in four jobs as an Executive Secretary and have hated them all, despised the work and jumped from one to the next, then perhaps, just perhaps you need a rethink. What do you think you’d like to do and what steps do you have to take to reach that goal? Before you start jumping into the unemployment queue and end up at an equally depressing workplace as the one you have now, take a step back and examine what keeps going wrong and what you really want and like to do. You may find it a revelation if you’re honest with yourself.

Don’t have a plan in mind but you’re going to write your resume anyway because you need a job? If so, you need to rethink that strategy pronto! A resume is a marketing document. It markets you! Your skills appeal to only a small and specific segment of the employment market. If you’re not a qualified doctor for instance, you’re not capable of fulfilling that role; same with a lawyer, a cook, a tax accountant, an astronaut, an engineer or a horticulturalist. So you don’t just want a “general” resume to “get anything” because a great deal of the roles out there you don’t even come close to qualifying for. If you’re like most people, you don’t have a vast amount of skills that could be applied to a diverse range of roles. Most people tend to know what they have going for them and there are only a certain amount of jobs that they are qualified for enough that someone would want to pay money for them to perform.

So clearly this “general” resume is a fantasy. What you need is to channel your existing skills into a role that you have a good chance of being successful in and one that you like. If you’ve done your homework and you have come to terms with what it is you like and what you are good at doing, then you’re able to take the next step in your plan, and write what you know; target the audience you want to purchase your services.

If you’re getting good at this introspection then cast your mind forward to the end of this year. Where would you like to be? What would you like to be doing? If it is another job, what do you have to do to get there? If you don’t know, how will you find out? Could a careers counsellor help? Or could you search for training and professionals in the field who would be able to direct you? Sound like a plan?

The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that while the resolution for change is there, the underlying question of “How” is never asked or explored. And without the “how” and the processes for developing a plan to make it happen, those resolutions are forgotten in the time it’s taken you to make them.

Make 2010 the year you plan!

“A Careers Collective Topic” I’m part of an incredible group of career professionals. We call ourselves the Career Collective and we post once a month on a specific career-related topic. See all my colleagues articles at the end of this article. You can also follow us on #careercollective at Twitter. Let’s read what the other Career Collective members have offered on this theme!

Walter Akana @walterakana Starting anew – Tips for truly managing your career

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter @ValueIntoWords Is your job search strategy a snore?

Dawn Bugni @DawnBugni Ya, but

Chandlee Bryan @Chandlee Starfish, JobAngels, and Making a Difference

Martin Buckland @MartinBuckland, @EliteResumes Career Trends and Transition 2010

Katharine Hansen PhD @kat_hansen New Year: Time to Assess Yourself and Your Career

G L Hoffman @GLHoffman A Flash of the Blindingly Obvious

Heather Huhman @heatherhuhman Job seekers: 5 tips for making the most of 2010

Erin Kennedy @ErinKennedyCPRW Advice to Job Seekers in 2010–learn Yoga?

Rosalind Joffe @WorkWithIllness Dogs Can Do It, Can You?

Susan Joyce @JobHuntOrg Lifelong Learning for Career Security

Meg Montford @KCCareerCoach The Art of Being Gracious: Much Needed in Today’s Job Search

Hannah Morgan @careersherpa The Year of the Tiger

Heather Mundell @heathermundell Kaizen and the Art of Your Job Search

Barbara Safani @barbara safani Looking Into the 2010 Careers Crystal Ball

Miriam Salpeter @keppie_careers Help for job seekers in a rut

Andy Robinson @AndyInNaples What are you getting better at? Make This the Year You Become the Best You Can Be.

Rosa Vargas @resumeservice The Resume and Your Social Media Job Search Campaign

Debra Wheatman @DebraWheatman Making the most of a new year