Get a Job in the Next 30 Days
With the national unemployment rate at 9.7% and the California rate at over 12% (as of September 9, 2009 -http://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm) it may be appropriate to discuss a job seeking strategy I have offered to dozens of others who have successfully found their next jobs. There are four main steps and if you do them all starting today you can land a job within the next month.
Steps
- Know Where You Want To Work. This may be the hardest part for most job seekers: where do you want to work. Start by defining the environment you thrive in. Do you like large offices or small offices. Do you like working in big companies or little ones. Do you like interacting with people or do you prefer machines. Can you sit at a desk all day or do you want to be out and about. Ask yourself questions about the environment that makes you happy and once you’ve answered those questions, go find the companies that offer those environments. You don’t have to stick to the industry you came from either – just find the companies whose environments you can thrive in.
- Get To Know Your New Employer. Imagine this… You’ve just met your dream girl or dream guy (or dream rockstar, sports star, movie star, etc). If you had a chance to go on a date with them, wouldn’t you know everything you could possibly know about them before the date? Personally, I would find out what their favorite food, color and cologne was, whether they liked nightlife or museums, etc. The same thing applies to your next job. Anything you can find out about your dream company will help you land your next role. Scour their website and find out how the company was founded, what their core beliefs are, what products they offer, the markets they serve, who is on their team, etc. Call people who work at the company and invite them to lunch so you can ask them about the company culture and what they think about the company. Get to know your future company and that knowledge will naturally come out as enthusiasm when you interview and ultimately work there.
- Write A Winning Cover Letter and Resume. Wait! Don’t stop reading. Most people get hung up on the resume and cover letter part but that’s because most people don’t really know what the purpose of a resume is and how to build one. A resume has one, and only one purpose: to get you an interview. That’s it. Resumes cannot truly show you off, nor can they tell your life story, so only put the details into your resume that will show the employer benefits and get you the interview. “Benefits” is the key word here. Don’t say that you managed a team of 10 people, instead say that you “develop, manage and lead teams to deliver projects on time”. Don’t say that you were responsible for business development and sales, instead say “grew revenues by 15%” or “built new relationships with ten key partners”, etc. Show benefits that people can relate to, not roles and responsibilities that people must interpret.
- Show your enthusiasm. Tell your future employer that you want to be on their team and give them a good reason to want to at least interview you. For example, I once wrote to a prospective employer the following in the closing paragraph of my cover letter: “I know I belong working among internet technologies. And after discovering that you are seeking to grow a practice dedicated to emerging technologies such as web-integration and sophisticated reporting systems, I find it difficult to maintain a professional appearance while communicating the excitement I have in finding you.”
- Do The Job During The Interview. An article in Fast Company magazine said the best way to interview was to do the job during the interview. Seemed like a crazy idea, because how do you do the job when you don’t even have the job? Turns out to be one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard and it is really not that hard to do. There are two things that all employers want in a job candidate: the proven ability to think and the proven ability to learn. Thus to do the job during an interview means you need to demonstrate your ability to think and learn. Here’s an example. Earlier this year we hired a new VP of Sales and Marketing. When he sent us his cover letter and interviewed, he was constantly doing the job as though he already had it. His letter spoke about his goals for our company – to increase our revenues (you would be amazed at how many sales people just want a job and don’t even mention that they would serve to increase our revenues!). In the interview he spoke about how he would achieve that goal – how he would transform and build our sales process. Doing the job during your interview means to bring your ideas out and to ask learning questions that engage in the role. Don’t ask about salary; ask about the role and the process of doing that role.
- If you are not getting interviews then your resume does not match the job description. Apply for jobs with your job skills. If your resume matches the job description you will get a phone call. If you pass the phone interview you will get an in-person interview.
- If you are not getting job offers then you have not yet warmed up to the interview process. It takes 3 to 5 interviews to get warmed up, then you get the offers.
- I take a manilla folder with blank paper in it to the interview and I write down the interview questions. I have tuned up my interview skills over the years. The result is that in 30 years, I only collected 3 weeks of unemployment and I got a raise all four times I was laid off.
- There are two types of interview questions, the technical and the Human-resource question. The technical question is about the job to see if you can do the work. The Human-Resource question is to see your personality and if you can work on a team. You must prepare for both types of questions to get the job.
- Most jobs are slightly different. Carefully read the job description posted on the internet to get an idea of what they will ask you on the interview. Recall positive situations where you solved those problems at other companies and you will shine on the interview.
Tips
- The Strategy: Be Passionate. First, here’s the strategy. Be passionate and enthusiastic about your next job and it will be very hard for a prospective employer to not hire you. Think about it: do you want to work with someone who loves their job or is there just to collect a paycheck? Do you want to work with someone who is excited about their role or someone who resents it? The answer is obvious yet so few people infuse this energy into what they’re doing. Find a job, a company, a role or a team that you can bring enthusiasm to and you are destined to get the job. Of course, feigning enthusiasm may not work, so here are the steps to finding your passion and your next job.
