The New Rules of Job Search7 Steps to a Targeted Search

The old rules of a Job Search

How do people find jobs?

Waking up early morning. Go through recruitment or job ads. Select those you are interested and send out cover letter and resume to respectively. You waited for your phone to ring for an interview.

Then you visited job sites such as Monster.com, Jobsdb and so on. Select the ones you are interested in it and then send the applications online. And you once again waited for the phone to ring.

You also send out your resume to all recruitment agencies and headhunters you have and hoping they will call you for a job opportunity.

The old rules of a Job Search

Do remember, there are millions of resumes sitting at the HR Manager’s desk heading to the paper basket or the rejections files.

How will you and what you have to offer stand out in that sea of paper and email?

World Wide Survey estimate 74 to 85% of available jobs are never advertized. So if you limit your job search activities to finding and applying advertized positions, you are missing many more possibilities that you are finding.

Step 1: Knowing What You Want

This is a very important question “What do you want”? It may sound simple, but I have witnessed a lot of people have a hard time of determining what they want in their career.

Some will say I want to be the Vice President of Marketing. Other will say I want to be a Finance Director..

So the next step is ask yourself “Where are you now in your current situation”? If you are a sales representative and want to be the Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, do you think it is practical and real? Set reasonable goals and objectives and work towards it.

Your strengths and passion is very important too. It will help you to have a competitive edge over others.

Step 1: Knowing What You Want

If you not sure about yourself, there are several psychometric tests you can take. E.g. MBTI, DISC, Psycho-Geometric, Career Inventory, Strengths Finder, etc…

Use the results as a guideline and evaluate the accuracy. Some tests may not totally reflect who you are. The environment changes and it do have an effect on your behavior in certain ways.

Build up your strength, enhance them and use it as your advantage.

Step 2:Your Ideal Work Environment

Type of industry; FMCG, Technology, Finance, etc…

Type of Role and Responsibility; Routine or Challenging

Type of Management leadership Style; Autonomy or democratic

Type of Colleagues; Teamwork or politics

Type of Communication; Open, Restricted, Close door

Type of Working Hours; Long, Flexible, Irregular

Type of Benefits; Paid Leave, Medical, Allowances

Type of regulations; Do they ban Facebook or Linkedin?

Step 3: Identify List of Companies

Once you have identify the industry and the kind of working environment, it is time to generate the names of the companies (30 – 50 companies)

Examples: FMCG (Unilever) Technology (IBM) Finance (Citibank) Advertising (Ogilvy)

Generate a list of Potential Hiring Managers Examples: VP of Sales, Finance Director

Step 3: Identify List of Companies

Do some research and find out the names and addresses

Use Social Media such as LinkedIn to find out more

Check website, press release, annual reports, associations to obtain more information

Find emails and mailing address of them

Step 4: What can you contribute?

You have identified top 30 companies that you want to work for. Now it’s time to do some research. Remember, laziness does not have a place if you want to focus on this targeted job search

Here are the steps to follow:

Visit their websites, read their press releases, review their annual reports.

Read the Chairman and the CEO Message. Spot key sentences and their vision of the company. What are their forecast for the next few years?

Step 4: What can you contribute?

Write down the skills and knowledge that you have in which you are able to contribute to the company

What’s the value you can bring to the table. Is there challenges they are facing in which you are able to assist?

Act and think like a consultant. Write down those you are confident to contribute and be a valuable source to them.

Find some similarities on your own vision and with the vision of the company. Remember, people hire people that they like.

Step 5: What to Send?

Most of the applicants will send a resume and a cover letter. This is a traditional way of doing things for a long time. Would you want to use the outdated way or would you want to try something new. Remember, your purpose for this whole exercise is to get an interview and meet with the hiring manager.

Tip: Create 1 – 2 page letter that consists of 3 parts.

1st. List down all your track records, achievements, results of your past and how it can link to provide solutions the future employer.

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s position. What will make him or her hired you? What can you help him or her to achieve the company’s objective?

2nd. Demonstrate your ROI (Return of Investment). What can you bring to the table? (With your research, you should be able to tackle this. E.g.: New product launch, New Market. New Clients

Step 5: What to Send?

The company will have to invest heavily on you and that includes new computer, compensation and benefits, workspace, transport allowance and training. How can you demonstrate the quick return of what the company invested in you? For example: A sales manager can show that a $200,000 salary will be justified by his ability to bring in $1 million in new sales revenue. In whatever situation or role you may be, always try to explore areas to contribute to the success of the company.

3rd. Share benefits and not features of your skills and professional qualifications. Have you wonder that a lot of people will talk about their features rather than benefits? What is the difference? As most of the hiring managers mentioned to the applicants, “WIFM” which means “What’s in it for me?”

Focus on the benefits that you can bring into the hiring organization. Your objective is to address the needs of the organization, helping them to achieve their goals and make the top management happy about the new hire.

Step 6: Forget about HR

Remember the time that you have sent few hundred applications to one job vacancy and you waited a long time and receive no news

Welcome to the new rules. The reason why I have share one point earlier is that all correspondences should go straight to the hiring manager and not the HR manager.

Reason is simple. In every job opening for any popular company, the HR will receive hundreds of applications. How much time for the HR Manager to read those applications? Some survey says that they spend around 5-10secs for those applications that captured their attention. They will filter to around 5-10 applications to be arranged for interviews. So how much chance do you have in that stack of resumes?

Step 6: Forget about HR

HR can be a showstopper to your application. Why? They are policy administrators. Each time, they will go through the checklist and tick the requirements that you are fit in. They may not know exactly the contributions you’ll make for the company and the exact nature of your role

This is worse if you are a foreigner who want to apply for a local job. The HR will say that this is only for locals. They are not going to do the extra paperwork and hassle to get you onboard.

Reason of a strategic search is to avoid all these wasted time and effort. How much time can you save if you do a bit of homework and research.

The rewards are amazing and the chances of getting the interview to the ideal job is much higher if you go straight to the hiring manager.

Step 7: What to do in the Interview?

As you walk into the interview room, drop of sweats rolling down on your cheeks. It’s kind of break and win situation. Rest assured. With proper preparation, this can be overcome.

Steps to follow:

Prepare and practice potential interview questions and responses

Compelling stories to be used for behavioral questions.

Be confidence, take time to answer challenging questions.

Be aware of all the trap questions and never say negative things about your previous employers and bosses

Step 7: What to do in the Interview?

Mentioned that every company has it’s own style and the opportunity to learn is tremendous

Leave a success kit document behind after the interview

Send a success follow up letter on the same day

Getting prepare for subsequent interviews

Respond to the job offer, negotiate your compensation, acceptance of offer and have fun in your new career

7 Steps to a Targeted Search

1. Knowing what you want

2. Your Ideal Work Environment

3. Identify list of Companies

4. What can you contribute?

5. What to send?

6. Forget about HR

7. What to do in the interview?

Learn the steps you need to know

Having a successful job search is like cooking a nice meal. When you are cooking, you need to decide what’s on the menu, shop for ingredients, and make sure your food choices combine to make a healthful diet.

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Learn the steps you need to know

About Springboard Talent

Ngee Key, the founder of Springboard Talent is a Certified Career Management Coach (CCMC), Facilitator, Trainer, Speaker and Writer. He has 15 years of corporate experience, working for technology, training and human resource consultancy firms such as Hewlett Packard, Quest Software and Hewitt Associates

Our objective is to focused on empowering people to find their own answers, encouraging and supporting them on the path as they continue to make important choices in Career and Life.

Company headquarters registered in Singapore.

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Visit us: www.springboardtalent.com Email me: ngeekey@springboardtalent.com