Job Brick Wall, Issue #001 -- Where's my job?

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Job Brick Wall, Issue #001 -- Where's my job?
December 01, 2009

Hello Friends-

Glad you're here! Hope your Thanksgiving was fun and relaxing. We sure enjoyed ours. Love those 4 day weekends--leftovers and all.

As 2009 draws to a close, I'm optimistic about the job prospects for 2010. I truly believe we are on the dawn of an exciting new era.

Better days are ahead for all of us.

This month's Job Brick Wall newsletter will share with you 2 proven job search techniques guaranteed to open some doors for you. Hope you put them into practice and enjoy the success you deserve.

All the best.

Mike Petras

Where's my job?

Does this sound familiar? No matter what I do, I can't seem to land a job interview.

Every day I faithfully search all of the major job boards. I must have applied for 10 decent jobs over the past 6 weeks.

Nothing but...silence.

I've rewritten and tweaked my resume to perfection and posted it on Monster, CareerBuilder, and HotJobs. I even shotgunned my resume out to 50 local companies, just in case they had an opening and were keeping it under the radar. Still no luck.

Please don't tell me I need to network. Been there, done that. That's not working for me either.

Why don't they call? Is it this lousy economy? Is it me? What's the use?!

I feel your pain and understand your frustration. You are not alone.

The truth is, your job is out there patiently waiting for you. Believe it or not, the economy is irrelevant. There is always hiring going on.

People retire, quit, move, get promoted, get sick, become disabled, get fired, and even die.

On top of that, there are people at companies just warming a seat. If the right replacement came along, they would be gone.

The most important thing you can do right now is to put yourself in the right place at the right time. So, I want you to slow down, take a deep breath, and learn 2 powerful job search techniques that will greatly increase your chances of getting an interview....and, yes....even a job offer.

First, are you sure your resume is doing you justice?

Your resume is your personal advertisement. It MUST make you stand out from other candidates and grab the attention of a hiring authority.

I've reviewed literally thousands of resumes over my career. Less than 20% were exceptional. That means 80% were average to below average.

Average is not good enough in this tough hiring environment.

Do you get excited about average?

I recently posted to my website the best outline of a resume. This is MUST READ information to make sure your resume is doing its job...getting you an interview.

Don't neglect to follow the links from this web page to my resume writing examples, and my advice on the use of cover letters for a resume.

If your resume is not getting you interviews, you need to rewrite it or consider using a professional resume writing service.

Ok, let's move on to the second job search technique.

FACT: 80% of all job openings are not advertised.

This means if you are merely surfing the net to find a job, you are only fishing in a pond where 20% of the fish live.

With those odds, no wonder your job search has hit a brick wall!

From now on you need to focus your job search efforts where 80% of the fish live. Stop swimming up stream like a Salmon, and swim with the current to push you downstream to calmer waters (sorry about the fish analogy).

Two Job Search Methods to Tap Into the Hidden Job Market:

Build and expand your network of contacts.

Sit down with a pencil and paper and write down all the categories of your associations with people: friends, past work associates, neighbors, church members, parents of your kid's soccer team, past customers or suppliers, etc.

Now write down the names of everyone you know under the above categories. It doesn't matter if you don't know where they live or how to contact them.

Get a free membership to Linked In. This is where you will find many of your past associates and friends. It's also an excellent way to stay connected to people on a professional basis from now on.

Contact everyone on your network list--frequently. Tell them your are out of work and need their help. Ask them if you can email to them your resume (after you change it, of course, to my resume format). See if they will share with you the names of 2 or 3 other people who may be in a position to either hire you or give you names of other people to network with. This is very powerful because if you have a list of 30 people you know, and everyone on your list gives you 2 names, you now have a list of 90 people. If you contact these referrals, the snowball grows. It's only a matter of time before you find an opportunity.

Call everyone in your network every 3 weeks. Let them know you are still on the job market and ask them if they have any leads or information for you. Most people want to help, but everyone has a lot on their plate these days. Don't assume they will remember you are looking for a job after you only called them once. After you've contacted them 2-3 times, they will be more likely to go out of their way to help you. This is just one of the ugly truths about human nature. We need to be reminded a lot.

Your networking call list is warm because you can tell them so-and-so referred you. It's easier to pick up the phone and call someone if you can tell them a mutual friend referred you to them. These warm calls set you up for the second technique of your job search within the hidden job market.

Call on the phone the manager of every company in your area of expertise--regardless of whether or not there is a known job opening or you know who the manager is--and tell them you are looking for a job. Give them a short 30 second pitch about yourself and ask them if you can meet with them.

This kind of calling is affectionately referred to as, cold calling. It's harder to do and most people don't like doing it, so they don't--and miss finding their dream job. No one is going to bite you or even hang up on you. Even if they did, just make another call.

Avoid calling Human Resources. They are more likely to give people the brush-off.

You may be able to find the names of companies and their phone numbers by visiting your local library. Ask the Librarian if they provide any on-line resources for job seekers that provide names and addresses of companies. Just tell the Librarian that you are looking for the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the companies in a particular geographic area. I did this at my local library and the librarian was super helpful in showing me an expensive database (Reference USA) that I could access from home with my library card--for free. To buy this resource on my own would cost $500-$1500. Also, most communities have a free on-line Chamber of Commerce listing with a link out to company websites. To access your local Chamber, go out on Google and just type in the name of your city and the words, Chamber of Commerce.

Once you've gathered your list, try and call 25-30 companies a day. This isn't easy and it takes courage to consistently make your calls. But, studies have shown this to be one of the most effective ways to find a job. It is much better than just answering job ads on the web--which in case you haven't figured it out yet, is one of the worst ways to find a job.

In summary, these job search techniques could turn the tide in your favor. They require some work, effort, and courage, but they have been proven to work---even in tough times.

Once you land a job interview, come back to Job-Interview-Wisdom to prepare for your interview.

Happy hunting!

Mike Petras

Update May 2011: If you've been unemployed for 6 months...or longer...my new book can help: Why Don't They Call Me?-Job Search Wisdom To Get You Unstuck.

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