| Topic Name: |
What am I doing wrong? |
| Message Name: |
Active Search |
| Date Posted: |
09/08/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
Ouch! You've been searching for a year and only 1 interview? That's not fun!
Here's the thing, searching open positions via company websites and popular job boards is the equivalent of searching with your eye to a straw not to mention, most of us close the other eye so we can focus clearly through that straw, right? So now you are looking through a narrow tube with one eye shut. That just can't be effective, can it?
When you submit your resume, how is yours any different from all the other resumes pouring in the doors of these sites? What makes your resume stand out in the crowd? Is it a marketing document selling your expertise or a history report explaining the things you've done and the company you did those things for?
Do you do any follow up at all or just send the resume and hope that will be enough to make the phone ring?
If your phone isn't ringing...the resume isn't doing it's job -- which is generating interest in YOU.
Let's face it, pretty much everyone does exactly what you are doing in your job search: waiting for an opportunity to appear on a website, then standing in an invisible line with hundreds of candidates applying for those same positions. And most wonder, just like you, "what am I doing wrong??"
You've got to stop doing what everyone else is doing, separate yourself from your competition and start MARKETING your skills to decision makers in your target companies.
You should be looking for opportunities outside of traditional methods. There are lots of ways to generate job leads beyond the confines of overcrowded, unproductive job boards. If you don't know what those are, how will this search ever come to an end?
Andrea
http://interviewing.com/ |
| Message: |
I'm in a bit of the same boat, I just started seriously looking for work after a small break. My question is what do you say when you call the manager and not HR? My fear is that I isolate the company I want to work for and screw it up by pissing off the manager by calling him. I'm afraid I'm going to get the "well I don't know why you're calling me, just send your resume to HR", like I've gotten before.
Not looking for perfunctory remarks such as "sell yourself" and "hit key points". If they aren't hiring and you're calling a department manager I assume it better be worth their time.
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