You know you need to approach finding a job as a full time job but you find yourself distracted by other things that need your attention.  You keep telling yourself that you will get focused tomorrow or next week or, absolutely, you will get serious starting on Monday.  You want to get back to work, you need a job, and you can’t figure out why you aren’t motivated?

Often, lack of motivation is really lack of clarity.  Do you know exactly what type of work you want to do?  Do you have a list of companies you would like to work for?  If not, take some time to clearly define exactly what you want to do and where you want to do it.  Once you have identified your target, it will be much easier to map out the path to get there.  Get off the carousel today and start moving toward your future!

While other job seekers are looking for ways to go around the recruiter and get to the hiring manager, I suggest you follow the road less taken and build a relationship with the recruiter. Here are the why and the how:

1.    Hiring managers know about their open positions.  Recruiters (and HR personnel) know about a lot of open positions.  When you build a positive, give-and-take relationship with a recruiter, you have created a valuable connection to numerous positions.

2.    Recruiters also know other recruiters who have jobs, so the potential opportunities are far-reaching.  Additionally, the day-to-day job of a recruiter is to match people with jobs, whereas, a hiring manager only hires occasionally.  So, if one opportunity doesn’t work out, a recruiter may continue to find opportunities for you while a hiring manager may not be aware of any.

3.    Recruiters are successful when they find exceptional people to recommend to hiring managers.  So, be the exceptional job candidate they want to place.  Ask them what you can do to be their ideal job candidate.  Ask how you can make their job easier.

4.    Do not assume that the recruiter has limited knowledge about the job, the hiring manager, or the company.  Recruiters often have valuable information but job seekers never ask.

5.    Always treat recruiters with respect.  Ask for their advice and opinions.  Ask how you can help them.  Send a sincere thank you note.

6.    If a job opportunity doesn’t work out.  Tell the recruiter you understand that the job didn’t work out, ask if they still need job candidates, volunteer to go through your Rolodex to send them good candidates, and ask for feedback on how you can do better next time.

7.    Make sure that you have a clear, concise brand and description of the type of job you are seeking so the recruiter will know when to refer you.

If you follow these guidelines, chances are you will get the same message another job seeker received from a recruiter, “I hope you don’t mind, but I heard about a job and forwarded your résumé to the hiring manager.”

Attention:  Live in Overland Park, Kansas — Perfect-fit Workshops starting Monday, April 19!  Have you been out of work for more than six months?  Are you ready to create a viable plan that will actual produce job offers?  You don’t need to struggle in your job search anymore.  Let me guide you step-by-step to re-employment in record time.  My program is comprehensive, customized to your needs, and goes well beyond any other program out there.  You will receive 20+ hours of guidance, counseling, and instruction for an unbelievably low, no-risk investment.  You will leave my workshops 100% prepared to take your job search to the next level and land your dream job fast.  Plus, you won’t have to search alone.  With the ongoing support of your workshop peers, you will expertly maneuver through the hidden job market, attract the attention of recruiters and hiring managers with your branded portfolio of materials, and skillfully negotiate a salary and benefit package befitting your talents and skills.  It’s time to get you back to work.  Register now at http://www.occupationalzen.com/program-enrollment.html

I was talking with a job seeker the other day who said she was told she didn’t get the job because they didn’t consider her a good cultural fit.  It’s true that more and more companies are placing less emphasis on experience and more emphasis on cultural fit. This is a huge plus for the job seeker because a company that is concerned about cultural fit is more likely to be concerned about their employees’ well-being and job satisfaction.  As a job seeker, you want job fit and cultural fit, so finding an employer with the same goals is ideal.

As you are researching companies to target in your job search, you want to identify their company culture to determine your fit.  A company’s culture is its personality.  It includes how people dress, how they interact during working hours and outside of work, the hours they work, the level of cooperation and/or competition among employees, and even how employees keep their office space.  The culture includes the company’s values, and it will affect how you do your work, your daily comfort level at work, and your career growth and opportunities.  When you focus your job search on companies that have the right cultural fit for you, you job search will be more productive and you will get greater satisfaction from your new position.

Attention:  Live in Overland Park, Kansas — Perfect-fit Workshops start April 19!  You don’t need to struggle in your job search anymore, let me guide you step-by-step to re-employment in record time.  My program is comprehensive, customized to your needs, and goes well beyond what any outplacement firm has to offer.  You will leave my workshops 100% prepared to take your job search to the next level and land your dream job.  Register now at http://www.occupationalzen.com/program-enrollment.html

An informational interview is just as it sounds–it is an interview to gain information.  However, you never know where an informational interview might lead.  The entrance to the hidden job market is through the informational interview.  You may come across jobs that haven’t been posted; or you may hit it off so well with them that they will offer you your choice of positions, which actually happened to someone I was speaking with the other day.

Here are a few quick tips for conducting an informational interview.

1.    Conduct yourself with the same professionalism as you would a job interview and follow the same protocol (e.g., proper dress, thank you notes, etc).

2.    You are leading the informational interview so do your research and go in thoroughly prepared with your questions.

3.    Know what your goal is.  Finding a job is a process, so don’t go in expecting to find a job with each informational interview.  Before you go in, ask yourself what one piece of information can you get from this person that will be most beneficial to move you forward to the next step in your job search process.  For example, you may simply want information about the company to determine if you would like to work there.  You might want to get the name of the person within the company who would hire someone like you so you can talk to that person next.  You might want to know what opportunities are available in the marketplace for someone with your interests and experience.

4.    Informational interviews should only be 20 to 30 minutes long.  Respect the person’s time and make sure you conclude the interview when your time is up.

5.    When you go to your interview, ask the person about their job and ask questions about the company.  You don’t need to ask for a job, it is understood that you want a job.  Give them your branding statement and your value proposition and then ask the person for their advice.  Ask them what they would suggest you do and who they would suggest you talk to to find a position where you can contribute your unique talents and skills.

6.    After the interview, continue to build a relationship with the person.  Try to find something to give back to the person (e.g., send another thank you note after you follow up on one of their suggestions or after you meet with a contact they gave you; or send an article of interest).

7.    Relax, enjoy yourself, and realize that you are creating valuable business relationships that may serve you for years to come.

Reminder:  Perfect-fit Workshops start April 19!  Take your job search to the next level and land your dream job.  Register now at http://www.occupationalzen.com/program-enrollment.html

There are probably many people who can do what you do.  The differentiator is in how you do it.  It’s your unique approach that let’s you stand out above the crowd.  Here is an exercise to help you discover what makes you unique.  It will help you identify your brand and your value proposition.

You’ve heard of writing out accomplishment statements using the SAR or CAR or STAR method?  Well, I have another acronym for you.  I suggest you write out your accomplishment statements using the SARqY method.  SARqY stands for Situation-Action-Result (quantified whenever possible)-You.  After you write out the situation, action, and result (quantified/qualified), then state how the action you took and/or the way you approached the situation was different from what others would do.  As you compile your accomplishment statements, you will see a pattern emerge that represents your brand.

Because quantified statements are easier to write, I thought I would provide an example that illustrates a qualitative result with the identification of some of the employee’s soft skills:  S – Mary received a call from the Phoenix office telling her that the paychecks for her call center employees would not arrive on time for the Friday payday.  She was told she would have to tell the employees that they would have to wait until Monday for their checks.  A – After placing a nonproductive phone call to the company’s local bank across the street, Mary left her office and walked over to talk to the bank manager in person.  After discussion options, Mary convinced the bank to manually type up checks for each of the employees.  Rq – The 187 employees received their money on Friday as expected.  Mary gained trust, respect, and admiration from her employees, her peers, and her superiors.  She improved employee morale and most likely retention.  Y – Mary had only been with the company for two weeks when this occurred.  Mary knew her employees were expecting and were in need of their money on Friday.  When paychecks, mailed from the home office, didn’t arrive on time, company practice had been to allow employees to receive a loan from the bank to be repaid when their checks arrived on Monday.  Mary found it unacceptable to put employees in the position of having to ask for a loan and found a more respectful way to provide for the employees.  Most people would have followed company practice.  Mary showed concern, consideration, and respect for the employees, and she showed leadership, initiative, and creativity in finding a better way to resolve a challenging issue.

Photo by Zsuzsanna Kilian

Have you been applying for jobs, getting little to no response and, therefore, wondering if you should hire a résumé writer?  First, let me say that I have great admiration for good résumé writers and their transformational abilities with career search documents.  Based on the time and effort they put into creating résumés, they easily earn their fees, which can run anywhere from $300 to $900+.  But, is delegating the writing of your résumé the right thing for you?  Consider these three reasons for writing your own résumé:

(1)     Résumés that work are résumés that are customized for each job applied for.  If you are going to tweak your résumé for each job, to maintain quality and consistency, you need to learn how to write your document.

(2)     Your résumé should be in your words and be representative of who you are.  If you are called in for an interview and there is a disconnect between who you are on paper and who you are in person, that will be disconcerting to the interviewer and will make them less likely to hire you.

(3)     When you interview and are asked about statements on your résumé, you want to feel comfortable that you can easily answer those questions.  If someone else writes your document, you might not even recognize your own accomplishment statement because it isn’t in your words.  If you aren’t comfortable with every statement on your résumé, the interviewer won’t be comfortable with you.

Having someone help you write your résumé, such as a friend or career coach, is always a good idea for many reasons.  If a certified résumé writer is willing to work with you and show you how to write your résumé, that is ideal.  But handing off the task and letting someone else write the document for you may not provide the expected benefit.

What has your experience been creating your résumé?