The other day I ran across a discussion on LinkedIn about a job seeker who was thinking about hiring someone to send out 8,000 résumés for her.  Whoa! That is just crazy on so many levels!  First of all, the job seeker probably isn’t even interested in working at 99 percent of those businesses.  Second of all, any résumé sent this way would have to be very generic, which would generate no interest whatsoever.  And lastly, if a company did respond to an unsolicited résumé that arrives by fax or email and isn’t personalized in any way, it is doubtful that it would be a company anyone would want to work for.

I hear people say that the job search is a numbers game, but that can be a very misleading statement.  The more résumés you submit, the more people you talk to, or the more LinkedIn connections you make will not necessarily result in more interviews and subsequently more job offers.  A productive job search needs to be targeted and planned out.  The successful job seeker will know exactly what type of job she is looking for and have a list of companies she is interested in.  She will focus her time and effort on making quality contacts and asking questions that will move her toward her goal.  She will spend her time building relationships with a manageable number of key people, not making brief contact with many.  She will have better luck conducting 20 informational interviews at companies that interest her than submitting 420 résumés through the job boards.

While it is true that the more times you practice networking, interviewing, and your job search techniques, the more comfortable you will be and the better you will become; please be careful how you interpret the “numbers game” statement.  Don’t fall for the scam of the résumé blast.  If you feel like you need help, spend your money on a good career coach who can help you focus your job search.  And when someone tells you that you absolutely must tell everyone you meet that you are out of work and looking because you never know where a job lead might come from, you can mostly ignore that advice.  Tell your hairdresser because hairdressers always have great information, but skip the teenager bagging your groceries and the tollbooth operator.  It’s really less about numbers and more about taking aim at a well-defined target.

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.

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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