Article Title: Where the Jobs are – Thousands of Jobs
Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://careeralley.com
“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin
So everything I read lately says that, even when the economy starts to rebound (and many think it has already started), new job creation will lag. Now who am I to dispute that bit of wisdom? But while that may be true, there are still thousands of jobs out there to be had. In fact, there are probably 10’s of thousands of jobs to be had. Now granted, there may not be thousands of jobs that you can fill and they may not all be where you live, but if you are willing to have an open mind and are flexible about where you live (or desperate in the extreme) there are thousands of jobs and I’m about to show you how to find them.
Where to Start in Your Job Search:
How to get a job – The theme of this story is very similar to what I’ve said in my opening paragraph – yes, the current unemployment rate is still climbing and yes, last week another (very big number) people joined the unemployed, but there are tens of thousands of jobs out there. The second half of the tag line of the article is “Millions of people were hired last month!”. The article is worth a read for several reasons, not the least of which there are plenty of good tips (and they use a headline that is very similar to one I used in an earlier blog “Hey Brother, Can Your Spare a Job?“.
Successful Job Searching – This article, by About.com, provides a step-by-step guide to finding a job. Categories include Write a Resume, Complete a Job Application, Find Job Listings plus a long list of other resources. The right side of this article has a link to several videos – “10 thinks to do after a layoff” and “How to prepare for a job interview”.
How to find a job during a recession – CNN weighs in with an article on how to find a job. Another step-by-step article with topics such as trying freelance work, freshen your skills, networking, polish your brand (like my “market yourself”). The middle of the article has additional links to job related articles.
HOW TO FIND A JOB? – Not sure why there is a question mark at the end of this page’s name, but don’t be fooled by the first page. There are a number of links on this site to resources such as job search, job applications, resumes, cover letters and more. Each link leads to a robust page with information on the topic. At the bottom of the page are several other links to Work Menu (several resources here), Training, Where (like, where to find a job) and Who can help (many more resources).
And Now the Job Listings and Resources:
The Highest Ranked Job Search Sites (Google) – This is a great link, as it shows the highest ranked job search sites (as per Google) based on page rank, a few of which are included below. You will note that it is a fairly long list (and you will want to start at the top). The other great thing about this link is that it also provides links to Executive Search, Entry Level and Internships, Job Fairs and more. Now, you should note that, just because a site has a high Google ranking does not necessarily mean it is the best site. So what are some of the best sites, see below for a few.
Indeed.com – This is one of the best sites at the moment and, according to their site, more than 755,000 jobs were added in the last 7 days (and that is not a typo) – thousands of jobs, just as I promised. The first page is a very simple interface, two choices What and Where. You can also click on the Advanced Search which provides a broad range of search options. There are additional links at the bottom for Job Trends, Salaries and Forums. And , you don’t have to post your resume on this site.
Recruiters Online – “Your key to the hidden job market” is the tag line for this job search site. A very simple first page – Search Jobs, Post or Edit your Resume, and Find a Recruiter. Click on Search Jobs for their very interesting search engine. They provide examples of how you can leverage their job search engine by leveraging keywords. Click Find a Recruiter (at the top of the screen if you are not on the main page). The page lists a few featured recruiters with a search engine on the right hand side. Enter your criteria and the search engine will return a list of recruiters.
Job-Hunt.org – “Help and links to 13,054 Employers & Job Search Resources” is the tag line for this resource site. Not sure how they got such an exact number, but this site is filled with valuable information. Where to start? The top of the page has a drop down box so that you can review resources by state. The left hand side of the page has Layoff Help, Getting Started (too many links to list here) and links to relevant articles. The center of the page has Job Search News and Job Search Sites and Career Resources. Click on any state from the drop down box and you are immediately transferred to a page which is full of information regarding jobs for your state. This site is definitely worth spending time on and reviewing all of the resources available.
Before you go networking, asking for connections to hiring managers, and even interviewing, do this critical and worth-the-effort step. It will make you a stand-out candidate. How cool would that be?
A critical action in developing your job search stategy is to be honest about what might not be quite what the hiring manager is looking for–the lemons. If you can turn what might be considered a job search liability into an asset, you’ll get much further in your job search networking and interviewing. Here’s how you “line up the lemons” so even those things that other people would consider liabilities can be converted into assets.
We all have them–maybe not enough years of experience. Or we want to think about a new kind of career or industry. Maybe you’ve been in several industries rather than focusing in just one. Or maybe you’ve had several job changes in the last few years. Or maybe you’ve had one job for the last 15 years.
It’s critical to develop a clear compelling statement that explains how whatever it is on your resume that could be considered a lemon is actually an advantage to the company who hires you. As a recruiter and frequent (!) job seeker, I know that if you don’t do this, the other person won’t be able to do it either. And it’s just that much easier to take a pass on you as a candidate. Harsh, I know, but probably true most of the time.
Let me give you an example. When I was interviewing for the Director of Recruiting for Deloitte & Touche, I had only about six months of recruiting experience. My previous experience was in software marketing. I learned from the recruiter that everyone else who interviewed had 10+ years of recruiting experience.
I had been recommended to her through networking, so she was willing to take a chance by presenting me. Plus she and I had developed a really nice relationship during the course of her interviewing me. (More later on how to create relationships with recruiters that put you at the head of the line.)
So I knew my own “lemon” was my huge lack of experience as a recruiter. I needed to make sure the Hiring Manager saw that lack of experience as a real asset to him.
During the interview I asked him to share his vision for the group and how he had been so successful so quickly. It was an amazing thing he had accomplished, and his enthusiasm for going even further was clear.
Also clear to me was that he needed creative recruiting strategies that went beyond same-old-same-old if he was going to recruit the large number of people he needed to be successful.
So that’s exactly what I told him. I said that if he hired someone with several years of experience, they would do what they had already learned how to do. That would be, in my estimation, the kiss of death for his vision.
With my marketing background and no perceived notions of what could or could not be accomplished in recruiting (because after all I had almost no experience!), I would be strategic and creative. That would be what he would need.
Happy ending: he agreed!
So this isn’t about calling anything about you a liability. It’s about being strategic when you prepare. If there is something in the list of requirements you’re missing, figure out what you have instead that more than makes up for that missing piece. Or, as I did above, explain why the fact you DON’T have that part of the requirements could be a benefit to the hiring manager.
In working with great executives in transition, I’ve found they are often quick to point out where they may have a liability in terms of getting the job. The next step can be more difficult.
Translating that to an asset that GETS you the job is the next step. it’s really in your best interest for you to do that translation. If you don’t, the hiring manager and/recruiter either won’t do it or will do it in a way that doesn’t help you as a candidate.
Also in my experience very few candidates have taken the time to do this “positioning” of themselves as a candidate. If you do, you will really differentiate yourself from the crowd.
P.S. Sign up for the free report in the column on the right to get started on developing a standout brand statement. Become the candidate they cannot resist!
A ridonkulous resource for advice on interviewing, networking, resume design inspiration, cover letter writing, salary negotiating, freelance and business tips for those looking for work in these rough times.
There is a hidden job market that most job hunters do not know about. The fact is that many of the best jobs are not advertised and the visible job market is the tip of the iceberg.
During the recession many college graduates are challenged by the oversaturated job competition. But the most essential here is not the follow the pattern, i.e. sending dozens of CVs, answer job ads, post CVs online, go to employment agencies and job fairs.
It’s absolutely OK to spend some of your time on these methods, but not too much. Because all of the aforementioned methods are the least effective during the job search. So what are the other options for you?
With the unadvertised jobs you will have little or no competition at all. Most employers prefer not to advertise their job openings but ask their employees or other people they know to recommend someone.
We can differentiate two types of unadvertised or hidden jobs:
1. Job openings the employer is aware of. 2. Job placement that could be created for the right person, but no job opening is available right now.
So, the question lingers: how exactly can you find the unadvertised job opening? Below are a few ways:
- firstly, you should know what job / assignments you are passionate about. - secondly, conduct some research. Highlight at least 25 companies you are interested in from directories of major employers. That could be Dun and Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Directory or Standard and Poor’s Register of Corporations. - thirdly, conduct interviews with people working in your professional field of interest to further your research. - fourthly, contact people in your network who may know people working for the companies of your interest. - fifthly, call hiring authorities and tell them what you can and what you want to do. Point them out in what way you can contribute and benefit their company. In case they don’t have any job openings in your field, ask for the names of two other hiring authorities in their field of work. - sixthly, join professional networks and associations. It’s a good opportunity to meet people working in your field of interest and many hiring managers as well.
The other approach to uncover the hidden job market is to create a position within a company that didn’t existed before. Thus, you won’t have competition and will be able to negotiate your income. Master a written or verbal proposal for the companies you find interesting. Should your proposal demonstrate that you will contribute much more than you will cost the company, you have high chances of landing a job.
This method works best with smaller companies but the chances of being employed by large ones are still high.
Learn how a job coach can help you with all sorts of things, starting from the job search up to the building of your career freedom. Hire Dusty Rollins to be your job coach and you will see what new horizons a competent job coach can show you.
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If people are referring you to someone in their network, congratulations. Youre doing networking well and getting exactly the results that will accelerate your search. When someone is suggesting you meet someone they know, its important for a couple of reasons to ask just a few questions.
The millionaire matchmaker helps people who are successful in every area of their lives but one—meeting the right person. In a similar style if not quite the same purpose, you could hire someone to introduce you to the “right people” for your job search.
When you’re in job search, it can be confusing about which services to use. It drives me crazy for anyone to say they know THE way to find a job. There are many ways to make that connection that leads you straight to a great job. How do you choose?
What worked for me when trying to decide what to do while in job search, and what I always encourage my clients to do, is decide what makes sense to you. I violated a lot of the “rules” in job search and still ended up with fabulous jobs I found through the hidden job market.
So I’m just going to share some thoughts on using the introduction services some consultants offer. I hope this will help you decide what’s right for you. My only goal is to help you decide; I don’t have a bias for or against these kinds of services.
I often think things through by asking myself questions. Weird I know, but it seems to work for me. So here are the questions I would ask if I were wondering about whether contracting with someone (and paying them) for introductions made sense for me.
1. Who does this person know that I cannot or should not call on my own?
2. What leads me to believe the people I would like to meet would not want to hear from me directly?
3. What does this person say that will get the person I want to meet to agree that I cannot or should not say?
4. Am I going to be introduced to people I really want to meet or people who happen to be on a list.
5. What about people I want to meet who aren’t on this person’s list of known contacts? How do I get to meet them?
6. Am I buying this service to avoid: a) deciding who specifically I want to meet and/or b) having to pick up the phone myself? Or am I buying this service because I believe it will expedite my job search?
7. If I were on the receiving end of the introduction, would I feel honored to be asked or would I be confused about why the person didn’t call me themselves?
8. What specifically are the people to whom I will be introduced going to be told about me? Asked to do?
9. What message do I send to the person on the receiving end about me? Does using this service say I’m willing to delegate important things to those who may be “experts? Does it say I don’t dare make contact myself?
10. If I were on the receiving end, would I be more or less eager to talk to someone who called me themselves without a go-between?
11. Does having someone else contact these people make them feel honored or a little insulted that I didn’t make the contact directly? What is the message: that I really cared about doing this the right way or that I couldn’t take the time to do it myself.
If you ask yourself some good questions, you will know what to do.
This strategy can be extremely useful when you would like to change industries. You can’t assume that the person you’re talking to will automatically be able to see why your experience in industry A will be an asset to him in industry B. Don’t leave this quantum leap in thinking to your interviewer or person you’re networking with.
Most candidates say their skills are “transferrable” and then they stop. If they cannot explain in a compelling convincing way how that is true, it’s is unlikely that a recruiter or hiring manager won’t be able to see how that’s possible. So while it’s true, you must be able to explain HOW it’s true. What does the hiring company get if they hire you from a different industry that they don’t get if they just stick to people in their industry.
I know, since I’ve been a job seeker myself quite often (!), it’s tempting to just start talking when you’re lucky enough to get someone on the phone. But consider stopping long enough to ask these two questions rather than launch into a sales pitch about why you’re THE candidate they’ve been longing for.
Hopefully by now you’ve started what we talked about in Part 1. Here is where you can find that post in case you missed it. (Soon I’ll figure out how to make live links!)
Now you are ready to learn the next step in networking to get into the hidden job market. After you’re done with this article you should be able to get in front of the people you decided you wanted to meet in Part 1. The more specific you can be about what you want, the more results you’ll get.
Fear of being specific is hurting most people in their networking. Interestingly, it is a somewhat strange (at least tome) truth that you really don’t hear about more leads or get more referrals to the people you’d like to meet because you’re vague. You will sound like everyone else and won’t be remembered.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I was networking for a position. Someone was finally kind enough to let me know I was being so vague she would never be able to figure out who to introduce me to. I thought I was playing it cool by not narrowing down what I wanted her to help me with. Maybe it was cool (I’m hating to give up the idea I was being cool) but it was a recipe for getting absolutely no help from my network.
Ask people if they know certain hiring managers or other people on your list in order to start. If they do and they know you want to meet them, they will be more willing to introduce you. If they don’t know that person, they may know someone else you should meet
Conclusion: Networking to get into the hidden job market is possible. Just keep an eye out for that concern about being specific hurting your networking success. As you start to ask for referrals to specific people in specific industries, you will start having more and more conversations with hiring managers and people who will refer you to others. Please make the decision now to get out there and start asking for connections to specific people by name or by title.
Make this kind of networking a significant part of your job search strategy. It will really pay off with connections that may help you not just in your job search but throughout the rest of your career.
In my next post, I’ll show you a simple way to change how you ask for referrals in networking that will dramatically increase the number of people you get to meet. It’s amazing what a difference this small change makes.
“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you’re still a rat.” – 
