Five Practical Steps to Land a Job in 2012

USA recently reported a poll stating that 11% of respondents set a goal to get a job in 2012.  If you have been in job search mode for a while though, you know it is easier said than done!

However, it is not impossible even in today’s bad – although, supposedly recovering – economy.

If you want to succeed and land a great new position in the shortest practical time, take the following five practical steps to up your game and improve your chances.

Ditch the “honey do” list.  It’s amazing how many home improvement projects that waited for years suddenly can’t be delayed another day once a person becomes unemployed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “I am going to take a couple of weeks to finish the basement, then I’m going to jump full force into a job search.”

Right. Nine times out of 10, that two week project turns into two months – or six months!

Hunting for a job is a job. Don’t talk about search for a job. Drop everything else. Work on your job search starting early Monday morning each week.

Put a target on people’s backs.  Forget about the outdated, completely ineffective method called “resume blasting”. Today’s job search success results from laser guided missiles, not carpet bombing. You are far more likely to get a response from sending 10 resumes addressed to a specific hiring manager or H.R. representative than from 100 sent out “to whom it may concern”!

Use LinkedIn.com and the many other resources on the internet as well as your personal network to target firms and find out the names of decision makers. Personalize your cover letter!

Customize your resume.  Never, ever send a simple, generic resume. Read the job posting as well as the job description, if available. Note carefully exactly which experiences and skills the company describes. Rework and reword your resume to ensure that it mentions every skill and experience you have that fits the criteria.

Get out and about. Finding a job in today’s environment is not a desk job. Sure, you’ve got to spend time on the internet setting up email job alerts on sites like http://www.indeed.com/. Yes, you have to customize and mail those resumes. Maybe that takes an hour or two each day.

What about the rest of the time, though? (Remember, this is a full-time job.) Think connections. Networking. Meet people for coffee. Participate in job seeker support groups. Volunteer. Get out and meet people with the intention of constantly letting people know that you are job seeking.

By the way, don’t focus on asking people if they know of a job for you. Instead, tell them your industry and specialty and ask if they can introduce you to people in your field, especially those in a position to hire.

Stay on the treadmill.  Yes, it can be tiring and discouraging. There’s a good bit of rejection involved and who likes that? Yet the fact is that the job market does show some signs of life. I work with people every week who land jobs. It can be done. You can do it.

How Recruiters Decide to Present You as a Candidate

Ever talked to a recruiter about an opportunity, asked if you were a likely candidate for the job and gotten a reply something like this:  “Well, I still have more people to interview.”

 What’s the truth? Does Mr. or Ms. Recruiter really have more people to interview or is this an easy way of just blowing you off?

Of course, reality dictates that every recruiter operates differently and either of the two options is possible – the recruiter may really have more people to interview (the likely scenario) but then again, maybe not. However, the recruiters I know tend to follow a process something like this when selecting applicants to put forward for a position: 

1. Narrow the field to ten or less.
2. Phone interview everyone on the list.
3. Based on the phone interviews, shorten the list to the top three.

If you don’t make it to the Top 3, you have little to no chance of being presented for the position. So, how can you increase your chances of making the cut?

First, of course, you have to have an outstanding resume. Without that, you never make it to the Top 10.

Then, you need to present yourself as positively and confidently as possible in the phone interview. Prepare for the interview and present yourself with the same professionalism, preparation and confidence that you would for an in-person interview!

During the interview, focus on your value proposition: what makes you better and different than others who may be applying for the same job? Demonstrate competence using STAR stories illustrating past successes and strengths. Do your homework and be prepared to discuss the company and position in question in-depth, asking intelligent questions.

Finally, there are questions you can ask the recruiter that may help you guage your likelihood of making the cut for the Top 3:

•  When you compare me to the competition for this job, how do my experiences and strengths stack up?
  
  
• When it comes time to present me as a candidate to the firm, what will you emphasize to them as my best points?

These kinds of questions serve two purposes. They help you respond to any weaknesses the recruiter may point out. However, the recruiter's response may also clue you in as to where you stand and how likely you are to make it to the next level of consideration.

Job Search Outcomes Depend on Your Attitudes

E. Scott Aronow recently interviewed me on the Blog Talk Radio program The Career Catalyst. The show airs every Tuesday night at 9:00 pm eastern. They have great guests and focus on useable information you can put into practice right now. Check out the recorded podcastof my interview with them here.

One of Scott's first questions to me concerned attitudes that empower success in a job search. I chose to answer by focusing on the idea of maintaining positive, upbeat energy. Looking back on my answer, I probably should have included a few additional thoughts.

So this article is my p.s. to Scott's question about attitude. It's an important subject. Make no mistake about the reality that your attitude - the way you frame your thoughts about your job search - will significantly determine the length and ultimate outcome.

I've coached hundreds of job seekers - at this point I've lost exact count, but I am speaking of far in excess of 500 - and I've seen every attitude you can imagine. I'm a direct person, so without beating around the bush, here are the attitudes you need.

#1. Don't be a know-it-all.Know-it-alls come in various forms. On the one hand are the newly graduated students who took a one-hour resume seminar and somehow learned everything there is to know about how to put a resume together. Frankly, I often haven't been very impressed with the advice doled out by university sponsored workshops nor the "experts" provided by government sponsored unemployment agencies.

I'm not trashing anybody - just saying that even if the advice you received came from the world's #1 job search genius, there's a lot to know about today's career transition. So keep your mind open for some additional information.

On the other hand, there are the people who haven't been out looking for a job for 20 years and seem blissfully ignorant of the concept that things have changed. Nope, in their mind, the job search is the simple task it always was - throw together a quick resume, blast 'em out to job postings and - voila! - you get a job!

These folks aren't usually open to suggestions about networking, LinkedIn, the hidden job market, practicing for an interview. I just let 'em go. They don't know what they don't know. That's why they will be back on the phone with me eventually.

Reality is that the labor market and job search practices have evolved. It's a complex and highly competitive ecosystem. You will enhance your career and move forward faster if you take the attitude that learning new things is an essential job search activity. Why not take the attitude of a student and educate yourself? (By the way, The Career Catalyst Radio show I mentioned is a great place to start.)

You need to frame the job search as a learning experience - take the attitude of a student.

#2. Look at the job search as an adventure.Yes, I know there is a lot at stake and that transition is scary, especially in today's economic environment. However, Winston Churchill's words apply: you have nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear leads to inaction. Fear leads to timidity. Fear keeps you where you are and blocks the path to where you want to be.

Embrace the challenge. Rise to the occassion. Affirm yourself. Speak positive words. Expect beneficial outcomes. Say to yourself, "This is my opportunity to find a better job than I had before. This is my chance to make the changes I knew all along that I needed to make."

#3. Have faith in God. Probably, I lost some of my readers right there. You just got off the bus because you don't believe in a personal God. Still, I had to say it.

I happen to believe a personal God exists and He guides and provides for me. My circumstances are part of a larger plan and my desire for convenience is understandable but not essential. I am saying that life poses some great challenges but there are none so big that the Lord and I can't handle them together.

Hopefully. you also have a source of spiritual strength to help you through hard times. Take the attitude that the job search is not only about getting a job but also about making you a stronger and better person.

The irony is that those who take time to learn often move ahead faster than those who rush ahead into uneducated and aimless actions. Those who fear the challenge of change often remain in transition longer than those who simply embrace the uncertainty. Those who truly trust in a good outcome generally find a good outcome.

Take the issue seriously - good outcomes in the job search flow from attitudes.

Are You Tough Enough for a Job Search?

Psychologists call it "resilience" - the on-going, step-by-step process of adapting to traumatic events - death of a loved one, diagnosis of debilitating disease, loss of a job.

Some people seem to bounce back emotionally, even when life temporarily knocks them down with blows to the gut. Down but not out, they spring back to their feet - or maybe drag themselves back to their feet - but they get back on their feet.

We admire their spunk, their tenacity, their true grit. Often we marvel at what these tenacious individuals accomplish after overcoming trials and tribulations that would have driven weaker souls to despair and depression.

Job loss can be hard knock. A prolonged job search, dragging on for weeks, months, in some cases even a year or more, however, is more than a hard knock. It's a day-by-day heavyweight emotional pounding on your self-esteem, your finances, your marriage, your career, your dreams and ambitions.

Frankly, the weak sometimes do not survive. The pressures are too powerful. The depression is too deep. The anxieties are too debilitating. Some quit. They give up. They join the ranks of the chronically unemployed.

It could happen to any of us. It could happen to me. It may have happened to you. However, there is hope. There is a positive answer to the question, "Are you tough enough for the job search?"

The reality is - you can be tough enough.

You can get what it takes to take the punches and keep coming back until you dominate the situation and win the prize for which you are striving.

The secret is psychological resilience. It's mental toughness and you can develop mental fitness just as surely as you can improve your physcial fitness.

Sure, it takes some practice and work. It even requires that dread intangible called "discipine". The good news, though, is just as walking a little each day will help your body start shedding excess fat, there are things you can do to develop psychological resiliency.

The American Psychological Association (APA) says that resilience involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned by anyone. Here are ways to build resilience according to the APA:

• Make connections
• Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems
• Accept that change is a part of living
• Move toward your goals
• Take decisive actions
• Look for opportunities for self-discovery
• Nurture a positive view of yourself
• Keep things in perspective
• Maintain a hopeful outlook
• Take care of yourself
• Additional methods include meditation and spiritual practices

Are you tough enough for a job search? You can be if you work at creating hardy mental patterns that lead to positive perspectives on life.

Finally, one thing I cannot leave unsaid. APA's final item makes reference to "spiritual practices". Fact is, for those of us who are believers in Christ, faith and prayer are our connection to the Almighty and the secret source of an amazing ability to bounce back from anything life throws at us - if we hold on to that faith and pray earnestly.

You can do this.

Think right.

Pray hard.

Hang in there.

Stay tough.

You can read more of what the APA has to say by going to their article The Road to Resilience.

Free Career Matching Website

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This website, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, will help you find occupations that require skills and knowledge similar to your current or previous job. In addition, you can learn more about these suggested matches, locate local training programs, and/or apply for actual job postings!

mySkillsmyFuture is one aspect of the Federal government's OneStopCareer initiative. The site is interactive, easy to use and best of all - free!