I landed a new job earlier this month. Happily, this large and reputable firm
extended the offer within a week of my initial interview, which both surprised
and delighted me. I am so psyched!
It took me about two months of intensive searching to obtain this position.
And by intensive, I mean that the process consumed virtually all of my energy
and attention that wasn’t required by my existing job. Your mileage may vary.
That said, here’s my stream-of-lack-of-consciousness approach to job hunting.
1a) Looking for a new job is a full-time endeavor. But keep your existing job,
because being employed allows you to negotiate from a position of (relative /
perceived) strength.
1b) I suspect that having a ‘professional’ personalized email & website
with one’s CV helps to convey a professional persona.
trixie414@gmail.com is probably not what one wants.
Reputable hosting is a mere $3-6/month as of this writing.
2) Create one Comprehensive CV — for your own reference,
and perhaps for ‘headhunters’, if you go that route
3) Tweak that CV for each job application, as required.
Conventional Wisdom dictates one to two pages, but I’ve used
as many as 4 pages with success. Depends on your age, experience,
and how much (and what) you want to convey. Write for your
audience, and weed out material that’s extraneous to the position
for which you’re applying. Typically, less is more.
4) Provide a terse but persuasive (and grammatically impeccable)
cover letter that outlines how your experience qualifies you
for the position (with one to two specific highlights/examples),
and states why you want to work for <ABC Co>.
Brevity and being on-point are key. (Just ask Shakespeare.)
If an online application doesn’t allow you to post a separate cover letter,
preface your resume with the cover letter, and upload the combination
Cover Letter/CV.
5) My favorite job search sites of choice, in order of preference:
indeed.com, linkup.com, monster.com
indeed has a very useful salary range filter. No point in applying to positions
that pay less than what you’re willing to accept.
linkup doesn’t provide the salary filter, but does have a good industry filter.
And Monster, while much ‘busier’ than it used to be, has solid opportunities
and good articles.
6) Careful, selective networking, both in person and online –
I found LinkedIn.com to be rather useful.
7a) CV posted ‘anonymously’ on Monster — the only job board I trust
that allows me to comfortably post my availability anonymously,
and doesn’t inundate me with sales-job-related spam. (The anonymous
posting is how I obtained my prior position in 2005 (it lasted 6 years).)
7b) AVOID posting on CareerBuilder, jobFox & ivyExec. (After doing so,
I was inundated with job spam (sales positions unrelated to my expertise and
solicitations for purported ‘resume review’ & other ‘value added’ services).)
7c) Shun any outfit that requires you, as a job seeker, to pay for ‘access to’ jobs,
or purported ‘help in finding’ jobs. Period. I’d like to think that there’s a special
place in hell reserved for folks who engage in such a practice.
That said, I *do* think that there’s potential value in one or two interview
practice/evaluation sessions with/by a skilled, qualified and experienced
HR (or former HR) professional. Years ago, I participated in such a session,
and gained both valuable insight about my interviewing mannerisms/style
and useful pointers that helped me to improve my cover letter & CV.
8 ) Timeliness — if you’re going after an advertised position, you want to submit
your CV no later than the evening of the day that the position goes public –
otherwise, it’s buried.
I obtained the interview for my most recent position via a headhunter. I believe
that my CV got to the hiring manager before (or the same day that) the position
was posted externally by my new employer.
The Conventional Wisdom is that one does not obtain a job by replying to a job posting.
That may be so, but by following the practices outlined above, I’ve successfully defied
conventional wisdom more than once in my career.
[Conventional Wisdom is an oxymoron, anyway ... . ]