Job Search Advice Articles
What's the Hidden Job Market?
Once you have completed your resume, your next step is to know how to effectively look for your next position. In my 20+ years of career coaching, this is the number one struggle for those in transition. Most people do not job search effectively, thus making their search last much longer than it needs to be.
Bottom line, as a job seeker, you need to spend your time doing what makes a difference! Statistics show that only 10-20% of all jobs are ever posted in a job bank, and of the jobs posted, less than 5% are filled from all job boards combined! These statistics mean 80-90% of all opportunities remain in the hidden job market, meaning unadvertised openings. What I tell all my clients is that “most jobs you can do tomorrow are walking around inside Managers’ heads”. So, I would never tell someone not to use online job boards, but you want to spend most of your time doing proactive job searching, rather than reactive job searching (only reacting to job postings).
A proactive job search looks like this:
- Ask yourself, “Where do I want to work?” or “Who would hire someone with my skills?” and then make a list of employers in your geographic area who hire for those positions.
- Don’t worry about whether you see job postings for the positions you are targeting (as most jobs are never advertised), instead, spend your time trying to get your resume in the hands of the person who would hire you.
- In order to do this, write everyone you know and tell them the companies you are targeting.
- Use LinkedIn and search for 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree contacts you have that work at the companies you are targeting.
- If you are a member of a professional association, obtain the membership directory and search for contacts at the companies you are targeting.
- Never ask, “Do you know if your company is hiring?” (as that is like asking “if they know what’s inside their Manager’s head”). Instead, ask if they can assist you in sending along your resume to the Manager of the department where you would like work.
- When sending your resume, tell the Manager you are targeting their company as a place you would like to work and ask if they have any current or future needs for someone with your skills and experience. Please reach out to us if you need help with writing a professional resume.
- The more you do this, the more pleasantly surprised you will be with the results.
Don’t Ask the Wrong Question when Job Searching
WRONG QUESTION: “Do you know of any job openings”? OR “Who’s hiring?”
- This might seem obvious to ask, but it can actually hurt your networking (which is the most effective job search method and how over 80% of job searchers find work).
- In working with my resume clients at channingresumes.com, I tell them that once they have completed their resume, the next step is to know how to effectively look for their next position. In my 20+ years of career coaching, this is the number one struggle for those in transition. Most people do not job search effectively, thus making their search last much longer than it needs to be.
- Statistics show that only 10-20% of all jobs are ever posted in a job bank AND of all the jobs posted, less than 5% are filled from all job boards combined!! These statistics mean up to 90% of all opportunities remain in the Hidden Job Market, meaning unadvertised openings.
- What I tell all my clients is that “most jobs you can do tomorrow are walking around inside managers’ heads.” So, I would never tell someone not to use online job boards, but you want to spend most of your time doing proactive job searching (networking), rather than reactive job searching (only reacting to job postings).
RIGHT QUESTION: “Who do you know who would manage someone with my skills?”
- Once you have determined places you want to work and located contacts that could connect you to those companies, your next step should be trying to get your resume in the hands of the person who would hire you (whether they are officially hiring or not).
- It is not important for your contact to know whether the manager they’re referring you to is hiring right now because frankly only the manager knows their short and long-term needs.
- Get the manager’s name, get an introduction and introduce yourself to them. Your statement can be a simple, “I understand you have people with my kind of background and skills working for you. I don’t assume to know if you have job openings, but I would like to meet you and learn more about the type of people you like to have on your team and share with you a bit about my background.”
- OR when sending your resume, tell the manager that you are targeting their company as a place you would like to work and ask if they have any current or future needs for someone with your skills and experience.
- Please reach out to channingresumes.com if you need help with writing a professional resume.
- The more you ask the right questions, the more pleasantly surprised you will be with the results.
What does it mean to have an ageless resume?
As I write resumes for www.channingresumes.com, I am often asked the question: “what can I do to take the reader’s focus away from my age?” If you are over 50 and concerned that you are being screened out because of your age, a good solution is creating an “ageless resume”. The language, format and content you include in your resume can date you. There are some tips to reflecting your qualifications for a position without revealing your age. Here are some things to consider:
- Education graduation dates are not required on resumes so you can eliminate them.
- Remove the mention of tenure in your summary statement. Often resumes begin with the first line of a summary stating “over 20 years of experience...” I recommend highlighting your talent and results rather than your years of experience. You can say “Comprehensive background in the manufacturing industry”….
- Limit the dated work experience to the most recent 15 years (which to employers is the best predictor of how you will perform in the future). You can still include older work experience (if you feel that will enhance your marketing yourself), but I suggest creating another section on your resume called “Additional Experience” and omit dates in this section.
- Use current terminology and language on your resume.
- Include professional development details. If you have updated your skills regularly and/or have completed certification in your industry or functional area, include them to demonstrate you are a lifelong learner.
- By following these tips, you can reduce the risk against age discrimination. Choosing the right information and terminology will demonstrate to hiring mangers that you are a valuable job candidate and the best person for the job.
If you would like assistance in developing your next resume, click here to begin working on updating your resume.
6 THINGS NOT TO INCLUDE ON YOUR RESUME
As a resume writer, I often tell clients: “It’s important to also consider what NOT to include on your resume,” some things can do more harm than good…
Answer:
- Summary statement that is unclear and unfocused: The reader should be clear on what type of position you are targeting and why you would be good a candidate for that position (including hard and soft skills).
- Regurgitation of your job description: Along with what you did day to day (like answer phones and email), it’s just as important (if not more) to summarize what you accomplished over time (like increased customer satisfaction 20%).
- Large blocks of text: Resumes are read extremely quickly (an average of 10-30 seconds) so your goal is to make yours as easy to skim as possible. That means keeping your text short and sweet, and in bullet points, not block text.
- Personal details: Since it’s illegal for employers to consider this when looking at your application (at least in the U.S.), they can’t request it (and offering it makes you look like you are not aware of that and can be used against you).
- Too many pages: Your resume will get under a minute of your reader’s attention. Make sure you include enough accomplishment-based information but not so much that your accomplishments get lost in the data and the reader stops reading. If you have under 7 years of professional experience, try to keep your resume to 1 page. If over that, try not to go over 2 pages.
- Typos: Don’t rely on spell check and grammar check alone—ask family or friends to take a look at it for you.
3 Questions Job Seekers Ask About Cover Letters
1. Do employers really read cover letters?
Yes and No…
- Cover letters enable screeners to quickly qualify candidates, so yes, many employers do read cover letters and some will not consider an application without one.
- Some employers report only reading resumes and not cover letters, since you don’t know which employers they are, it’s always recommended to craft a cover letter.
- Recruiters and employers have indicated that a lack of cover letter indicates the candidate did not take the extra time to consider a tailored introduction.
- So, unless specifically instructed to not send a cover letter, be sure to prepare a concise point-by-point match of your qualifications with their stated requirements.
- Cover letters offer another opportunity to have your resume pass the screening and move to the "yes, interview" pile.
2. What makes an effective cover letter?
- Your cover letter is often your first introduction to the employer, so focus on the employer’s needs.
- You should specifically demonstrate your fit to the position. To do this, carefully analyze the posting and research the company.
- Typically a cover letter has 3 sections or paragraphs:
- First: Introduction and state why you are writing.
- Second: state why you would make a good candidate for the position (done in a bulleted fashion).
- Third: Ask to be considered for an interview.
3. Can I create one cover letter that I can use for every submission of my resume?
- Yes and No….
- Yes, you can draft 1 basic cover letter that serves as a template to highlight how your experience and accomplishments match with the general types of positions you are seeking.
- But no, you should not use that exact letter for all applications. Each letter should make a personal connection with the reader and feature a point-by-point match of your experience and strengths as it relates to what the company is seeking.
If you would like assistance in writing your cover letters or resume and would like more information on www.channingresumes.com, click here to begin working on updating your resume.
Your Resume Should Not Be a “One-Size-Fits-All Document”
Often clients I work with at www.channingresumes.com will tell me “I want to use my resume to target many types of positions”. The problem with this is that you will present to a prospective employer that you are unfocused in your job search. There is nothing wrong with “staying open to many possibilities” or job searching for more than 1 career target (many job searchers do that), however if the targets are quite different you will want to consider modifying your resume for each career option.
The reason for this is, even though you might not be sure which career option you want to take at the moment, the employers reading your resume want to feel that you are invested in doing the position they are offering. Employers do not want to interview people who are “keeping their options open” or “considering numerous possibilities”, they want to interview people who are interested in doing the job they will be offering. You want to be sure your resume and cover letter coveys this and doesn’t leave an employer in question.
Finally, don’t expect an employer to do the work of reading through your resume to see what you might have to offer in that position. Do the work for them! Everything on your resume should relate to the position in descending order of importance, starting with a strong summary statement that tells about the most important pieces of information about your qualifications for the position.
If you’re thinking, “That’s a lot of work!” you are right. But if you don’t invest the time showcasing your relevant skills and experience, the employer is not going to take the time to consider you as a serious candidate for a position.
If you would like assistance in writing your resume and would like more information on Channing Resumes, Click here to begin working on updating your resume.