Your resume is, as everyone acknowledges, your principal sales tool. It does not get you a job; it could get you to where the action is, the interview. You will want to use as many resumes as you can, in every situation in which a positive result is possible. The so-called shotgun approach of sending hundreds of form letters in hopes of a few responses is often costly and seldom productive; a mass mailing, each letter a rifle shot, is productive.
Another key ingredient in your job search is persistence. You must keep at it-answering ads, making phone calls, writing letters. Half-hearted or sporadic efforts only slow down your search. It's not easy to persevere when things aren't going well or according to your schedule, but you must keep moving. (It helps to have some much-needed support from family and a friend or two.) The momentum itself has value; it keeps your interest alive and doesn't let your natural enthusiasm die.
Working at your job search eight hours a day, seven days a week, is not feasible. You'll get tired too soon, no matter what you accomplish. Working full time at your job search should mean about five hours a day, five days a week, with perhaps a little extra time on Saturday. Weekend breaks are recommended therapy.
If you are currently employed, try for two hours a day and five hours on the weekend. That's an average of two hours a day, every day. To do that, plan to lock up the television and forget your usual evening newspaper and magazine reading.
If you've been dismissed as of a certain future date, see if you can arrange to stay on the payroll instead of taking a lump-sum severance pay. (This does not refer to pension-plan payments or other tax-related withdrawals). Remaining on the payroll is both economically practical and psychologically beneficial. Find out, too, if your organization will permit you the use of an office, telephone, copy machine, and the services of a typist or secretary.
It should be common knowledge, but isn't, that the majority of the best jobs are never advertised. Why? Because employers get word-of-mouth recommendations from their contacts. This is true of a wide range of positions, from general managers of symphony orchestras, to key business positions, college teaching assignments, and association executive directors. What does this mean to you? That you must dig and dig for knowledge of openings. Don't forget how important your contacts are in this digging.
Information about potential employment opportunities could come from anyone, anytime, anyplace. At meetings and social gatherings determine whether it is appropriate to discuss your needs with one or two people present. Never make it a group discussion. Your efforts here should not be geared toward what these people themselves might do about hiring you as much as whom they may know who could help. Never even suggest that a contact could possibly hire you. If he or she is interested in you, you'll know soon enough. Other sources of information on potential employment opportunities are trade, business, and professional journals, as well as newspapers.
SUMMARY OF JOB-SEARCH PRINCIPLES
- Objective #1: to choose your job/career objective.
- Objective #2: to obtain interviews.
- Objective #3: to get the job that is right for you.
- An excellent resume and well-written letters are essential tools. Most job seekers use an average or poor resume
- Market yourself with a comprehensive plan. A well-planned campaign is a big advantage. Most people do not do this.
- Answer ads, write to employers, write to executive recruiters if appropriate, and use your business and personal contacts.
- Try to complete your search in a relatively short span of time. If possible, do not let the campaign stretch into five or six months.
- Maintain complete and accurate records of ad replies, letters written, telephone calls, and interviews. Keep copies of all letters and notes.
- Individualize all your efforts.
- Be well organized, confident, and persistent; do not procrastinate.
- At interviews, always maintain your best appearance. Do not be extreme in dress or personal grooming.
- If possible, keep your present employment until you get another job. It is best to conduct your full campaign while you are still actively employed.
- Handle yourself well in interviews. Practice first.
- Evaluate the offers carefully.
- Be prepared to spend enough time and money to do the job well. The cost is relatively small compared to the rewards of greater happiness and job satisfaction.
- It is more difficult to get a new job in another field or in another geographical location. So if you are going in that direction, you'll need to work even harder in your campaign.
It is highly recommended to use three-by-five index cards for all segments of your search: one set of cards for contacts, one for selected employers, one for executive search consultants, and one set for want ads. Prepare a card when something develops the first time, and then post that card as you go along. Prepare additional cards as needs arise. It is best to make a card for each of your contacts when you start your search. You might even prepare a full set of cards for the relatively few selected employers to whom you are writing. There is no need to make a full set in advance for your mass mailings. Another way to maintain quick-glance records for want ads answered is to draw up a simple form like this:
MAINTAIN POSITIVE ATTITUDE
There is no use pretending that your attitude is no problem at all. It's only natural sometimes to feel let down. But you'll be happier, healthier, and more effective if you can be positive in your approach. (You know that a good attitude is essential in interviews.) Two things can hinder you in your effort to maintain a good frame of mind: (1) a normal, human tendency to do only what seems essential at the moment, and (2) allowing discouragement to get to you. The best way to overcome these emotional "hang ups" is with your intellect. Reason tells you to proceed now, in spite of obstacles.
Good support from family and a loyal or trusted friend can mean a lot during your search. Don't elicit sympathy, however. Don't review how you lost your job, either in your mind or in talking with others. Self-pity and self-justification have no place in your positive attitude. Your future success is the matter at hand, not past failure or stroke of fate. You cannot waste time on these negative (but very human) influences.
USE THE TELEPHONE
The telephone is an instrument that can work wonders for you. It not only enables you to make the necessary outgoing calls to contacts and all others, it may also bring you what you've been waiting for; a call from an employer requesting a resume or interview, or calls from contacts setting up new leads.
Outgoing calls merit little space in this handbook. You already know about friendliness, selling yourself, and asking the right questions. Make an interview date if you can, or arrange for another call. It's the incoming calls you might have to think about.
If possible, try to have an adult answer your phone when you aren't there. An employer or other key caller doesn't want his or her message misunderstood, garbled, or (especially with important items like call-back numbers) noted incorrectly, and neither do you. Perhaps young children could be instructed not to answer the phone. Teenagers could be instructed and trained in the serious matter of telephone technique for a job search. It can't hurt them to be willing to participate well in your job search.
One useful but expensive tool is an answering service. You can sign up with a service for a month or two on a full-time or part-time basis. You can also buy or rent an answering machine. In your absence, either of these methods of handling incoming calls is businesslike or professional, as the case may be. They cost money, but the value can be great. To find out more about answering machines, look in the Yellow Pages under 'Telephone Automatic Answering Equipment." Do comparison shopping for costs and exact services expected, as these can vary greatly. Should you buy a machine or would renting one be better? Is the personal response of an answering service better for your purposes?
BE DISCREET
Tell only those you must about your job search, but nobody else. If an individual can't help you, don't tell him or her. This practice is good if you are unemployed or about to be. It's critical if you are working and your employer is unaware of your plans. If you are currently employed, there is always a certain amount of risk in a job search.
ESTABLISH REFERENCES
Individuals who will provide recommendations need to be seen or called in advance. They should be willing to give positive reports about you, and it is important for them to know what to say. This assumes that you know these people well enough to speak plainly to them. Each such person should know quite a bit about you personally and professionally, what your responsibilities were? What things you did exceptionally well? And where you worked? Each should be very familiar with your job objective and have knowledge of how your achievements might benefit a new employer.
Alert each person who acts as your reference when you know that he or she might get a call.
BUILD YOUR CONTACTS
What if you have not built up a core of contacts thus far in your career? You can't do much about the past, but you can start to acquire contacts right now. Become a joiner in those areas where you have an interest, where you can genuinely contribute, and where joining can benefit you. Professional and trade associations are a good place to start. If you are unfamiliar with the various associations and their activities, consult the Encyclopedia of Associations, described in the Appendix, to see what is available in your field. Ask friends or others who may know.
Once you belong to an association, attend meetings regularly and plan to move up. Join one or two committees and then outshine everybody else. This isn't hard to do. Few people on a committee really give unstinted effort for a common cause where the return can't be measured except in satisfaction. Do your assignment just 10 percent better than others, and you'll be outstanding. Active committee work and its results can lead to membership on the board of directors, and then to the offices of the association. By that time, you'll have dozens of good contacts. You must give of yourself first, however; the benefits will accrue to you later. If this approach seems self-serving, rest assured that it is. Meanwhile, you will have contributed far more than most members.
Attend conventions, and if the scope is on the national level, your efforts for your local chapter can lead to higher assignments and to being on a first-name basis with national officials. Be of help to the executive director if you can. This is not textbook theory; this is exactly how it happens. Contribute, get the exposure, and don't burn any bridges.
You can give of your talents and time in many other areas as well. Serve well in your community. Local service clubs are pleased to have new and active members. What about alumni associations? What about some additional committees in church or other religious organizations? Don't forget that you give first, and then receive.
TIME REQUIRED FOR A JOB SEARCH
The Executive Resume Handbook can't tell how long your search will take, and neither can you or anybody else. It depends on how well you plan your search, how well you do it, the economic conditions in the country and in your field, what you have to offer, what appeals to the interviewer, and luck. What is luck? It is the hard work you do that other people do not do. Luck is being better prepared. Luck is handling an interview well, so that the chemistry takes a positive turn. Luck is making one more phone call, writing one more letter. Luck is studying this handbook, not skimming through it.
JOB-SEARCH CAPSULE IDEAS
- Make a good investment in yourself, in terms of both time and money.
- You don't have the job until you report for work; meanwhile keep all options open.
- Get the right job for you, not just any job.
- Focus on the present and the future; looking back can be devastating.
- Now is the time to search; don't wait for a "good time"; it will never arrive.
- High morale will help you; low morale will bring sorrow.
- Don't succumb to procrastination.
- Keep your records up to date.
- Make your phone calls when you should.
- Follow up all leads.
