Since mid June, I randomly touched base with 2 dozen people who took advantage of my standing offer for a free resume review or attended one of my job hunting workshops or webinars between December 2009 and February 2010. I was curious how many found a new job, and if they were unsuccessful up until now I wanted to find out how their job search was progressing – or not progressing – and why? In a casual way I conducted an informal survey to learn what works and what does not in looking for a new job.
Knowing a little bit about them, their professions and their personalities, I can say the results did not shock me, and I would like to share some of my observations with you and see what lessons you can learn from them.
The first thing I found was that only 9 of the 24 found a new, well-paying, full-time job, which is not surprising in this economy. One other thing that did not surprise me is 6 of the 9 people who found a job abandoned their old resume and had a new one professionally written for them that they considered a major factor in their success. I also discovered that of the remaining job seekers 3 more had their resume professionally written and, although they did not get a new job their interview to apply ratio increased and they also attribute this minor success to using a professionally-prepared resume.
Now I will not say that the new resume alone was why these people found new jobs. But I will say it validates something that in my mind has been true since time immemorial, and more so in this modern age of How-To-Wisdom. When it comes to difficult tasks that you are not trained to do, you are more likely to get the desired results when you hire a professional, especially if you can not afford the negative consequences that often accompany the process of learning through trail and error. In my own life I found this to be true - for myself and for other people I know - in a variety of real-life situations including hiring a CPA to do your taxes, a lawyer to represent you in a civil court action such as a tenant/landlord dispute, an electrician to install a ceiling fan, a painter to paint your home, or an auto mechanic to tune up your car. In each case the end result was better and the cost of hiring a professional was justified when compared to the results of doing it yourself.
Another thing I discovered is that the know-it-alls and the people with the biggest egos were getting the least amount of results. When I asked these people if they took any of the advice that I or other professionals gave them to heart, most said “NO.” Some of the advice I gave them was to be realistic in the jobs they were seeking and the money they were asking for; to employ better time management techniques in their job search; and to ask for help and support in their job search and not go it alone. From these people I confirmed that excessive ego and not trusting others are two ways to remain unemployed.
The last point I would like to touch on is creative networking. I confirmed that the people who listened to me (and others who believe like I do) about being aggressive and creative in networking, are the one’s who got the most and the best results.
However one conversation stuck out in my mind. A forty something Operations Manger told me that he listened and implemented what we discussed about creative networking and he immediately started seeing results. Then after a month or so the results started to dwindle, and he asked me why? My answer to him and to all of you is simple. “Every morning you are going to wake up knowing that you are unemployed; but the people in your network, including your closest friends, long time business associates and acquaintances, former employers and co-workers, and 95% of the people in your job search network don’t think about you on a regular basis, if at all, until you remind them”.
The biggest challenge in creative networking is not finding ways to meet new people, creative ways to get your message across, or getting the courage to ask people to help you for the first time. To me the biggest creative challenge is finding ways to stay in close contact with these people on an ongoing basis without you or the people you are reaching out to feeling that you are needy, pushy and/or annoying.
So with this in mind I’d like to get your input. If you have some creative networking techniques to pass along to fellow readers that have worked for you, please email them to me and I will include them in a future post.
Author:
Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com/, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.
