APICS Atlanta - Structure Your Job Search
Although we are by trade Planners, Buyers, Supply Chain Mangers, etc.,
if we are between jobs we are all fulltime salespersons until we find
that next job. At any moment, when in doubt of what we should be doing,
we should do what a salesperson would do.
Networking is the most effective method of finding a new job, but no one
method by itself is sufficient to assure success. Resumes can be sent in
response to ads and Internet postings, or even mailed out en masse, but
these actions are definitely not the best use of your critical time from
9 to 5 each day when you can potentially be talking to hiring officials.
According to Richard N. Bolles' book, What Color is Your Parachute?,
responding to ads on the Internet is the least effective job search
method unless you are strictly an IT professional, and answering ads in
the newspaper is also right down there at the bottom of the list. You
need Internet access for research and email, but use it after hours.
Boles also explains that recruiting agencies (like Dunhill), can be used
but they only account for 5% (lower salary levels and hourly ranks) to
24% (higher salary levels and executive levels) of all job placements.
Getting face-to-face with potential hiring officials is the very best
use of your time. Job seekers require an average of 10 valid
face-to-face interviews to receive the job offer they will accept. In my
opinion, 1 face-to-face interview is worth at least from 10 to 100
telephone calls. And 1 effective telephone call is more valuable to your
job search than 10 to 100 resumes mass mailed or sent out to newspaper
and Internet ads, correspondence or emails. Look at this mathematical
progression:
1 job search averages 10 interviews.
1 interview requires 10 to 100 telephone calls.
1 effective telephone call is more productive than 10 to 100 emails,
ads, resumes or correspondences.
Assume 1000 phone calls will be the best primary activity to get the
face-to-face interviews to get the right job offers. It will take only
25 days if we choose to make 40 calls a day, as compared to 200 days if
we choose to make only 5 calls per day.
These are 12 tools you need to make your job search effective:
- A well-written Resume.
- A 30-second verbal resume.
- Business cards.
- Daily planning and telephone log or a Contact Management
software.
- Home office or outplacement office space.
- Internet access for research and email.
- Telephone and answering machine.
- A personal support organization.
- Action Plans.
- Thank-you note stationary.
- An interview uniform.
- An impressive list of favorable references.
There are various types of support organizations available to us, and
during a job search we have a tremendous need for these support
networks. Networking groups, that meet weekly or monthly, can serve to
keep our job search focused and prevent burnout, depression and loss of
self-esteem (all are hazards of the trauma associated with changing
jobs). Steve Hines' book, Atlanta Jobs, and the Atlanta Journal
Constitution both list local groups that provide good networking
opportunities and sources of job search support.
The action of writing action plans, for the entire search process or for
individual pieces that add up to finding a job, will be very powerful
steps in your job search. The components of an action plan are:
- determining our OBJECTIVE, then
- itemizing the ACTIONS required,
- establishing a specific TIMETABLE and finally
- set what MEASUREMENTS will tell us when we have reached the
Objective.
If you fail to write the action plan(s), you are likely to be
unemployed much longer than you need to be. Conversely, simply by
writing an action plan you are well on your way toward reaching your
goal.
Additional inquiries should be made to:
Jon Harvill, CPC, APICS Atlanta Career Center Director, careercenter@apicsatlanta.org
c/o Dunhill Professional Search,
Phone: (770) 952-0009, Fax: (770) 952-9422,
E-mail:
JHarvill@dunhillatlanta.com, Website:
dunhillatlanta.com
