Job Hunting from the Trenches: 6 Hard Earned Lessons

Attempting to stay ahead of the curve, I have recently started interviewing and exploring all my options just in case the unthinkable occurs at my current company. The following are a couple of tips straight from the trenches should you find your phone ringing @ 4:30 on a Friday. (See previous blog titled, Mergers, Acquisitions, Layoffs, OH MY!)

1) Job Boards are a joke

I am thoroughly convinced that all job boards are owned by either CareerBuilder or Monster. I am also convinced adult education universities co-op them. You can’t login once without having to hit the “No Thanks” button declining to submit an application to register for classes. What job boards are good at is giving you a false sense of productivity as you tirelessly scroll through job opportunities for Branch Manager (of K-Mart) and uploading your resume into cyberspace never to be heard from again.

2) The interviewing process is conducted by the potential employer AND potential candidate

For some reason the natural posture of the candidate is submission and that the company is the sole decision maker on this. However, you want to be interviewing them just as rigorously and determining if this is an organization worthy of your talents, and a place to hang your hat. If you think about it, we spend more time during the week with people we work with than our own family. I am not advocating arrogance – far from it. However, what I am recommending is maintaining an atmosphere of equality.

3) Listen to the podcast from Manager Tools pertaining to updating your resume.

They provide some excellent ideas on content and formatting that will be extremely enlightening. If you decide not to listen, be sure and put a band-aid on your clicking finger to avoid a blister, because you are going to be hitting the “No Thanks” button a lot.

4) Send a hand written thank you note to everyone you meet.

When was the last time you received a hand written anything? It takes 4 minutes to do it, fortifies a professional image and most importantly no one else does it.

5) Start interviewing before you leave/lose your job.

Augmenting #2, you want to couch the interviewing dynamic so that the potential employer is in the position to recruit you away from your current one. Otherwise, you will reek of commission-breath and desperation, making #2 more difficult than necessary.

6) It’s no different than cold calling for customers.

Just like prospecting, target the potential companies you want to work with, research the decision maker, pick up the phone and call them with scripting as simple as:

I am contemplating making a move from my current company, _____________, * and you are on my short list of companies I may want to work with. Got about 30 minutes this coming ________ to conceptually discuss a potential fit?

* make sure they are familiar with the company.

Like all my blog postings, treat them like a buffet, take what you like, leave what you don’t and always try something new. Did I miss any?

As the rules of business change, thinking must change as well. For us sales professionals, I believe antiquated thinking will only lead to frustration, unhappy clients and a dwarfed income. The purpose of my blogs is to provoke a deeper level of thought about achievement in business and to challenge the comfort zone in order to provide a new level of selling and lifestyle.

Max always welcomes questions and comments. Visit Max on LinkedIn.com