AboutReview of CNN article "Hired! Do your homework, land a job" from May 21st 2009.
This is an excellent article! Not because it is good writing but rather the content sells itself. Basically, the article is about a job seeker who proves you can still find work if you are willing to go the extra mile. Why am I reviewing this article? Well, because I like everything in his article and it can easily be used as a "playbook" or "blueprint" for getting that next job.
Essentially, the job-seeker profiled did everything right and was rewarded with a new job very quickly with barely a blip of unemployment. Now keep in mind that you can do everything right but still come up short...there are no guarantees, but the point is to increase your chances of success and create opportunities.
To start, the article states being fired does not have to equate to long-term unemployment. When someone is fired the natural tendency is to carry a negative disposition and feel upset and angry about being fired...which is the wrong attitude. Being fired should be viewed as an opportunity not an obstacle. So start out of the blocks on a positive note in order to jump-start your job search and go the extra mile to get hired.While the article has you believe the jobseeker went the extra mile to get the job, I disagree. To us at JobGet.Net, the strategies utilized are not "extra" or "above and beyond", but rather normal, basic and sound strageties that you should employ when looking for work. I will go into each one in more detail, but the following strategies were used:
- Update resume
- Networked
- Sharpened his skills
- Performed due diligence
These strategies are available to anyone and can be used by everyone for any job search. The only head-start this job seeker received was that his former employer provided him a heads up before getting canned. According to the article, he was notified in early February that his firm would have to make cuts and his last day would be March. He was given a few weeks lead-time, which is very lucky, and he was able to use it to his advantage. When I was laid-off in the tech bubble bust, yours truly was only given 4 days.
The jobseeker put himself in a prospective employers place and asked, "what would the employer be looking for, what would catch their eye?"
Updating his resume:
The article does not go into much detail about what he did or did not do to update his resume, but one can assume that he either already had his resume up to date with his current information or he did it after receiving the bad news. Either way one thing is certain, he researched the key words and phrases that hiring managers were looking for, like "computer programmer," instead of the outdated "IT professional," and described himself accordingly on his resume before posting it to the major job search sites. This is something we advocate at JobGet.Net...specifically, modifying your resume to include targeted keywords and other specific information about the job you want, which is always a best practice and should be done all of the time...thus I don't consider this "extra" or "above and beyond". Anyways, this part of his strategy worked since he received 20 or 30 calls or hits from his resume alone. I myself have used this strategy and can attest to it's success.
Networking:
According to the article, the job-seeker reached out to friends and former managers, joined LinkedIn and his college alumni association to gain access to more job listings. He then performed a targeted search in his field of programming jobs in his local area. You want to make a job transition as smooth as possible, so while we advocate doing what it takes to get a job, keep in mind you should look locally first for awhile before branching out to other locales and consider moving. Basically, don't up-heave your life if you don't have to. That said, you must keep an open mind and mentally prepare yourself and your family that you might have to move in order to secure employment. I have lost count of all the unemployed highly educated people who remain unemployed for months or years at a time because they refused to move...do the math...some parts of this country have 17% unemployment while others have less than 5%. Where would you rather live?
Skill sharpening:
The job-seeker also began immediately brushing up on his software skills through books and online tutorials. Training is always a great way to help boost your resume to the top of the pile. Reading inexpensive books and taking free online tutorials should be be listed on your resume. For a little more money you can take classes or obtain certifications in your area of expertise from local community colleges. Don't forget, you receive tax breaks for education expenses not covered by your employer.
Due diligence:
Basically, due diligence means, doing your homework, research, organizing and being prepared. The job-seeker began his due diligence by preparing a loose-leaf binder with alphabetized information on the companies he applied to and recruiters he was in contact with. Organizing in such a fashion you are able to keep track of your interactions, taking notes and reviewing status of each position applied. For those applications that don't pan out, you can learn what went wrong and make adjustments. In this article, one of the employers contacted him early in his search and he immediately familiarized himself with the company by watching the office video tour online. He also looked up current employees on LinkedIn and researched the relevant skills and current projects they listed. So when it came time for his interview he had prepared answers and anecdotes for every conceivable question he could think of in advance...things like this will impress the hell out of a recruiter or hiring manager. According to the article, the hiring manager recognized that the job-seeker had done his homework on the company, the position and was very good at responding to questions...so it's no surprise that he got the job. As a result of his efforts he technically had only been unemployed for three days.
The career experts at CNN agreed that this success can be credited to his analytic approach to the job search. As stated in the article, "Its not always the most qualified who gets the job but the one who knows best how to market their qualifications." Ahhh...where have heard that before...you need to "market yourself". This is must in any profession, whether you climbing the ladder in your current organization or seeking a new position in another company, you must learn to market yourself. From the article it states, "job seekers need to sell themselves to potential employers. That means getting up to speed on relevant skills in demand, finding contacts with the company and putting your best foot forward at the interview."
As stated in the article, "using job boards to get information on what employers are looking for and incorporating that in your resume with key words and phrases is a smart way to get started. Taking courses, webinars and tutorials to bone up those sought-after skills is also key - particularly for those that have been out of the job market for an extended period of time." These are all areas of focus when performing a job search and ones that we wholly espouse at JobGet.Net.
After reading the article, many of you might be saying, "Oh sure, he had a college degree and in a high-paying field, so of course he had a head start." In comparison to a high school only degreed person, yes, but keep in mind, regardless of the degree or profession, there are thousands of people that can do the job as good as you...so it is ever so important to market yourself. Bottomline take-away from the article is not the story of the person, but rather the his positive/optimistic attitude and the steps he took to secure his new job. Focus on these areas and you will get that job!
