Job Search Using the Web to Succeed
A modern job search campaign is by nature fairly complicated. While the net has offered a variety of new channels, it also creates increased competition for choice jobs and potential challenges for job hunters.
Job hunting needs to be thought of as a personalized, very aimed marketing process where you are the product. Your resume is an ad. Your extended network of colleagues is your source for job information.
So where does the web fit in? At AA-Careers, we recently posted a job on a popular job board and got hundreds and hundreds applications in a week. For one opening. That’s increased competition.
Had a strong person called us ahead of our posting that ad, they could have secured the position before running in to all that competition. How? By knowing someone at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone knew of the job for at least 8 days before it was posted. Who in your network might know of a job that’s coming available soon?
Be careful to check your application materials thoroughly before submitting them. When we did an analysis of the 650 resumes, we found a large number of errors. 63% of the applicants were easily eliminated with a fast triage process. How? The same way any manager would. By rejecting resumes where the objective didn’t match our position description. By passing over prospects whose cover letters gave us grounds not to engage them, like "I know I’m overqualified but I really need a job". By eliminating candidates whose documents that didn’t open properly. And by passing over prospects who didn’t trouble to spell check their cover letter and/or resume.
So the good news is that job boards give you a feel of who is hiring, and for what kinds of jobs. But once those jobs are posted, the competition is intense. You can still compete, if you have a well written resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing – so you don’t stumble at a critical point.
Another issue to be aware of is how quickly and easily you can be checked out on the internet. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some Facebook comments that were in questionable taste. Nothing insane, but enough to rock our thoughts about who to hire.
AA-Careers provides a comprehensive set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.
Be careful out there, and good hunting!
