Have heard the saying, getting a new job needs to be your full-time job? While true, especially if you do not have a job, you most likely have found ways with past jobs to get your work done more quickly, which leads to more fun time. After all, without enjoyment, it is hard to stay positive and motivated. With that in mind, our goal is to help you do your new full-time job of getting a job in a way that leads to you being able to enjoy yourself more, which will help you to be motivated, if having no income is not motivating enough. When we are good at something, we are motivated.
We know you did not go to school for job searching, develop a job searching trade, or gain significant job searching experience in an occupation. You are not expected to be expert job seekers, just like we are not experts in your field. You may believe you know a lot about job seeking, and you may, but like other topics such as sports, gardening or cooking, you are really not an expert like a trained Chef, Professional Coach or Paul the Gardner Guy. You can learn from others, and keeping an open relaxed mind while searching for a job is paramount for success.
In between the basics... Preparing, applying, interviewing, and following up, there are a host of things you can do, and do better, that makes finding a job easier. With experience in corporate HR leadership, staffing, Internet recruiting from the beginning, and other closely aligned career experiences, we think we can offer a hand. While the goal is to make the process of finding a job more efficient, it is still hard work. Although important, logging onto your favorite job board each week for a few hours, and applying to a handful of jobs, is not job seeking or hard work, and will rarely lead to good results.
Job seeking is much like being a professional salesperson. Successful salespeople utilize a sales life cycle; prospecting, approaching, presenting, closing, and following up. The better the salesperson, the more they have mastered each area of the life cycle. For example, salespeople utilize a number of avenues to prospect, such as cold-calling, networking, advertising, etc. Each of these relates very well to job seeking, and each has its pros and cons. Doing a combination of all of these methods well and often will lead to a sale / new job, even if you are not a very good salesperson.
Here is a secret. Hard work in sales beats selling abilities / smoothness every time. Keep in mind, you only need ONE sale, and that is a new job. You absolutely can get one sale selling anything, and the economy, which by the way shows 95% or so employed, has nothing to do with your success, NOTHING. A great salesperson will be successful no matter what the conditions are perceived to be. That is a fact. Negative conditions actually motivate the top salespeople and it should motivate you. They are fighters. You have to always remember the concept of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow, but you must sow first. Meaning, great results never come without persistent hard work first.
Like any successful salesperson will tell you, you need to "fill the pipeline", meaning you need to get some things going in the direction of a sale. You need to create energy and build momentum. While filling the pipeline, never expect instant results. A professional salesperson will also tell you that after a truly concerted effort to prospect and approach potential customers, it is ALWAYS the case that you will make a sale. This is the case whether it is in a competitive industry or in a down economy. Again, it takes time to fill the pipeline, and you must sow in order to reap. You need to do a lot of research, prospecting, applying, etc. You need to develop some new sources for a sale (job) by being creative. Sales is very rarely an instant success process, although sometimes salespeople get lucky. Don't count on luck. It is not an original thought, but I like the equation: Preparation + Hard Work = Good Luck.
As well, a salesperson does things to increase his odds of being successful, such as developing strong collateral material (resume), developing a winning presentation (interviewing), keeping in touch with potential prospects (follow up), etc. Some of you, although probably not you since you are reading this, do not want to work very hard to get a new job and would rather work hard at excuses as to why you cannot get a job. That is your right. If you want to win, there is just no way around it. You must improve and get better at all aspects of job seeking.
Who knows, maybe you find you like the job seeking sales process and decide to explore the selling profession. There are many sales positions that are open to entry level people with no sales experience, such as financial services sales. As mentioned, a slick talking personality is not what makes a successful salesperson. A little side note that relates well to sales and job seeking, and something every salesperson will tell you, is that if you show desperation to get a sale with a prospect, it will not happen. With your job search, it is the same thing. Remain calm and do not be obnoxiously aggressive in your closing and follow up. Don't let them see you sweat as they say. You can control these emotions by visualizing and with positive affirmations. There is a whole theory, which is not this simple, but it has to do with the harder you try for something, the more it will elude. Basically, you need a relaxed mind.
You need to know that no matter how worried and concerned you are, there is a job out there for you. Not just any job, but a great job. The pie is enormous and there are millions of potential employers. That is a fact and never let yourself think any differently. If you find yourself thinking negatively, stop yourself and think of what you do want for yourself instead. It is a fact that you can only hold one thought at a time in your mind, negative or positive. Catch negative thinking and stop it in its track. It takes practice.
Needless to say, during your job seeking downtime, read something positive, like "Think and Grow Rich” or research the "The Law of Attraction". Do not read the newspaper, participate in online negative discussions, or watch the morning, lunch, nightly, or 24 hour per day news bombardment shows while looking for a job. It is all negative and will do nothing for you. Being "informed" about the negative topics the media is selling you does NOTHING but harm to you and your mind. Unfortunately, humans seem to have a tendency to be drawn to stories of negativity and hardship, probably because that is all we are being sold, and of course misery loves company. If you really need the weather or sports, go to a weather or sports website. Watch out though. Even they are often selling negativity.
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