interbiznet.com
S P O N S O R S
1ST STEPS IN THE HUNT
- An online column for the online candidate
| Resources | Bugler | The Blogs | Advertise with Us | Trends |
Noooz Bytes
May 07, 1999
Challenger, Gray, & Christmas (a Chicago based outplacement firm) notes from a study of layoffs circa 1993-1998 that the computer industry is a large-scale creator AND eliminator of Jobs. Their study of companies from over 30 industries showed over 3 million layoffs during the five plus year period, and computer industries had the third most layoffs with nearly one quarter of a million lost Jobs. Only Aerospace and Retail Industries had more layoffs. The Alternative Board (Denver based membership organization with a great name) asked 450 small to medium sized business owners what they foresaw as their #1 problem/challenge in the upcoming year. The "Shortage of Qualified Job Candidates" was their biggest concern, followed by "Hanging on to New Employees after they're Trained". Three out of five of them planned in increase staffing this year. The
Sun Tzu
May 06, 1999
Somewhere in Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" he suggests that knowing the mind of your enemy is one of the critical keys to winning battles. The same could be said for Jobhunters - knowing the mind of the hiring director at your target company is a key advantage to getting the Job. Obviously, knowing what your future Employer likes, dislikes, respects, and abhors in their Employees can give you the ammunition to turn an average Interview into a killer one. Recruiters and Headhunters are also valuable sources for learning what skills, personality traits, demeanor, etc. are most highly sought after in the Job market. Since these people make their living by placing Job candidates like yourself in paying positions, they generally have a good feel for what is going on in the back of mind of Employers who need Employees. I look at the Electronic Recruiting Exchange every day for some of these clues, and you should put yourself on their daily email newsletter list to glean some of the same information. Their daily newsletter gives you a bird's eye view of what issues Recruiters think are important - and if the issue matters to recruiters, it probably should matter to you as well. Recruiters discuss clever ways to find YOU, and you can use this information to upgrade your 'findability quotient'. Circumstantial evidence indicates that experience is becoming less and less important to Employers. Instead they are looking for Job candidates with problem-solving ability, regardless of their previous experience. This may be due to worries that long term, experienced Employees are more likely to cost more; or that these Employees are less adaptable and/or lack the ambition to further their skills and careers through training or by Jobhopping. Hopefully this trend away from 'experienced only need apply' will open the door up for the qualified, but inexperienced entrants in to the Job market. Most of us need some means to 'break into' whatever field we see as holding our dream Job, and listening to how Recruiters view us and their own profession is one way to get on the inside track.
Net Effort
May 05, 1999
Not everyone is a natural at Jobhunting. And conversely, some of the best Jobhunters will not be the most skilled at their chosen professions. If you are new to Jobhunting, or just not very comfortable with having to market yourself to prospective Employers, then you will need to work even harder than the average Jobseeker when your time comes find your next position. Some of the skills important for Jobhunters to exhibit are: Selling, Researching, Communicating, and Being able to objectively evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses. Some of these skills are prerequisites for most Jobs, and we all possess them to varying degrees. Which ones are you best at? Worst at? Successful Jobhunters (and this implies getting both the Job that is right for you AND the one you want, rather than just getting the Job that is offered) are willing to use several different Jobhunting strategies, rather than sticking to just one method. Jobhunters that send out thousands of poorly targeted resumes, whether print or email, may be lucky enough to get the Job they want. But they're just getting lucky, and counting on random chance to bail you out time and time again does not constitute a Jobhunting strategy. If you were fishing all day in a dead lake and didn't catch anything, would a smart response be "I'll fish here for another week until I catch something!" Envision a contingency plan to your Jobhunting strategy. Target companies that are not yet hiring - they are good sources for informational interviews and connections to companies that are hiring. Is a former Job title Executive Secretary? Maybe changing it to Administrative Assistant will help. Show some creativity with Job titles, tasks performed, skill categorization, etc. Try not to limit how those with the power to hire you perceive your abilities. Net search tip of the day - visit ZDNet's anchor desk periodically. JobOptions allows you to construct and email your resume for free, in addition to having a searchable Jobs database. Its Job Alert system conveniently emails you when matches between available Jobs and your Resume are found. Jobtrak bills itself as 'the nation's leading Job listing service', which means that there are over 100 'leading' companies offering the same service. Nevertheless, it does have something to offer for Jobhunters.
The Write Job
May 04, 1999
At some point during the Jobhunt you may have to reassess whether you are overreaching in your search for the "perfect Job". It is at times like this when you can turn to some of your secondary skills to earn enough money get by. Occasionally you'll find that these 'second best' Job opportunities can be very rewarding careers. This is how some writers fall into their careers - they write an article or two for a few bucks, and bang -the next thing they know, it starts to look like they might be able to make a living at it. If you think you might have a natural flair for writing, start reading columnists both online and off. Any special interests that you have are good fodder for the writing grist mill, and the ability to vividly recall your own experiences as they relate to the topic at hand is prized by readers and editors alike. Freelance writers in the US have a place they can turn to for support and information. Links for technical writers and journalists are included as well. There are tips on negotiating a fair wage for your work, how to break into the industry, and alerts for writing opportunities. Media Week gives you business pulse of the industry, and lists a number of media, publishing, and advertising Jobs. The Newspaper Mania Job Center claims to have links to over 20,000 media related sites. Another good site is Airwaves Job Services, which is dedicated to radio professionals. And Newspaper New Media helps young writers develop their skills and offers instructions on successfully finding internships, fellowships, and professional positions. 
- 1999 Top 100
- 1997 Top 100
- 1996 Top 25
Last Week On 1st Steps
May 03, 1999
Public Companies
in Electronic Recruiting
|
Materials written by John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.