Community Employment Resource
Centre
The Community Employment Resource Centre
(CERC) brings you this weekly column as an extension of our on-line
service. We provide referrals to other
agencies, advice on job search issues, as well as dates and / or information
pertaining to upcoming job fairs. We
invite you to use this service by dropping into or calling either office
(Cobourg: The Fleming Building,
905-372-9372; Port Hope:
Lakeland Place, 74L Queen St. (beside Town Hall), 905-885-2372) or through our website:
www.cercnorthumberland.com.
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with my job
search. I have been responding to most
job ads, networking and sending out oodles of cold letters with absolutely no
luck!!
Anyone who has experienced a longer job search will be
able to empathize with the frustrations you are feeling! It definitely sounds as though you are
dedicating a lot of energy to your job search.
There is an excellent website,
www.careerjoy.com, that tells of a
fictitious job search and offers some advice on concentrating your
efforts. Some relevant points of
interest from this site are:
1.
Don’t answer all
the Help Wanted Ads –10% of vacancies are advertised with 100% of the
competition applying. Best
approach: allocate 5% of time to ads
(max: 1hr) to identify top ten and go for those. There is not enough of a return to warrant additional efforts.
2.
Don’t mail
random cold letters/resumes – research potential employers and careers to identify
those where your specialization “fits”.
Focus resumes and cover letters on what you can do for someone else
(reader oriented rather than writer oriented) and direct it to people one or
two levels above where you wish to work.
3.
Don’t look
for “openings” (due to retirements, dismissals, a person quitting or deaths) -
at best, only 3.9% vacancy rate. A
better stat – 43.3% of unadvertised positions are created for an applicant who
sells himself or herself as a solution to employer’s problem.
4.
Networking –
focus on a well-researched plan as to whom you want to talk to and identify how
you can make or save them money (it’s all about the bottom line!!). Have an agenda prepared for each meeting. Meeting people is one thing, making the
right impression is another!!
5.
Be structured
– a good job search has four elements:
®
A thought-out
methodical process
®
Daily
solitude and planning to keep all tasks clear and yourself focused
®
Space
dedicated to the search – phone, voicemail, word-processing equipment (avoid
the kitchen!!)
®
Accountability
– set realistic timeframes and goals
6.
Don’t do it
alone – everyone needs support. Choose
someone who is experienced and knows how careers are made today, who will stick
with you through thick and thin and really listen to your goals/desires.
7.
Stay
motivated – avoid negativity (news, negative people), keep doing things that
make you feel good (you can cut back, but don’t eliminate).
8.
Keep control
– don’t have others distribute your resume for you. While they can sell your experience, they cannot present you
talent, chemistry and personality.
Hope this helps!