| Job Search Mistakes - Part I |
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| Written by Eugenia Kaneshige |
| Tuesday, 23 June 2009 15:01 |
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At Norwood Career Advisors, we teach people to look at their job search as a full-time job—a sales job. We show them how to brand, market and sell themselves.
To sell a high-end product, you need Planning, Preparation, Persistence, and Process.
To optimize your job search, make sure you’re not making these common mistakes: Not Planning. We may sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating: The key to a successful search is planning. Planning includes goal setting, strategy, tactics, and periodic re-evaluation. Planning creates focus—elimination of the non-effective and non-essential—in a word, efficiency. Not Being Prepared. Another key to the kingdom. You can’t shoot from the hip and expect to beat out the competition. Not Being Persistent. Too many people get discouraged after looking for work for a few weeks or a few months and then give up. The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.4%, but if you include all those who have given up or are under-employed (accepted temporary or part-time employment), it is 16.4%. Not Paying Attention to Detail. One of the biggest weaknesses of experienced sales people is inattention to detail. In a weak job market, employers can afford to be very picky. They are all looking for A players. In order to convince a prospective employer that you are an A-player, you have to present a consistent message that says you are an A player—in your e-mails, your notes, your appearance, your follow up. Not Getting Better. The longer you are unemployed, the less attractive you appear to potential employers. You can offset the tarnishing effect of this aging if you take the old product off the shelf, so to speak, and create a “new and improved” you. The old you may have been an overweight couch potato who never bothered to pick up any computer skills and was “too busy” to learn about the Internet. The new you just ran a 10k, took several computer and Internet courses, and is teaching other people at a Job Hunters group how to use social media in their job search.
Procrastination. The unemployment rate as of May was 12% in Charlotte, and still climbing. That means that every day you delay, the competition gets worse. From the minute you wake up in the morning, you have to think, “Get up, get moving, get going.” Do it now. Pick up the phone. Send out that note. Procrastination can be a symptom of several problems--fear of failure, for one. First, read a book on procrastination. Sometimes just understanding where the problem is coming from helps people to overcome it. Second, get a job search buddy to keep you on track. Finally, if you can’t stop procrastinating, you may need to get some professional help. If you find it difficult to pick up the phone or network, watch for our next installment—Job Search Mistakes – Part II. |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 13:45 |