Last week I wrote about the importance of being proactive in the job search process. In today’s market you must sell yourself just as if you were a sales professional working with a new prospect. The first part, as I discussed, involves getting targeted companies to recognize who you are. A well designed cover letter and resume that highlights your benefits to the company can go a long way to getting your foot in the door. Notice I did not say that it can go a long way to getting you a job! Too often, however, people develop an impressive resume, but don’t go any further in preparing themselves. I was surprised when I discovered that only about 2% of job seekers actually follow up their resume with a phone call to the person in charge of hiring.
It’s important to recognize that a well prepared resume is simply a tool to get you to the next step. As a sales professional, I realize that if I send out 100 sales letters describing the benefits of my product without following up, I’m probably not going to get a single response. I might as well take those letters up in a helicopter and dump them out over the middle of town. Contrary to what many people think, sales letters are not effective sales tools by themselves unless they are mailed out in enormous quantities. A client this past week told me that someone had suggested that he sign up with one of those online placement companies that will mass e-email your resume to thousands of companies in your field at a time. Going with the placement company takes you out of the driver’s seat in the search process by eliminating your choice of where and who you would like to work for. It is also highly unlikely that you will find a quality position going that route. A targeted search, on the other hand, that follows up 20-30 well written resumes with phone calls to key decision makers within each company should typically get you 3 to 4 interviews in 3 to 4 weeks. Get step-by-step instructions for a targeted job search at www.careercalling.com!
About the Author
Jonathan R. Taylor, specializes in helping people in every stage of their lives to find more meaning and purpose in their work. He believes that to find that purpose and meaning, a person's interests, skills, passions, and goals must integrate seamlessly with their work. To get more great advice, subscribe to Jonathan's newsletter at www.careercalling.com!