12 Job Hunting Secrets You Wish You Had Known A Long Time Ago

 Let me say right from the beginning that these "secrets" changed my life over 30years ago. These secrets along with the advice I received from the folks that revealed these secrets to me helped me find the career that I loved and remained employed in for over 33 years. Now that I'm retired, in name only, I still dole out the advice contained in these secrets whenever I can.

Here's hoping they help you as well.

 

TWELVE JOB HUNTING SECRETS

UTILIZING PROVEN METHODS TO DISCOVER JOBS

By

 

Douglas D. Hoxeng

 

SECRET NUMBER ONE:

 

Employers hire people they already know.

Employers rarely, if ever, advertise for people when they first, can hire someone they already know and trust. Or second, they hire someone referred by a known and/or trusted friend/associate/acquaintance. It’s only when employers cannot hire a “known” individual that they “go outside” to newspapers, the internet, employment agencies, head-hunters, college recruitment, job fairs, etc., anything that is public.

 

SECRET NUMBER TWO:

 

Therefore, the GOOD jobs go to the good (or at least “known”) people before the general public ever knows about these openings…if, indeed, they ever know about them.

 

SECRET NUMBER THREE:

 

Once the job is “out” and advertised to the public, through newspapers, the web, all the public methods, and the like, your chances of getting that job are ABSOLUTELY MINIMAL!! At best!! Why? Because competition is intense and even overwhelming at times for openings that hundreds of job-hunters up to even thousands of job-hunters can become aware of simultaneously through public announcement sources.

 

SECRET NUMBER FOUR:

 

No matter how good your resume is (and most resumes are NOT good at all!!), and no matter how many applications you fill out…or interviews you may have…this whole process is necessarily CONFRONTATIONAL! It’s “the good guys” vs. “the bad guys.” Realize this: most job applicants ARE bad; they get what they deserve to get: REJECTED! Look at it from the employer’s point of view: their job is to GET RID of those BAD applicants because most of them are UNQUALIFIED, and to REDUCE the great number of applications to a manageable few. Horrible? Yes…but true.

 

COROLLARY:  Employers are seldom if ever waiting for your resume or application. WORSE COROLLARY: they usually don’t even want to read or to see it. It represents more WORK for them; they tire of work quickly, just as you do!

 

SECRET NUMBER FIVE:

 

People hire friends and personal acquaintances first! As we said in #1, they are “safe” hires and can ostensibly be trusted. They’re not unknown quantities. Would YOU hire and “unknown quantity?” Of course not! YOU, like most people, would not hire an unknown baby sitter or have coffee or lunch with someone you do not know. Are employers any different?

 

SECRET NUMBER SIX:

 

People hire people who are interested in the same things they are…especially those who are enthused in things of mutual interest connected with the job they need to be done.

 

SECRET NUMBER SEVEN:

 

Just because you may have been out of work for a while or even fired does not mean that you will not be hired. If that were true, there would be a steadily increasing pyramid of the unemployed…and, eventually, no one would be working at all: Most of the top executives in this country have been laid off or fired at some time.

 

SECRET NUMBER EIGHT:

 

You will be hired for your skills, for your experiences on the jobs you have held and in your life-in-general…and for the results you have had in using those skills. Remember: your skills are the key to your employability. 

You must understand what skills you have, what skills you most enjoy using (you are usually BEST at doing the things you enjoy doing most!), and decide which kinds of jobs use people with those very skills. These are your best job targets and the places on which you should concentrate your efforts! 

 

SECRET NUMBER NINE:

 

Before you go job-hunting, you need to know:

1. WHAT you want to do, specifically and exactly.

2. WHERE you want to do it, both geographically and organizationally…i.e., the kinds of places that need and use people with the skills you have and want to use…and which closely match your own personal goals and values/lifestyle/cultural background; and

3. HOW to get the job you’ve decided you want in a non-confrontational, constructive way. The confrontational process leads to rejections; these lead to depression and a deflated idea of your own self-worth. This HURTS: both you and the potential success of your job hunt.

 

COROLLARY:  If you go on your job hunt without knowing the answers to these three questions, you may well be job-hunting forever. FOREVER!

 

SECRET NUMBER TEN:

 

Most of the time spent in job-hunting, perhaps 90%, should be spent BEFORE you “go out” to look for openings. It can be done at home, without outside communication. It is, basically, MAKING DECISIONS about what you want to do with the rest of your life and career and how your next job relates to that life plan.

 

SECRET NUMBER ELEVEN:

 

Making decisions about your career…and the actual process of job-hunting…has NOTHING to do with “finding out what’s available.” To start out in this way is DOING IT BACKWARDS! The answer to the “what’s available” question is: EVERYTHING IS AVAILABLE! Now: what do you want? What do you want to do? Where do you want to do it? How do you find the job that’s right for you? If you do not target your job-search to the answers to these questions, your efforts will parallel the saying: “If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else

 

 SECRET NUMBER TWELVE:

 

Once you’ve made your decisions, your contacts are the key to helping you reach the people who are doing the kinds of things you want to do. Start now to expand your contacts by enlarging your scope of living, joining, enjoying, and being with the people who share your common and enthused interests. Then, when you are ready, you can learn about the fields, which interest you through those contacts in a non-confrontational way…even in a non-job-hunting way. Information seeking is perhaps the best way of tapping into “the hidden job market” of unadvertised jobs. Don’t make the fatal mistake of using your contact network before you have your career decisions MADE: if you do, you’re turning over your job search to others, i.e., your contacts, and expecting them to do your work for you.

 

In closing, don’t rely on FATE or LUCK in your job search. Organize your luck by answering the questions posed above and in applying these twelve secrets.

 

Best efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 4 "Soft Skills" Candidates Need Today

Never Assume Anything!

 I was informed yesterday that one of our front desk intake staff gave a student who was seeking job search advice the following information. Basically she told the student to not be concerned about presenting skill sets on her resume or in person such as  "conflict management", "delegating responsibility", "analyzing situations objectively." The student was told that employers "assume" that if you are a college student you have the skills! Nothing could be further from the truth. In 31 years of career counseling this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

You must not ever assume anything when it comes to skill presentation.

Remember, all employers/recruiters are looking for "VALUE." One of the best ways, perhaps the best way, for them to understand the value you bring is by the skill identification you present to them.

Most people are woefully unaware of the skills they possess. Do not be one  of them. Go to church with yourself and identify the "transferable" skills or some people call them "soft" skills that you have and be prepared to present them.

Also, if anyone ever gives you the advice such as our front desk  Graduate student gave this  undergraduate student,  ignore that advice, it is completely false.

Age Discriminaton!

Just had a fellow leave my office who is 37 years old and he's looking for a new career change and he is concerned about his age. He's afraid of age discrimination in his job search.

Well I told him not to worry too much but to  certainly be concerned because there is a difference between worry and concern. The reality with age and job search is that so much depends upon how you do your job search. If you're leading with networking rather than leading with just answering want ads you will do much better because you will meet people who take a liking to you and they will help you. It's called forming relationships with people who are already doing the things you think you want to.

In addition, there are some key things to consider because age discrimination does exist. Take a look at some the following information which I think does a great job of giving us some insights if we are concerned about doing a job search and we think we might be too old or when might be discriminated against.

7 ways to mitigate age discrimination in your job search - CIO

http://news.google.com Fri, 29 May 2015 15:41:20 GMT

CIO7 ways to mitigate age discrimination in your job searchCIOThere's no good reason your age should hinder your job search. But that doesn't change the very real perception, especially in the IT industry, that age is an impediment to innovation, eff ...

Read more ...

Age discrimination often misidentified - Albuquerque Journal

http://news.google.com Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:15:23 GMT

Age discrimination often misidentifiedAlbuquerque JournalIf you go to my website, CareerHMO.com, and click on the “Free Tools” tab, you'll find “9 Ways Seasoned Workers Can Improve Their Job Search.” Dale: It's always good to see J.T. in action and, ...

Read more ...

"But I don't know anybody who does that!"

The key to doing a successful networked oriented job search is to understand that it is driven by human nature. Human nature SCREAMS that people hire people they already know and trust much more often than they hire people they've never seen before their life.

A console to the above statement is that the biggest reason (really the only reason) someone is considering hiring someone they've never met in their life is that they don't already know of someone that could do the job.

One of the strongest skills of effective networking therefore is to identify people who are already doing the things you think you want to do.

And I am here to tell you that if I had a dollar for every time a client of mine over the last 29 years has said words to the effect that they don't know anybody who's in the field of think they want to go into-well I would be much better off.

It may very well be true that one does not know of anybody in a certain field; however, there's a very simple way to begin meeting people who are already doing the work you think you want to do so that you can get none. That very simple way is just a start asking. That can be frightful for some people so let's take a look at this.

Consider making a list of everybody that you feel safe with in your life. Who might that be? It could be family, friends, acquaintances, your minister, your doctor, your dentist, your wife, your husband, your significant other, your brother your sister I think you get the idea.

Then you go to each one of them in a manner and in a way that is safe for you and simply asked them "Who do you know that does this occupation?" While not everyone you know may know of someone who was already in the field you're thinking about you will be surprised and many times absolutely flabbergasted by the number of names you will glean from this activity. Then you follow up with these people using whatever networking technique you're comfortable with.

Ignorance!

Last week I asked the question do you really think that the bad economy is the biggest reason for high unemployment? Well than if a bad economy is not the biggest reason what is?

Ignorance, yes ignorance, I did not say stupidity I said ignorance, is the biggest reason other than a bad economy for lousy unemployment figures and reality.

Ignorance of what?, One might ask-good question! Ignorance of how to do an effective job search based on what really works.

Answering want ads, regardless of where you find them, and by that I mean anywhere on the Internet and in any newspapers that still exist, is not the most effective way of job search; in fact it has proven itself time after time to be absolutely the worst way of finding meaningful work. The statisticians will tell you that answering one adds only works maximally about 10% of the time. Well why is that?

The answer is that answering want ads is an exercise in "counter human nature" reality. The reason the want that appeared in the first place is that the organization that is doing the hiring did not ALREADY KNOW OF SOMEONE! What am I saying here?

People hire people they already know and trust. That is what I'm trying to say. That is basic human nature. Human nature means things that are instinctive within the human animal, the human psyche, things that were there with in you, however they got there before you were born. How might that express itself?

One people in any walk of life have some hiring to do regardless of what the rules and regulations and restrictions and laws say because of human nature they will start to talk among themselves and ask questions like: "Is there anyone we can promote or transfer to do this job?" Maybe people will say things like: "who do you know or do you know of anyone who could do this?" That is what people do! Well what does this mean?

It means that if you're really serious about finding a job you have to understand that NETWORKING is King! Next week I'll explain why.

Job Search is like a Algebra Equation...Sort Of!

Do you remember your algebra? Well, actually all I remember is that it helps when solving a algebra equation to "balance" both sides. Now with algebra I really don't remember how to do it. But with job search I do not only remember, I have taught it to thousands of college students over the last 29 years.

I'd be happy to explain it to you as well if your interested...for free...in bits and pieces....as you read this blog.

Let me leave with a question for you...I'll give you my take in the next post.

Do you really think the reason the unemployment figures are so high is because of a bad economy?