Job Search Strategies

By Barbara Limmer

Director of Career Management Programs

Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management

You're in the market for a new job - in a new field - and you're not sure where to begin your job search. What types of strategies should you employ in securing that new position? Which ones work, and which ones don't?

What You Should NOT Do:

 

· Mass mail your resume. Volume is not the key to success. You need to target specific individuals within companies.

· Procrastinate. If you delay your job search, your perfect job might be given to someone else. The job market is active, and you should be as well.

· Limit Your Search to Published/Advertised jobs. About 70 percent of available jobs are not advertised. Don't limit your search to newspaper ads, Internet ads or online job postings.

· Rely Solely Upon Search Firms. Search firms are not concerned about finding you a job, but cater to the employer, who is their client. When you are hired through a firm, your new employer must pay a fee to the firm (typically 25 to 30 percent of your starting salary).

· Work exclusively with the HR Department. Typically, HR is the last to know about job openings, and is not empowered to make hiring decisions.

You should definitely not discount advertised jobs, search firms or HR departments, but the percentage of time you spend utilizing these methods should be limited. Focus your time on proven techniques like those below.

What You Should Do:

 

· Use the Internet. Instead of simply replying to a published online ad, treat the information you find as a lead. Do you know anyone from the company? Can you make your contact personal so that your resume stands out?

· Identify the hiring authority. Determine the names of the people who work in the area in which you wish to be employed. If this information is not readily available, call the company's main headquarters and indicate that you would like to share information with the manager in your area of interest, but that you need this person's name, title and mailing address. Once you obtain this information, send your resume and targeted letter directly to that individual.

· Understand search firms. There are two types:

1. Retained search firms. These are retained by a company to fill specific jobs - usually CEO or senior management positions. If you are looking to make a career change, you won't be a target for this type of firm.

2. Contingency search firms. Those paid only when their client company hires a candidate chosen by the firm. Such jobs fit the specific profiles of the client companies' needs. If you don't fit these company profiles, you won't be called. Be sure to get search firm referrals from other alumni or colleagues, so that you will know which firms work in your industry, function or region.

After You Have Identified Your Contacts

· Week One - Set Weekly Goals and Do Your Homework. Once you have researched your companies and contacts, you are ready to define weekly goals. Determine the number of companies you wish to reach per week, based upon your timeline for securing a job. Then organize your ‘plan of attack.'

 

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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