What you hear isn’t always the truth when it comes to your job search, which can be intimidating. Some extend beyond mythical proportions reaching folklore for the unemployed. The job search and the interview process can become an unruly process not to look forward to.
Nervous shivers shoot down your spine, a cold sweat forms as you first enter the interview room, this to qualify if you have enough work experience, if you present yourself well, if your aptitude, attitude, manners, and speech are up to par. The job search process becomes terrorizing.
One of the biggest mythical theories is the thought that the more resumes you send out, plastered with your photo and cover letter, the odds increase since finding a job is a numbers game, which always isn’t the case.
You may find the results to be disappointing. It’s found it’s better to research and then target specifically who you want to work for, and do so when they don’t even have a current job opening.
So focus your resume and cover letter directly to specifically fit your education, job skills and training to the exact job that you’re seeking, and make sure that you know and use the specific jargon for that particular industry.
Do the diligent research that’s required to find and then address the cover letter towards a specific person of influence, and not just address it as “Dear Sir or Madam.” Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and are applying for a specific position for which you are completely qualified for.
Realize that doing a generic scattering of your resume to as many entry level jobs in the classified ads or online job boards seldom works.
Employers Will Find Me Because Of LinkedIn
Don’t think that all those employers in need will seek you out, track you down because of your great LinkedIn profile, as that’s a bit of a stretch. There are however certain elements of truth to this.
For some individuals, especially if they have unique specialized skills in high tech, or have an extremely strong sales or marketing background, are known to have been contacted directly for job opportunities from their LinkedIn profile.
Some recruiters are known to use LinkedIn exclusively when looking to find extremely specialized candidates for openings. But unless your particular knowledge and your skills are so in demand and extremely scarce, it’s not likely that your fabulous LinkedIn profile will be enough.
But you need to create one just to prove you’re in touch. Your LinkedIn profile is the best way of creating an online professional and positive presence about yourself, where you can refer potential employers to for additional information about you.
No One’s Hiring When The Economy Is Bad
This is a complete myth as it is demoralizing, and it will keep most who are looking for employment from even trying. The truth being that companies and organizations under any economic conditions are always hiring.
They may not be hiring at the same rate as when times are better, and they may downsize a bit, or they may amalgamate positions, but even at the worst times during a recession, job positions are still available.
What you need to do is analyze which “evergreen” companies, markets, and industries are out there, that doesn’t depend on the state of the economy, and what type of skills that you need to develop, this to apply for and then qualify for these jobs.
You can also use a downturn in the economy to continue your education, developing new skills on what the employers are seeking, while improving your networking skills, and find out about new careers in a field which you hadn’t thought about previously.
What the “Economy is bad,” or we’re in a recession does is it completely misguides and demotivates active job seekers, causing them to stop trying and then potentially missing out on the perfect job opportunity.
So be careful and don’t fall prey to these misconceptions. Make sure that you do your research by learning as much as you can about the company or the field that you’re interested to work in, and then go for it.
Where I Live Isn’t Currently Hiring
Most job seekers after a while will believe this, that where they live, their city or part of the country isn’t in a hiring mode. Then they read the various reports of where the best cities to work for currently are.
But realize that there’s a big “maybe” that’s attached to doing so. It can become a risk since the data is usually skewed, and based on broad trends which are often influenced by a particular industry in the area.
So it’s true that once that gigantic tech or Internet firm opens up in a particular city, that there will be a lot of openings for tech jobs. But other jobs, the non-tech ones, may not be available.
So before you pack up your bags and decide to move to greener pastures, you need to do your research. What are the primary industries in that number #1 city that’s hiring, driving its economy. Are you qualified to work in those industries.
What’s found to be a much better effective approach is to possibly work out of your home instead. The micro-economy that we now live in is constantly looking for freelancers. Companies are looking to outsource their work needs to cut their costs. This way, they could find specialized talent wherever you may be located.
So focus instead on your direct field of expertise and then do your research online to find out where these freelancing jobs are, this rather than following the latest trends on where the best cities to work for are.