Without question, securing interviews is the hardest part of the job search process. At the executive level, each job posted on the Internet receives between 100 and 1,500 applications. Many executives send out resumes, make calls and then sit and wait for responses that never come. Furthermore, when interviews do come, they are not a good match for the executive’s wants or needs. Too many executives secure interviews at levels below their earning potential because they are not positioned properly. This is a waste of time and resources, and it leads to accepting lower than optimum offers that yield unsatisfactory financial rewards.
Executives often indicate to SC&C that they need help getting past the gatekeepers in the interview process. The irony is you know who the gatekeeper is only too well. It is the person who worked for you in your last job. The person you told to screen everyone out because you were too busy. You told them to direct job applicants to HR. You are now being screened and you face this same dilemma. Ask yourself, what will you do to gain direct access to the hiring authority? Recruiters get through all the time. What are they doing and what secrets do they know?
Here are some thoughts about securing interviews using familiar resources.
- Recruiters. Recruiters work for the company, NOT for you. If they have a job order to fill, and you are qualified, they will be your best friend until you are either eliminated or employed. When that order is filled, they move on to other companies and orders, and you are left in the dust. The only solution to this dilemma is to have your own personal recruiter working just for you. WE challenge you to find one who will do that until you are employed. This is the most passive form of a job search.
- Newspapers. They are obsolete to most knowing executives. At your level in the corporate world, do you really think you will find something in the newspaper that will meet your income and career needs?
- Networking. This is the single most important aspect of the job search strategy. Do you know that most people fail miserably in managing their network. They usually call up their network and friends and say something to the effect of, “I am on the market and if you hear of anything, would you let me know.” There are a hundred variations of this theme and they are all 180° wrong. What are you saying to your network?
- Unadvertised Openings. The majority of jobs are not listed with recruiters, nor are they advertised. This can be a fact within a corporation’s own HR department. Let this sink in for a minute. There are tens of thousands of jobs available, and you don’t know how to access them. Now what do you do? Unless you penetrate this market segment, you will use financial resources that you cannot afford to use and increase the length of time for your job search. Here are the reasons why this market channel is so important:
There are other channels of marketing yourself that actually work. Why don’t you call SC&C to discuss your marketing plan.