Why is it that so many individuals leave their job search till the last minute, then jump on the easiest and sometimes it seems the only source they use i.e. a Jobs Board and then wonder why they do not get any call backs or the call backs seem to be from recruiters who want to process them as commodities?
In Job Hunting – what you don’t know can hurt.
These are fallacies each job hunter must dispense with:
- I am a great fit with the role, so surely I will get shortlisted: Now-a-days each job post gets 500+ applicants responding, several not even a close fit with the requirement within the ad. Do you believe that a recruiter is going to go through all 500+ cvs till they find the right sub-set and then finally select the best candidate? They may say that they do but lets look at the practicalities. Each recruiter has their own KPIs to meet and it not based on long term retention at the new company you aspire to join. After all; if the candidate leaves their new employer anytime after the “guaranteed period” negotiated between the company and the recruiter is over, it’s better for the recruiter. So locating the ideal candidate is not necessarily in the recruiter’s best interest. Not to say some do not behave counter-intuitively but you get the picture. A candidate who is “adequate” normally fits the bill better. And how does one get an adequate candidate when 500+ cv are available for 10+ jobs they must recruit for each cycle they get assessed for? They sift through the batch till they find the first three or five or ten which fit the client’s brief. This may be in the first 10 cvs they scan or the next 50 they scan or the next 100 cvs they scan. But if your cv is 499th and you are genuinely the best person for the job, do you really think they are going to sift through 498 cvs before you? And how do you guarantee you are in the first 10 or 50 not 499th? There is no way. Better still buy a lottery. The chances of a guaranteed outcome there are better.
- A recruiter has my (job seeker’s) best interest at heart: The recruiter (internal or external) works for the potential employer and they get paid by the potential employer. Even those who claim to have your best interest are competing within a commoditized environment i.e. its the recruiter who is fastest, cheapest and able to deliver to a spec (not necessarily excel at it) who will prosper.
- If I put a call through to a recruiter, my calls should be returned: With 500+ applicants for each role if they did that they’d be living dis-functional lives never leaving their office or getting off the phone
- I will prepare my cv when I am ready to leave: Your cv should be a living document i.e. it should be updated regularly with achievements, initiatives taken, roles performed because when you are ready and start preparing your cv, you might miss some important bits which could be precisely what you could bring up during an interview when asked a behavioral question i.e. one where you are asked for an example illustrating something or your behavior based on a mandated request at the interview. If you’ve noted things as you have gone along you could read that the day before so it refreshes your mind before the interview
- Networking is only for sales and sales related roles: Now-a-days with so many individuals applying for roles it is the ones who network and network regularly with peers and ultimate hiring managers during the course of their working life rather than only when they are ready to move who will have the advantage of landing a role. Imagine that you know x, y or z as a potential hiring manager through a networking event. A role is advertised at that company which you can pick up through following their Facebook or Linkedin page or even better through following news on specialist niche news sites like www.wattelectricalnews.com on upcoming projects and then proactively pursuing the potential job in relation to the upcoming project even before its advertised. You pick up the phone to that person, convey your interest, refresh your recent relationship and then submit your cv to them as the ultimate decision maker or to them as the best bridge between them and the ultimate decision maker in that company. Do you think your chances of having your cv read are better this way rather than submitting it to an internal recruiter who has to go through 500+ cvs via a Seek or Linkedin ad?
Now that you know what can hurt
network, network, network and now, now now!
Incidentally for those with an electrical background you are in luck.
A series of networking events followed by mentoring sessions at those events will be done as a series across Australia by www.myelectricalcommunity.org a peer to peer business and social network for professionals with an electrical background.
To attend a Sydney based event which is being held on 13th May 2015 see http://www.myelectricalcommunity.org/mentoring.php To see the mentors available at that event see http://www.myelectricalcommunity.org/mentor_list.php. Seats are limited to 20 for mentoring (though if you only want to network there is room available) so if you are interested please inquire soon via the web site. The cost is only $25 for the whole evening and given you get a chance to talk to three separate industry leaders from what are different industries, you have a chance to clarify or get inputs into your career strategies and start building your networks.
Events similar to this will soon also be held in Melbourne and Brisbane and then in all other cities across Australia.
If you are interested in attending please email at info@myelectricalcommunity.org to reserve your place.
If you are not a professional with an electrical background; look around for opportunities to network with like minded individuals at similar organizations such as www.myelectricalcommunity.org or better still create one yourself. We can help you develop one for your industry.
But remember without networking you are just a name on a piece of paper.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/job-hunting-what-you-dont-know-can-hurt-ray-pavri/
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