I’ve received lots of great emails from college seniors and recent grads this week. These emails make me even more excited about the Job Search Boot Camp Guide coming out next month!
Many of you are making 3 serious job search mistakes. We need to clear these up if you want to get a job.
#1: You believe your job search is completely dependent on your resume and cover letter.
Wrong. In a perfect world, your resume is more of a formality than a necessity. If someone already knows you or has received an excellent recommendation of you, they are more focused on getting to know you in the interview rather than picking through the details of your resume.
A bad resume is definitely getting cut, but a great resume does not guarantee you the job.
Let’s be honest, I don’t care how many cool internships you’ve had or what your GPA is: many employers feel that an entry-level candidate is an entry-level candidate. In large companies you may have to meet a certain GPA or major requirement, but much past that, it’s all about you.
Your personal brand is what lands you a job. Not your resume. Your personal brand should match online, offline, in your personality and in your appearance. The way you write your LinkedIn profile, what you say online, and who you meet in person are a few important aspects of a job seekers personal brand.
#2: The Internet is the only tool you have used to aid your job search.
I’ve been doing a lot of research for Job Search Boot Camp and have found career expert, after career expert claiming that 80% of open positions are not posted online. They also claim that the vast majority of job seekers rely solely on the Internet to find a new job.
To turn this idea into simple math, this means that roughly 80% of the people are going for 20% of the jobs. Not only are those online jobs way more competitive, they are most likely more generic than those you’d find offline.
So what does this mean for you? It means that if you’re smart, you’d be playing in the offline field where you’d be one of the 20% looking at 80% of the jobs.
If you’re willing to go against the crowd, get a little uncomfortable and stop hiding behind your computer screen, I think you’ll have a much shorter job search than most. Getting offline means:
- Pick up the phone.
- Pick it up again after no one calls you back.
- Deal with people who may not want to talk to you.
- Ask for recommendations and introductions.
- Go to a lot of coffee meetings and informational interviews.
- Make a list of companies you’d like to work for then use online tools to see who is connected to those companies. Once you connect with them, take the relationship offline.
- Stop judging your progress by the number of online job applications you sent into a random company where you know no one. Instead, monitor your progress based on how many meetings you set up.
- Set up meetings with all of your favorite professors. Chat, listen and get career advice. Maybe they will introduce you to some great people too.
- Go to a lot of events whether they are networking events, Greek life events, campus speakers, or parties (true story: I got a job offer by connecting with someone at a party). You can rock an event even if you are super shy. More on this in the guide.
- Ask everyone you meet a lot of questions about themselves and what they do. People love talking about themselves. The more you talk about them, the more they like you and want to help you.
- You’ll also learn a lot of things about a lot of industries by talking to people. Regardless of if their industries are similar to yours, having these discussion will broaden your perspective and conversations when you start interviewing.
- Don’t say “I need a job” when you are engaging in these offline activities. Rather, ask them about their job.
- Email authors, bloggers, speakers and introduce yourself.
- Talk to people at the bar, at Cubs games, and on the treadmill (another true story: I have made serious career connections at all 3 of the mentioned locations).
- Tap into your Greek system or alumni network. For people like me that are still obsessed with their sorority and college, receiving an email from a current student would make my day. I’m sure many others feel the same.
- Disarm people you meet by asking, “what would you do if you were in my shoes?”
Job searching is like dating. If you’re looking to date with the intention of finding a partner, you can use online tools to meet people, but after that it has to be taken offline to lead to something more.
If you’re in the dating game, you don’t just sit in your apartment hoping someone will magically ring the doorbell and appear (or at least I hope not).
Dating is a process of meeting people, getting to know people, getting rejected, finding out what you want and don’t want, and getting yourself out there. Apply the same strategies here.
#3: You believe networking yields instant results.
After all this research, I think the next guide I write will be for those just starting college. News flash: successful networking doesn’t start 2 months before graduation. If you’ve missed the boat on this one, be prepared to spend some time building relationships.
I get emails that say “I don’t get it! I called them and they didn’t call back!” or “These people liked me and said to keep in touch. How annoying! I want a job offer now!” I’m sorry if you believed signing up for Twitter would single handedly land you a job.
This is going to be a process. It’s going to take time. Be patient. I know it sucks that you can’t tell all of your annoying relatives and “Type A” friends that you aren’t sure what you’re doing after graduation, but you need to ride the wave.
I hope this posts helps you job seekers pump up the volume. If you have any specific questions on how to take your job search offline, let me know here in the comments or via email (nicole@mscareergirl.com). I’m working on some scripts, email templates, etc. to help you make the transition from online to offline.
Help other job seekers
- How have you taken your job search offline? What has worked well for you?
- Have you made any of these mistakes?
- Does taking your search offline intimidate you?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I think one thing that people misinterpret when it comes to networking is that only certain people have the appropriate authority in their companies. When people ask if I can help them get a job at the company where I intern part-time, I’d like to help, in many instances, but I have little ability to actually do so. I once met a guy on a bus in Washington, DC who told me all kinds of great things about the place where he works and said he would do everything he could to help me out; but as it turns out, he simply didn’t have enough authority in the company to do anything other than send me a link to the online application when a position opened.
That’s not to say it’s a waste of time to make connections, it’s to say you have to be realistic about what the connections are.
Rob,
I think you are looking at the glass half empty here.
Think of looking for a job as if you were a salesperson. You have to call on a lot of people before you make a sale, right? The more people you meet and talk to, the greater the chance you have of meeting someone that has an “in.”
Also, don’t forget that it’s ok to ask the people you meet for referrals, recommendations or contact information for those within their firm. If they can’t provide it to you, at least now you know that this is a company of interest and you can go online to start connecting with people who work there.
Nicole
Nicole,
Great tips for jobseekers! I love how you’ve highlighted that networking doesn’t yeild immediate results. It’s a two-way street – if a person can offer something in return, networking is more valuable. It may be as simple as thought diversity on a certain subject or a beneficial contact that they could put the other in touch with. Keep up the great work!
PS. I have a blog called Campus To Career (http://campustocareer.wordpress.com) that aligns very closely with what you’re writing. I’m subscribing to yours and would like to add it to my blogroll. Let me know if you’re ok with this.
Kirk
Yes! I noticed a lot of the seniors who email me seem to think they will instantly get a job offer just by joining Twitter or meeting someone. Networking for many of the students who DO have a job in this economy have one because they started networking their sophomore year of college!
As you know, I’m now subscribed to your blog. Very excited to get reading (as you may have read in my post about passion, I’m looking for new blogs to read!).
Nicole,
I really love this post and I wish the MBA students in my program were reading your blog. I’ve gone through all these things myself over the last year. While I’d like to think my resume had something to do with my current job, I think it’s safe to say my boss doesnt’ really know much more care much about my previous background. He knows me as a “the social media go to guy” and that’s been all because of my blog.
ON the second piece, I think it’s interesting how we’ve become so dependent on technology that we have forgotten how to interact with people in a real life setting. I still got to at least 1-2 networking events a week. I don’t need to be there for anything. I have a job, but I realized that you can’t stop networking because your job search ends. There’s also volunteer work people could do that would lead them to jobs.
On the instant results piece, most solid efforts don’t give you instant results. I think it’s key to be patient with anything we do in our lives in terms of accomplishing goals. I’ve built relationships with people I’ve networked with over the course of 8 months. While none of them have given me a job, now I have a whole group of people who probably would reach out on my behalf if I asked them.
Srini,
Every time you tell me that you wish your MBA class could hear what I’m saying, I get a big smile on my face!
I think it’s awesome that you continue going to networking events even though you don’t need a job. For those who try the whole “instant networking thing” it’s like trying to lose 20 pounds the week before spring break, or trying to get a bronze even tan 3 days before a wedding- not happening!
I think meeting new people is part of your “career health” and should be incorporated into your life the way working out is.
Nicole
Wow, what a great article. My favorite line of the whole thing is, “networking doesn’t start 2 months before graduation” because it is so very true. The ONLY reason I got my first job after college was because of the things I had done starting my junior year, and prior to that because of the people I had met my sophomore year! You must be constantly involved during school, and always meeting people. THAT is what college is for. Academics are very important, but are only a piece of the puzzle and a small part of what you’re really paying for. A strong network is IMPERATIVE to your job search.
haha i just commented above saying almost the same thing you said here- networking starts at the beginning of your college career.
I was never a straight A student, and have always been a believer that grades are only 1 piece of the puzzle.
PS- I always enjoy your comments during #JobHuntChat! You add a lot of spark to the bland topic of job searching!
Nicole
I agree with Kirk’s comment.
The most important thing you can do as you build out your network is to add value first. Take the things that you know and pour that knowledge into your networks with no expectation of a return. The mantra I try to live by is to “add value daily”. There are days when I fail to live up to that goal, but I try to make a difference each and every day. Then, when you really need a network most, you will have a great deal of goodwill built up that will flow back to you. Deciding to “network” two months before a job search and expecting immediate returns is an exercise in futility. Build you network before you’ll need it. You’ll be glad you did.
Yes- the key word being DAILY. It seems that all of us agree here that networking is a long process and one that needs to be a part of your routine.
Really looking forward to publishing your guest post. I love having an insiders view on all of this stuff!
NIcole
Nicole,
I am typically a wall decoration on the many blogs I subscribe to, but I just can’t stay quiet today. This post is so relevant and articulated so well. I’d like to add it to my Caldwell College Career Planning and Development Fan Page if you don’t mind. It’s so important to spread this message. Students come to me with resume and cover letter writing assistance, and I always make sure to ask them what they are doing besides sending out their resumes. I am met with blank stares. We then go into discussions regarding LinkedIn, blogs, professional associations, etc. Those who aren’t overwhelmed with the reality check come back and ask me for a critique of their profiles, or advice on associations. It’s a process, and thankfully there are bloggers like you, and many others that put it all out there in layman’s terms. Great post! Thank you!
Your “news flash” about how some folks wait until 2 months before graduation to start networking reminded me about my work as a university career counselor, where some students would come in to our career center right before graduation actually expecting to get a job with a snap of their fingers. They didn’t realize that the best time to look for a job is when you don’t really need a job, so that you can learn the ins and outs of good job searching strategies early on and prepare accordingly. I write about this a bit in my recent post: http://careeractionnow.com/2010/03/26/start-looking-for-a-job-when-you-dont-need-a-job/. FYI, this post of yours inspired my most recent post.
This is a good article. I work for a company called Trovit which is a search engine for jobs and I always try to tell users that sites like Trovit are a great TOOL for searching for jobs, but you can’t expect just because there are millions of listings means you’re guaranteed to get a job…you have to do your part as well! My biggest pet peeve is when a job searcher sends out 100’s of resumes and then complains when they don’t get the job!