Over the last few months I have conducted a couple of very non-scientific polls on LinkedIn. I wanted to better understand what candidates do with their resumes. Granted, these two polls don’t give all of the answers, but they did show some interesting answers. Like many polls, they might have created more questions than answers.
I had been curious as to how many resumes candidates were sending out. I had no idea if it was hundreds or just a few. So the first poll question was: On average, how many resumes do you send out per week? 848 people responded.
79% indicated 1 -10
16% indicated 11-20
4% over 20
I actually thought the highest group would be the 11 – 20 group. Comments back did indicate that the numbers move the longer one is looking for a job. For example, a number of people indicated that at first they were sending more resumes than they are currently given they have been looking for some time. That would make sense since I’m confident that when one first starts looking they have a lot of places initially to send resumes. Once those are done the number drops.
87% of the women send out 1 -10 per week, while that drops to 76% for men.
10% of the women send out 11- 20 per week, while that increases for men to 19%.
The only age group that was higher was the 18-24 group with 85% indicating they send out 1- 10 per week. All the other groups up to 55+ were in the mid 70% range. However, the 25 – 34 and the 55+ age groups lead in sending out 11-20 resumes per week.
The other question I asked was to find out where most of these resumes were going. Candidates are sending out a lot of resumes so they must be going someplace. 320 people responded to this poll. Not a big number, but interestingly the percentage didn’t change much as more people responded. After about 275 people responded, the percentage stayed within one or two points.
52% indicated that they send most of their resumes directly to companies with job postings.
30% indicated that they send most of their resumes to job board ads.
11% sent them to recruiters.
5% sent unsolicited resumes to targeted companies.
Two things surprised me with this, 1) most people aren’t using the job boards as their primary source for sending resumes and therefore finding a job and 2) far fewer are sending to recruiters than I expected.
I did find it interesting that 100% of the people in marketing that replied indicated they only send resumes directly to a company job posting. Academics and Sales were also much higher than the other functional areas with 60% and 50% sending directly to the company job posting. Academics doesn’t surprise me as that would seem to make sense.
Age was another interesting number. I expected most of the younger generation to use the job boards as this is via the Internet, but I was wrong. 72%, by far the largest number, of 18 -24 year old candidates reply directly to company job postings. This group was also the least likely to send their resume to a job board with only 17% using this as a primary source. The 34-54 age group used the job boards for sending resumes the most.
The biggest and far away the most common comment was how frustrated candidates are about not hearing anything back once they submit a resume. Many referred to it as the “black hole.” I was going to ask the question what percentage of the resumes that you send out do you hear back on, but judging from the comments I came to the conclusion that the 0 – 5% category would be the winner by such a wide margin it didn’t make sense to ask it.
That is how the numbers and things came out. Like it or not, believe it or not, do with it as you please. It is just information.
Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. 5,300 people to connect with and lots of discussions, articles and other resources. CLICK HERE to join.
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Brad Remillard
This is a common complaint I, and most of my colleagues, have heard over and over. I know we aren’t alone, as I hear the same thing about companies not calling people back or acknowledging that they received your resume.
I’m sure these are valid complaints. I know they are frustrating.
I have come up with what might be a reason. Some will agree, and many might disagree, but that is what a blog is all about.
When I first started recruiting potential candidates, HR and hiring managers wouldn’t call me back. Let’s be honest, if you are a purchasing manager do you really call back every sales person that leaves you a message? Especially the sales person that makes a cold call. If you are in HR, do you honestly return the calls from every recruiter that wants to discuss with you the “perfect” candidate that they are working with that would be perfect for the job you are trying to fill? Especially if you have never heard of the recruiter. If you are a VP of Sales in California and are attempting to fill a position in Chicago, will you return every recruiter’s call that wants to present a potential candidate and schedule an interview? Especially if you have two or three candidates from personal referrals.
My thoughts to all of these and personal experience is “no.” The calls never get returned. This is basically their way of saying, “I’m not interested.”
I think in every one of these examples, there is a bigger issue to focus on that gets to the heart of why calls aren’t returned. There is no relationship with the person. At the end of the day, those that have a relationship will generally get their calls returned. I think this is true in our personal life and in our business life.
I will take or return just about any call from a person I know, have worked with in the past, or have built some sort of relationship with. In addition, I will take or return calls from a stranger if they are referred to me by someone I have a relationship with. The cold call is generally so low on the priority list that I just don’t have the time to spend to speak with someone I don’t know.
This is why most recruiters I know encourage some sort of referral. I think the same holds true for companies. If you are a candidate responding to an ad or Website posting, you shouldn’t have expectations of hearing anything back if you don’t have some relationship with the person you are sending your resume to. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice, that it isn’t polite too or that it isn’t rude. I’m just suggesting to set your expectations at the right level. Maybe think back to when you were working and didn’t return a call. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, returns 100% of all the calls they have ever received. It is impossible. I bet if you didn’t have a relationship with the person and it wasn’t a priority you didn’t return the call.
To be clear, I’m not referring to someone you have interacted with and then they drop you, such as a company or recruiter that doesn’t give you feedback after an interview or someone that has told you that they will call you and then doesn’t. If a hiring manager says that they will be back to you in a week and if you have any questions to call and then blows you off is rude. Why say it if they don’t mean it? Wouldn’t it be better to just say nothing?
This is why it is so important to build relationships in your career. I know you know this, but how are you doing at it? How have you helped someone this week with something they needed? It could be a referral, maybe passing on a job lead that wasn’t right for you, introducing them to someone that might help their business, inviting them to a networking event, and so on. These are all relationship building activities. These all involve action.
At the end of a conversation with me candidates will usually say, “Is there anything I can do for you?” Roughly 99% of the time these are just words. Few ever really help me when I do mention something. So why even ask? They have been taught to ask this question, but haven’t been taught how to follow through. This isn’t about me or this example with the candidate, it is about building a relationship. I would feel like I owed this person something if they gave me a referral or actually helped me. Remember they asked me the question. They volunteered it. The reverse is true also. If I ask them how I can help them then I have the same obligation to follow through if I want to build a relationship with them.
Don’t just work on those relationships now while in the market looking for a job. These relationship need to honed over time just like any relationship. Speaking for recruiters, I recommend building a relationship with 4 or 5. Some that specialize in your industry, some in your functional area, and some general recruiters in your geographical area. Recruiters live off of relationships and generally welcome the opportunity to have a mutually beneficial relationship.
So the next time your call isn’t returned, step back and focus on the relationship. Attempt to build that relationship and then see if your call return rate increases.
Here are some free resources to help you in your job search.
First, start by assessing the quality of your job search. To help you evaluate how effective it is you can download our free Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. This will help you to identify the strengths and weaknesses in your job search. Then you can focus on the weaknesses.CLICK HERE to download.
Sending an effective thank you letter can start the relationship. To download a sample thank you letter CLICK HERE
Finally, consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are a lot of great discussions and resources in this group. Over 5,300 people have joined. CLICK HERE to join.
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Brad Remillard
I think many candidates are so afraid of getting ripped off that they don’t engage a professional to help them with their job search. I know there are many rip-off artists out there just waiting to take your money. I have written about this and even posted a video on YouTube in an attempt to expose these vultures.
But in this case, a few bad apples don’t ruin the whole barrel. There are many outstanding resources for candidates to engage. I firmly believe these pros can dramatically shorten your time searching. The ROI for hiring one can be as good as mob rates. For a few dollars you can be making a full salary a lot sooner. It seems like a small price to pay given the cost of unemployment.
So what are some of the things you should look for to make sure you don’t get ripped off? Here is my list, and I’m sure there are more, but if they qualify here they are probably a good choice ( I welcome your additions to this list).
- First and foremost, Do they tell you or imply in any way that by working with them they will get you a job? If this is even implied RUN. Nobody can get you a job but you. This is a common tactic that is used because they know if they don’t tell you this, or simply imply it as most do, you won’t give them your money. This is where most people get ripped off. An example of implying includes, “X % of the people that work with us find a job in X months.”
- Did they call you on a cold call? Most of the unethical, so-called professionals contact you first. They find your resume online and then try to sell you. The top professionals live off of referrals and never (repeat never) call you. I have never made a cold call to a candidate for a coaching assignment. All of my assignments come from referrals. So if someone calls you, don’t listen to them. HANG UP.
- What are their credentials? Although this doesn’t guarantee anything, at least you know they have some training. Check out the organization that provided the credentials. Make sure it is a real organization with a real program.
- Have them state in writing exactly what the outcomes will be once your time together is over. I’ll bet it doesn’t include finding a job in the agreement. You should know exactly what to expect. I always ask the people I work with this question, “What will you need at the end of our time together to consider it a raving success?” Then I listen carefully to their answer. If I can’t deliver what they expect, I don’t take on the client. For example, if they reply, “A job.” then it’s over. See number 1. Does the person you are thinking about working with ask you this?
- Prior to even contacting a professional, you should crystallize in writing exactly what you expect from the person. You should have your list of expectations. Then compare that to what they claim to provide.
- Prior experience and performance. What real world experience and track record of performance do they bring to the table? For example, just because a person is a Certified Resume Writer, doesn’t mean they are the right CRW for you. It only means that they are certified. PERIOD. That is all it means. Don’t read anything more into it. What you want to know is, how many times have they sat across the desk from a hiring manager in your field and had the hiring manager drill them on a resume? This is how one learns what is important on a resume. How many times has a hiring authority told them what they want to see (and not see) on a resume in your field? If they have this level of experience there is little guessing in what a good resume is for your field. If they have never had this experience then how can they help you? This isn’t just for a CRW, it goes for all career coaches, and especially for what I call “job search” coaches. How can someone help you in your job search if they haven’t been on the other side of the table in the hiring process?
The best way to ensure that you get the right help is to hire the right person. A top professional may cost you a few dollars, but getting back to work one month sooner can save you thousands.
I encourage you not to be so focused on the pennies that you lose the dollars.
Start out by first evaluating your job search effectiveness. Download our free Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. Find the strengths and weaknesses of your job search. Then look for someone to improve your weaknesses. CLICK HERE to download.
One source is your LinkedIn profile. You must have a great profile. Download our free LinkedIn Profile Assessment. This will help you build a great profile that makes you the expert in your field. CLICK HERE to download.
Finally, join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It is free and provides its members with a wealth of articles and great discussions. CLICK HERE to join.
I welcome your thoughts and comments
Brad Remillard
The first article addressed how to handle the problem of turnover. This example deals with two simple issues that could have resulted in the person not getting the job because of simple mistakes that were easy to fix. The person just didn’t know how. Any professional career coach, outplacement firm, job search coach, or executive recruiter should know exactly how to help you: 1) not make the mistake in the first place and 2) how to overcome it once it has happened.
The candidate called me and said, “I think I may have just blown an interview with the way I answered one question. Is there anything I can do?” “What was the question?” I asked. He replied, “The CEO asked me what I wanted to do with my career, and I told him that I love marketing, and wanted to be a VP of Marketing in a medical device company.” Since he was interviewing for a VP of Marketing position in a medical device company that would seem to align well with the what the CEO was looking for. Also, given the candidate’s background and experience it was a reasonable answer.
Then the CEO came back with, “Well, that could be a problem here, as we like to hire people that want to move up in the organization and that strive to be better and not just do a job.” OOPS, there is a big communication gap here. The CEO meant one thing and the candidate interpreted it another way. This is often the kiss of death.
So what would have been different had this candidate been working with a professional?
- The mistake should never have happened. The candidate wasn’t prepared. From a professional’s point of view this question should never have been answered. It is clearly vague and too open to interpretation. What does career mean, what time frame is the CEO addressing, what is the motivation for asking this question, how soon does the CEO expect a person to move up, etc? These all need to be clarified prior to either answering the question or integrated into the answer.
- The candidate would have been prepared not to fall into this trap. It wasn’t a trick question, and certainly not a deliberate attempt to trap the candidate. It was just one of those questions often asked that are so vague that the candidate doesn’t really know how to answer or there are just too many ways to answer it.
- Once this happened, a professional would know exactly how to minimize the damage. Since the candidate felt this was the turning point in the interview, and this was a critical mistake that would cost him the job, it can’t go unresolved.
Again, like the first example in this series, it was an easy fix. There was no guarantee the fix would work, but it certainly couldn’t make matters worse . At this point, the candidate was convinced he wasn’t getting the job. There was no place to go but up.
Since the candidate now knew what the CEO was looking for in this question, we simply expanded on the candidate’s answer in his thank you letter. The candidate explained that he thought the CEO was looking for a short term answer to what he wanted in his career, so he answered it with the next three to five years in mind. However, longer term he would expect to move up in an organization within five to eight years. Obviously, a little more detail was added, but you get the picture.
It worked, and he did get the job. We know it worked because the CEO told him that the thank you letter changed his mind.
I believe, and the candidate believes, that the professional help was directly responsible for getting this job. He believes it saved him additional months of searching for a position. As he told me, “Even if I found a job one month later, it would have cost X in lost salary.”
Getting professional help can save you thousands of dollars. Take your monthly salary and multiply it by how many months you have been looking for a job. That is the cost of unemployment. Finding a job one month earlier because you got professional help is cheap compared to the alternative.
The final article in this series will help you identify the right professional. There are many frauds and unqualified people posing as professionals that take your money and don’t deliver results. These must be exposed and avoided. There are also many outstanding people that are true professionals, highly skilled, and with great experience, that are worth far more than they receive from helping candidates find a job.
We offer many free tools to help you. CLICK HERE to download a free sample cover letter that recruiters like. CLICK HERE to download a sample thank you letter that will make sure you are remembered. CLICK HERE to download a free LinkedIn profile assessment that will help you build a great LinkedIn profile.
Finally, consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It has a wealth of great articles and discussions to help you in your search. CLICK HERE to join the other 5,300 members of this group.
I welcome your thoughts and comments. If you liked this article, please tweet or re-tweet it so others can benefit.
Brad Remillard
I find it interesting that people will pay for help for just about anything but their job search. People pay for dance lessons, golf and tennis lessons, piano lessons, financial help, help with taxes, the list is endless. Yet for possibly the most important part of one’s life they refuse to pay for help. So many choose to continue a job search instead of seeking professional help. There are many good career coaches, job search coaches, executive recruiters and others to help you. Most aren’t that expensive, when compared to what one loses each month in salary by not getting a job.
Let me give you two examples of how getting professional help impacted two people with their search. First, it wasn’t that they were doing anything wrong, it was that they weren’t doing everything right and didn’t know what to do when issues came up. The results were consistent, they didn’t get the job. This was too bad because as you will see, these were easy issues to handle. The candidates just didn’t know how. By the way, neither did all the non-professionals in their network.
Example 1:
This candidate had been on the market for about 6 months. He had been getting interviews and coming in second. Most of the time he was told some story by the company or recruiter about why he didn’t get the job. Rarely the real story. Then, because he had a friend in the company he was interviewing with, the true story came to life. He was told the original reason for not hiring him was that the other person had industry experience. His friend found out the real reason was that he had what they called “high turnover.” His last three jobs had lasted on average only 18 months.
So the obvious question to me was, “How many jobs in the last 6 months where he came in second, had he lost because turnover was the real reason?” We will never know, but I’m going to assume at least one.
When we first started working together, this issue obviously came up. It turns out this is a very simple issue to handle, especially in this case. Like so many candidates, he just didn’t know how to handle it in the hiring process.
The way to handle it was to face it head on. He figured if they didn’t bring the topic up during the interview that it wasn’t an issue. WRONG. It wasn’t an issue that the company felt they needed to discuss, because right or wrong, someone had already decided he had high turnover, so there was no reason to discuss it. WRONG.
We changed that. Now the candidate brought it up first in the interview. In every interview. He had nothing to hide and so he forced the discussion. At the beginning of the interview when asked, “Tell me about yourself.” or “Give me a quick overview of your background.” he would start out with, “From my resume it may appear that I have had a lot of turnover. I can understand why most people would think that, I would think that too if I looked at my resume. Let me explain the reasons why I left each company, and in many cases, I didn’t leave the company, the company actually left me.”
This was a huge change in the interview. It was no longer left for the company to decide if it was high turnover without understanding the issues. It was right out there to discuss. Does this mean all companies will accept the reasoning? Absolutely not. All it means is that the ones that are open to understanding why bad things happen to good people will. For those companies that aren’t open to understanding the reasons, the outcome will be the same even if he didn’t bring it up. He wasn’t looking for those companies. He wanted the one company that would have passed on him, but once hearing the reasons changed their mind. That was the one company that would reconsider him.
Within two months he started working.
Please don’t comment back on how bad the companies are for not probing about his background, or who would want to work for such narrow-minded companies. That is the purpose of the article. Quite frankly, when unemployed for 6 months, most people don’t care about narrow-minded companies. They care about a paycheck.
The purpose of the article is to encourage you to think about getting professional help. I will outline what professional help is in a future article so you don’t get ripped off. CLICK HERE to read the article, Job Seeker Scam Alert – Job Seekers Are Getting Ripped Off so you don’t get ripped off.
This person was earning over $150,000 a year. That is $12,500 a month that he was losing because of a silly reason that wasn’t handled properly. For every additional month that he was searching this was the cost. I think the cost far outweighed the benefit of getting a little professional help.
We offer many free tools to help you. CLICK HERE to download a free sample cover letter that recruiters like. CLICK HERE to download a sample thank you letter that will make sure you are remembered. CLICK HERE to download a free LinkedIn profile assessment that will help you build a great LinkedIn profile.
Finally, consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It has a wealth of great articles and discussions to help you in your search. CLICK HERE to join the other 5,300 members of this group.
I welcome your thoughts and comments. If you liked this article, please tweet or re-tweet it so others can benefit.
Brad Remillard
As a recruiter for the last 30 years this September, I get asked questions daily. Sometimes about one’s career and other times job search questions. Most job search questions focus on the tools of a job search, the resume, cover letter, interviews, thank you letters, etc. Sometimes I also get questions about why recruiters do what recruiters do.
I think asking recruiters these questions is a good thing. Recruiters are uniquely qualified to answer these questions, because good recruiters see both sides of the job search. They hear what hiring managers want and don’t want, like and dislike about candidates’ resumes and interviewing styles, why the company decided not to hire one person or why they hired a specific person. It is easy to draw conclusions as to what works and what doesn’t work most of the time after hearing these things so many times.
So here is your chance to ask me any questions you might have for a recruiter. I realize that many recruiters like to be mysterious, but I believe the more candidates understand how we work, the better we can work together. The more you know about what you need to do so that a recruiter will engage you if they have the right job for you, the better.
Please comment on this article by asking me anything you want to know and I will do my best to answer your question.
If you don’t have a question, another option might be to suggest a topic you would like us to write about. If this will help you shorten your job search then that is a good thing.
So please let me know your questions or anything you would like for us to write an article about.
Depending on the volume, I can’t promise to respond to every request. I will do my best, so give me some time. Also, if many questions come in on the same topic, please check other comments for answers.
We offer many free tools to help you. CLICK HERE to download a free sample cover letter that recruiters like. CLICK HERE to download a sample thank you letter that will make sure you are remembered. CLICK HERE to download a free LinkedIn profile assessment that will help you build a great LinkedIn profile.
Finally, consider joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. It has a wealth of great articles and discussions to help you in your search. CLICK HERE to join the other 5,300 members of this group.
Brad Remillard
So many candidates misunderstand effective networking. They really don’t even understand networking. Many think networking is all about meeting people. The more you meet, the better the network. This is one of those misguided themes that lead many people to frustration.
Effective networking isn’t about meeting people. It is about meeting the right people. I have written on this before.
One hundred of the right people in your database is worth more than 1,200 people who can’t help you.
A common misunderstanding that I hear all of the time from candidates is, “Networking is about helping others.” I do agree with this and believe it is important. However, this isn’t the main reason for networking. The fact is, you are networking to help you. This is why most people (95%) stop networking once they land a new position.
Here are a few tips to help you effectively network with the right people:
- Do some research on the types of people you want to meet and why you want to meet them. This could be by function, industry, service providers, or associations. This list should be comprehensive. Don’t waste time meeting people unless they meet this criteria or are no more than 1 degree removed from this list.
- Research how to meet the people on this list. Identify who they come in contact with, ask people who they might know on the list, attend meetings consistent with these people’s background or industry. Focus like a laser beam on meeting these people.
- Network with a purpose. You should always ask yourself, “Why do I want to spend time with this person?” What’s in it for you? If nothing, either don’t waste the time or at least do it around your schedule and location.
- Do your research before meeting a person. Look at their contacts on LinkedIn, identify who they are connected with that are on the list from #1, bring your list of people that you want them to introduce you to, prepare what questions you have for them, be prepared to open your contacts to them and make a referral to help them, and understand why you want to spend time with them.
- Have a plan to keep in touch with them to develop a relationship. In the meeting, probe to identify their interests so you can engage them later around these interests.
- Ask them to bring their contacts with them to the meeting and you should also bring yours. This way you can help each other on the spot. The effectiveness of additional referrals drops significantly after the meeting. This is why you are meeting, so take full advantage of it.
- Stay focused on your list. Don’t stray from it. These are the people you have identified as the people that can best help you find a job. Instead of wasting time with those that can’t help you, spend the time focusing on how to connect with those that can. This is far more valuable.
The best way to effectively network is to meet the right people. This sounds so obvious, however, I have discovered like many things most candidates “know this” but don’t actually practice it. If they did, then I and many others wouldn’t be writing on it so often.
I find over and over again those candidates that stay focused on meeting the right people not only find a job faster, but also enjoy networking more than those that just meet people. I believe this is because they see results.
Expand your online network by joining our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group of 5,300 members and growing. There are many articles and resources in this group to help you. CLICK HERE to join.
You can also download free cover letter and thank you letter examples. These have both been proven to be very effective. CLICK HERE and then scroll down to the What’s New Section at the bottom.
I welcome your comments and feedback.
Brad Remillard
Step one of effective networking focused on the offline networking process. It discussed why so many candidates receive such little value from networking that most just give up. I understand why this happens and hopefully the 4 steps started to change how most candidates approach networking.
Online networking is becoming more and more an effective way to connect. I personally don’t believe it is even close to as effective as offline networking, but one has to make sure that this base is covered. Just like the offline networking that we described in Step 1, it too must be covered effectively. Just doing it for the sake of doing it will not be any more effective in your search than meeting a bunch of people and going to a lot of networking meetings just for the sake of doing it.
There are very few things one can do poorly and expect anything other than poor results. Yet, this is what many of the candidates I encounter expect given their networking process.
Online networking takes effort. It is much more than just filling in the blanks on your LinkedIn profile and then hoping a recruiter or hiring authority will see it and think, “WOW, what a great person, I need to contact them now.” I recently conducted a small poll asking approximately 500 people how they would rate their LinkedIn profile. To my surprise, most were completely honest and rated it poor to below average. A few rated it good and one or two rated it excellent. Of those that rated it good and excellent, four made the mistake of asking if I agreed and wanted my opinion. Don’t ask me for my opinion if you don’t want a complete answer. When I finished writing my assessment of their profile, all agreed that their profile needed work and was incomplete and therefore ineffective.
Here are some things to consider when building an online network and how to fully utilize it:
- Limit your expectations. LinkedIn and other social media sites are not a silver bullet for finding a job. They are definitely an important component, but don’t over rely on them. Offline networking is still at the top of the list when searching for a position.
- I cannot stress enough that you need to make sure that you not only have a complete profile on LinkedIn or Google, but also make sure it is compelling. This is your home page. Make sure it demonstrates that you are the expert in your field. Do an analysis of your competitors just like companies do. Review other profiles in your functional area. See what they have to offer. How does their profile compare to yours? If you looked at both profiles, which person would you contact first? Be objective. CLICK HERE to get a FREE checklist to building a compelling profile.
- A profile is meaningless if you still aren’t findable. What steps are you taking to make yourself findable? (Part 3 in this series). How sure are you that if my team of recruiters was searching for you that they would find you? This is what counts.
- Once they do find you, how difficult is it to connect with you? This is a major issue. Most candidates don’t understand the process LinkedIn uses to connect people. If we aren’t connected at the first level and you don’t have your contact information displayed on your profile, LinkedIn makes it difficult to connect with you. In addition, the way their system works it can take days to make contact.
- Have you Googled your name and reviewed what shows up? Most have done this. Do the results link the person Googling you back to your LinkedIn profile? This can be a problem if you have a common name. Bob Smith, Jane Jones, Mark Roberts may have hundreds of names show up. It can take a long time to find you.
Online networking is a good thing, however, it is often over relied upon by candidates. Too many candidates believe that if they build it, people will just find them. This is just not true. I wish it were, as that would sure make my job easier. You have to work your profile. You have to get it out into the marketplace.
The good news is few candidates do this. If you do, you will be the one that gets the call.
You can get our Create a Powerful LinkedIn Profile To Find a Job webinar package. This includes all of the slides and the audio recording. The audio is an hour and a half and there are more than 30 slides that will walk you through step-by-step and show you exactly how to build a compelling profile. CLICK HERE to read more.
Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. 5,300 members are there for you to connect with. CLICK HERE to join.
I welcome your thoughts and feedback.
Brad Remillard
Are you investing too much time responding to job ads on job boards? Are you depending too much on finding your next job through a job advertisement? The vast majority of jobs are not posted on job boards. This pool of available opportunities is called the hidden job market. Research studies have shown that 80% or more of all jobs are NOT listed on job boards. In this radio program, Brad and Barry help you to focus on how to penetrate the hidden job market by determining how appropriate are the contacts in your network, how to establish a networking relationship, and how to build trust over time with the most important people in your network so that you can generate an abundance of job leads and referrals.
Click here to download or listen live to this recording.
Studies show that over 80% of all jobs are within the “hidden job market”. Only 15%-20% of all jobs are filled through job board advertising or through recruiters. If all you’re doing as a candidate is applying for jobs posted on-line, your job search is doomed to fail. To see the great opportunities within the hidden job market, a candidate must be effective at job search networking. In this recording of our weekly live radio broadcast, we share the top ten reasons candidates fail at networking and how to overcome these common failure points of job search networking.
Click here to download or listen live to this recording
