Five Steps To Take Control Of Your Job Search

For most job seekers, the routine is numbingly familiar: See an ad, respond to an ad, wait for a response, repeat. It happens every day in every market across the United States. Unfortunately, it’s one of the least efficient ways to get a job, says Richard Deems, a career coach and organizational expert.

In his latest book, “Make Job Loss Work for You,” which he co-authored with his daughter, Terri Deems, also a career coach, Deems encourages job hunters to be more proactive in their search. The tone is clear in the book’s subtitle–”Get Over It and Get Your Career Back on Track”–that looking for work in this market requires that candidates take control of their search and stop waiting for employers to respond.

“The candidates who are out on the streets meeting and talking with people are the ones who maintain their energy and confidence,” says Richard Deems, a past chapter president of the American Society for Training and Development. “Those who sit back at home and merely mail out their resumes are often those who get discouraged. Sure, they’ll eventually get hired. But the process is likely to drag on much longer than it needs to, and the position may be less satisfying than it could be.”

In their book, the Deemses boil down their philosophy into the Deems JobGetting Skills System, a five-step process that they say will greatly increase your chances of not only getting noticed by hiring managers but also of landing a job that is personally fulfilling, regardless of industry or skill level.

1) Research the position – Whenever possible, Deems says, contact the person who has the authority to hire you and tell that person that you want to discuss the position further. If no hiring manager is listed (which is most often the case), do a little digging. Call the company directly, analyze the Web site and check out articles or blogs to find out as much as you can about what the job entails. The goal is to find out more about the position that the average schmo who just sends in a resume.

2) Research the organization – Start looking into the company’s history. Learn about the various products and services, past mergers and acquisitions, and the background of the top management. Deems suggests calling the company to get an annual report and to peruse the firm’s investor relations link on its Web site. Also, don’t forget to scour all of the leads in your social networking groups (Facebook and LinkedIn are particularly helpful) to see if you know anybody within the organization who can give you the inside scoop.

3) Evaluate your interest – Once you’re finished with the research in the first two steps, take a moment to decide whether this position and corporate culture is right for you. Questions to ask yourself include: Does the job call for what you do best and most enjoy doing? Will the workplace environment enable you to be your best? Do you really want this job or not?

4) Design your positioning strategy – If the job fits your criteria, the next step is to let the key decision makers know that you want to be considered their top candidate and ask them what you need to do to make that happen. While this may seem like arrogant behavior, Deems says it’s what needs to be done to make sure that your name is on the hiring manager’s mind throughout the hiring process. Be sure to follow up on your resume submission. For example, he says, ask another person in your network to make a call to the hiring manager on your behalf.

5) Implementation – Now that you have a plan in place, Deems says you should assemble your application package according to the instructions of the hiring manager and, if at all possible, deliver the application package in person. Most importantly, follow up after the package has been sent, he says. After two or three days, make a call to ensure that the application was received. Also, don’t be shy about asking the hiring contact if it is possible to arrange a face-to-face meeting about the job.

“Of course, people who do this won’t apply for as many positions as does the typical job hunter,” Deems says. “But then, why should they waste time and energy on something they don’t really want in the first place?”

Click here for more information about “Make Job Loss Work for You” and other titles by the Deemses.

By Randy Woods
October 1, 2009
source: blog.marketplace.nwsource.com