Job searching after a redundancy can be affected by past ineffective job-seeking habits. Habits are great when they are refined and honed to be relevant to the present. But many habits disappoint because they worked in the past. This can provide a false sense of security. And in the world of competitive employment, the landscape is one of constant change.
The Forbes Coaches Council is an exclusive club of seasoned coaches. They have identified seven fatal traps that even the most experienced and senior executives can fall into if they are not aware.
There are opportunities for those willing to apply expert, proven job-finding techniques.Credit:Erin Jonasson
1. If you have spent the last eight hours posting for jobs online, you have wasted seven hours and 50 minutes. Such is the lure of the simplicity of online job-hunting. It looks fine on the surface. You find a job that meets your specifications, and send your resume, and wait for a reply. And wait and wait and wait, often with no response. You put yourself into such a highly competitive space that the chance of getting an interview is significantly reduced.
2. Just because you did it doesn't mean it belongs on your resume. Many resumes are filled with too much detail, and pages of waffle and clutter. Streamline your resume by including things that are relevant to the job you are applying for – things that made a difference to the bottom line, or improved something.
3. Don't tell me about the things you were expected to do; write about the things you did that no one ever dreamed possible. This is the old inputs versus outputs equation. Many fill their resumes with dot points taken straight off their position description, usually under the heading of "responsibilities". Anyone can do that. You must identify those that went beyond the expected duties.
4. If no one returns your calls requesting a networking meeting, you are leaving the wrong message. Networking is not about asking for a job. If you call a decision-maker in a big company, don't waste their time by leaving such stupid messages. Rather, ask them about their current plans, how they got there, what they do to keep their role. Show interest. If you have to leave a message, tell them you want to talk about a marketing plan. OK, so it's your marketing plan. Ask them for feedback on what you need to do to get expert in your field.
5. People who don't think online networking is relevant to their job search will become irrelevant to the hiring managers who think it is. If you have no online branding, it shows you have simply ignored how the job market works. Online networking is now mandatory. If you're not in that space, you have no way of convincing a recruiter or hiring manager that you are fit enough for the digital age. It's not about your age; instead it's whether you have kept up-to-date with technology.
6. People think they should talk in general terms about career successes, but you build trust with interviewers by talking about specifics. The reason career advisers and outplacement transition specialists harp on about specifics is that specifics actually provide evidence of your achievements. The STAR technique of SITUATION, TASK, ACTION and RESULT is all about specifics. Use it in your resume achievement statements, and practise it in your interviews.
7. When hiring managers ask you in an interview what your weakness is, they already know. Hiring managers have summed you up quite well in the first few seconds of your introduction, and many have actually formed their hiring opinion of you in the first few minutes of the interview. In doing so, they have formed a hunch about what your weakness is. So when explaining that weakness, make sure you are honest about it, and allow the vulnerability to work its wonders. Studies have shown that the more honest you are during the interview, the more appreciative impression you will form.
Make sure you don't fall into these fatal traps in finding another job, or hunting for a second career.
Whether you decide to retire, rewire, or get rehired, there are opportunities for those willing to apply expert, proven job-finding techniques.
Warren Frehse is a career transition coach and workplace behavioural consultant. He is author of Manage Your Own Career: Reinvent Your Job; Reinvent Yourself and professional member of the Career Development Association of Australia, and Australian Human Resources Institute.
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