Ten Job Hunting Myths

THE MYTHS:

1. Without an excellent resume and cover letter, you'll never beat the competition and get the interview.
2. The best way to find a job is by using the Internet.
3. Resumes are screened to find the best qualified candidates.
4. If you are qualified and you apply, you deserve an interview. If you don't get the interview or even any response, you are not qualified for that job opening.
5. If you ask everyone you know to help you find a job, someone will find one for you.
6. It's not what you know, it's who you know.
7. If you follow up with an employer more than three times, you are being a pest. And pests don't get jobs.
8. If someone says "No" to you about a job, they mean "No."
9. To win the interview, you have to sell yourself by telling them how wonderful you are.
10. I can't find a job because of the economy. It stinks and the best jobs are going overseas.

LET'S GET REAL!

1. Most interviews come from initial contacts without a resume or cover letter.
2. The best way to find current leads is by using the Internet. The best way to find a job is by developing other leads.
3. Resumes are screened to find keywords and potential problems.
4. Being qualified is not enough. First you need to get noticed.
5. If you ask and expect everyone you know to help you find a job, you'll lose a lot of friends.
6. It's not who you know, but who knows and appreciates YOU.
7. Following up the right way is persistence. Following up the wrong way is pestering. And most leads become interviews after a minimum of 7-10 follow ups.
8. If someone says "No" to you after an interview, they very likely mean "Not now."
9. To win the interview, you have to ask questions, listen to the answers and tell them what they want to hear. Most people can't sell. They talk too much about themselves and don't listen to their customers.
10. There are always jobs for people who develop the right contacts, get involved in the business, and show employers how they can improve the bottom line.

Learn the right way and find the resources you need for your job search success at www.jvsdet.org and www.ParnossahWorksDetroit.org. Join us at NextJobs~JVS Detroit on www.LinkedIn.com.

You can reach me, Walt Tarrow, at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

Are You the Ideal Candidate?

"Who you ARE speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you are saying." Ralph Waldo Emerson


Are your actions as a job seeker telling employers what they want to hear?
Do you complain about no one returning your phone calls or emails? Or are you patient, but persistent?

How are you looking for a job?
Are you waiting around for something to happen? Or are you following up and finding ways to make and keep in contact with companies?

What actions are you taking to find employment?
Do you rely on others to do things for you? Or are you taking the initiative and doing as much as you can for yourself?

How are you behaving when and after you apply to a job opening?
When you get discouraged and frustrated, do you gripe or take it out on others? Or are you the kind of employee who handles pressure well?

Ask yourself if you are you doing the things that the perfect, the best, employee would do.
If you want the job, while you are looking, you must behave every day in every way possible like an employee they would want.


Do you know, do you understand, how the ideal candidate should behave?

Having all the required and preferred knowledge and experience to do a job means nothing if you don't act the part. If you don't behave like the right kind of person for the job, then you won't get the offer. Employers hire the right person, not necessarily the most qualified.

Learn about the job. Ask for a job description. Research the company. Talk to people who work for the company or people who have a similar job in another company.

Then make a behavioral profile of the ideal candidate. How would the best employee take on a project? What are the top personality characteristics of the successful worker in that position? How would the desired candidate handle problems like difficult customers?

Then make a list of at least five of those characteristics that you would want to demonstrate. And create opportunities in your job search process to show them who you are.

For example, if you have identified that politeness is a top quality for success in that job, then behave in a considerate and courteous way. Acknowledge busy schedules and heavy work loads. Ask when would they have a moment or two to spare. Make your schedule convenient for them. Speak precisely and slowly, and repeat your name and phone number so your voice mail messages can be understood clearly.


Bottom line:
Would you hire you?