Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Getting a Job Offer: What Your Teachers Never Taught You!
Remember what happened when you turned 16? Whatever year it was makes no difference. You gained permission to do two critical things for which you'd been longing in your earlier years. At 16 you were permitted to drive a car and you were permitted to get a job to pay for the car. So off you went to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles; you studied the instruction book, took Driver's Education in your high school, passed the written test, got your temps, took Driver's Training, took your driving test, had your photo taken and received a license from the government. You were deemed a competent driver and have had to return every four years since age 16 to re-register. Impressive process!
I smile when I remember how my father taught me to parallel park but I can't quite recall the wisdom he offered on job search. None of us can. There were no classes in 1963 when I became eligible to find a job and there are none today in my high school nor can you major in job search at my college. There is no written examination administered by a government bureaucrat on writing a resume and we are not required to demonstrate our interviewing skills to anyone but our mirrors.
We are all well aware of the high rate of auto accidents even after all the required BMV instruction and preparation. But with literally no training, instruction or mandatory licensure, we can only guess at the casualty rates in job search. Much like our vehicles, if our job search is not tuned-up with precision, and aligned with the rules of this equally important but all too forgotten road, how surprised can we be when we crash and burn?
When it comes to lack of job search savvy, each of us, from the Data Entry Clerk to the Chief Executive Officer begins equally unprepared, especially in light of the fact that unlike driving a vehicle, which hasn't changed since I got my license 42 years ago, job search is an evolutionary if not revolutionary process. We would all be well-served to remember the following:
Job Search is a Triathlon with three major events, and to succeed a candidate must prevail in each. They include preparation of resumes and other marketing tools, getting these tools in front of the right decision-makers and performing personally in everything from phone interviews to panel confrontations while ultimately closing job offers.
Job Searchers are involved in a major competition. No one gets hired solely because he qualifies and no one is entitled to a job offer. There are more qualified candidates than ever and the minute a job market tightens the competitions really become fierce. With so many folks believing that their recent MBA entitles them and most not even recognizing that they have been thrown into a competition, it is no wonder that we become so disappointed at the loss of a tournament.
Last month I introduced myself as your new Job Search Coach. As you may have suspected we have lots of job search areas of to refine to bring us closer to that offer. I look forward to it! See you next month!
I smile when I remember how my father taught me to parallel park but I can't quite recall the wisdom he offered on job search. None of us can. There were no classes in 1963 when I became eligible to find a job and there are none today in my high school nor can you major in job search at my college. There is no written examination administered by a government bureaucrat on writing a resume and we are not required to demonstrate our interviewing skills to anyone but our mirrors.
We are all well aware of the high rate of auto accidents even after all the required BMV instruction and preparation. But with literally no training, instruction or mandatory licensure, we can only guess at the casualty rates in job search. Much like our vehicles, if our job search is not tuned-up with precision, and aligned with the rules of this equally important but all too forgotten road, how surprised can we be when we crash and burn?
When it comes to lack of job search savvy, each of us, from the Data Entry Clerk to the Chief Executive Officer begins equally unprepared, especially in light of the fact that unlike driving a vehicle, which hasn't changed since I got my license 42 years ago, job search is an evolutionary if not revolutionary process. We would all be well-served to remember the following:
Job Search is a Triathlon with three major events, and to succeed a candidate must prevail in each. They include preparation of resumes and other marketing tools, getting these tools in front of the right decision-makers and performing personally in everything from phone interviews to panel confrontations while ultimately closing job offers.
Job Searchers are involved in a major competition. No one gets hired solely because he qualifies and no one is entitled to a job offer. There are more qualified candidates than ever and the minute a job market tightens the competitions really become fierce. With so many folks believing that their recent MBA entitles them and most not even recognizing that they have been thrown into a competition, it is no wonder that we become so disappointed at the loss of a tournament.
Last month I introduced myself as your new Job Search Coach. As you may have suspected we have lots of job search areas of to refine to bring us closer to that offer. I look forward to it! See you next month!
