All the things you have to know and do in your job search are not as easy to determine or accomplish as they may seem. One reason is that you have to buy into the mindset that this is the way it works despite it’s seeming “unfair.” You have to organize your job search like a military campaign: Make a plan, set your goal, and develop strategies and tactics to achieve it.
You have to dust off your interpersonal communication and impression management skills. You have to know how to effectively use resources and your network. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the employer and think in their terms. And you have to interview accordingly.
Another reason for difficulty is you may expect to be judged solely on the merits of your resume-stated past performance and experience, without your having to “sell” yourself anew. You may expect potential employers to be fair, impartial, and forthright, and not use subjective criteria like the marketing impression you create on paper and in person.
Unfortunately, these expectations often won’t be met, thus, potentially leaving you feeling defeated and depressed because you didn’t know the “rules” (or felt you “shouldn’t” have to).
To get yourself started on the right foot you need to think of getting the job you want as the result of successfully playing and winning the job-hunt “game.” For employers it’s finding a solution to their pressing problem: Needing the most immediately productive individual to fill a void. For you it’s determining what potential employers want to hear then telling them your version of it.
Specifically, it means recasting what you have to offer in the terms that matter to them. That is, tailoring yourself to fit their image of the ideal results-oriented candidate – the “solution” to their problem. Everything must be reframed in terms of the employer’s needs and your effectively presenting yourself as meeting those needs.
Remember: What you want and need is important only to you. It’s the employer’s game so to win you have to play by the employer’s rules. Everything you do must be designed to work toward that end.
In today’s marketplace the competition for the employer’s attention is intense. Job seekers’ messages abound and every job seeker is vying for that precious few minutes of the decision maker’s time in which to have their message listened to. You’re more likely to have your message listened to if you
– Know your target audience of potential employers and their needs and wants through your research
– Design your job-hunt communications like promotional literature, emphasizing your benefits to the company
– Access and use fully and effectively all the resources available
A carefully choreographed job-hunt marketing campaign can grab employers by the collar, rivet their attention immediately, present you as a benefit they can’t resist, and get you the job you want.