Have you just discovered there were things you didn’t know about job search?
It’s not your fault. They changed some of the rules on you while you weren’t paying attention. But, there some easy fixes you can today that will greatly improve your future success.
The Curse of Knowledge
Have you heard any of these sayings before?
“You don’t know what you don’t know”
“If I knew then what I know now…”
At this point in time, you only know about the things you’ve taken time to learn or what you’ve been exposed to through your life experiences.
Think about this for a second or two.
Enter the four stages of competence. *credit Wikipedia
What stage are you in when it comes to your job search?
Can you see why you don’t know about some of the changes in job search?
If you haven’t had to look for a job within the last year, doesn’t it make sense that there are things you didn’t know about job search?
By TyIzaeL – This file was derived from: Competence Hierarchy adapted from Noel Burch by Igor Kokcharov.jpg by Kokcharov, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
3 Things You Didn’t Know About Job Search
The rules and procedures in job search have changed. I’d like to bring you up to speed and help you understand how companies fill jobs, how they decide who to interview and what you can do to improve your efforts!
1. How Companies Really Fill Jobs
Pay attention to the green bars! Those represent the percent of hires. The blue bars are interviews.
30ish% came from REFERRALS
Less than 30% came from INDEED.com
What this means is that you’re more likely to secure a new job if you are referred.
And the only way to get referred is to know people.
Your current network probably isn’t large enough to generate enough of the right job opportunities, so this means you’ll need to grow the number of people you know.
Read How To Get Referred For A Job
2. Yes, You Need To Grow Your Network
The best way to grow your network (and tap into the power of connections and referrals) is to develop a list of companies you would like to work with and target them.
Your goal is to meet people who work inside the company so you can potentially get referred when there is an opening.
Applying blindly to online job postings is futile. Your odds of getting hired are slim. Invest time doing the work and developing relationships! That will be a life-long payoff.
3. How Companies Select Candidates To Interview
Companies of all sizes use ATS (applicant tracking systems) and search the pool of applications by keywords to select only a small percentage of applicants.
Some research says that out of 250 resumes, 4-6 are interviewed and only one is hired.
Invest In Life-Long Learning
That’s the secret that will not only help your job search but will also help you in your career.
Become more inquisitive. Just this one simple change in your daily outlook will help you learn and open your mind.
Adopting the notion of life-long-learning can help you pivot into new directions, adapt to the rapid changes of corporate life, and even live longer.
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.
