Richman: In a recession, you have to turn it up a notch
Richman: In a recession, you have to turn it up a notch
When you’re interviewing in as competitive environment as this one, you have to do everything faster, smarter and better.
1. Take action more quickly than you otherwise might. If someone mentions a job possibility to you, immediately find out as much as you can, as quickly as you can and — albeit with incomplete information — call the hiring authority. That’s right, contact the person who makes the hiring decision, introduce yourself and ask to discuss the job opportunity and your potential candidacy. If it’s a good fit, ask for the interview on the spot. Follow with an e-mail that confirms the date and time for the meeting, attach your résumé and arrive dressed to impress on interview day.
2. When you’re interviewing in a recession and competition is everywhere, you have to search faster, smarter and better. Allocate time where there’s the greatest return on your investment. Responding to online job postings nets the fewest responses relative to time expended, so spend the least amount of time on them. Put your primary effort and focus where there’s the greatest probability of response: initiating phone and face-to-face meetings with networking contacts that can lead to interviews and job offers.
3. When you’re competing in a market as tight as this one, you have to develop your résumé smarter, faster and better. Put it through a stress test by giving it to people you trust, each with a critical eye. If two out of three can tell you within 15 seconds of reading what you’re looking for and why you’d be good at it, you’re ready for prime time. If they can’t, your résumé needs work. Get advice quickly and make the necessary changes immediately.
4. When you’re doing your best to get a job in a contest where everyone is trying to get there before you do, you have to play smarter, faster and better. You need to know who’s hiring, what they’re looking for and the problems they’re trying to solve so you know if you’re the one who can solve them. If you are, go after these jobs aggressively. If you’re not, you’re wasting valuable time. Go where you can make an immediate difference, and do it immediately.
5. To get a job these days, you need a strategy that is smarter, better and faster than that of your competition. If you have five things to do, get five things done. Complete your résumé, line up your references, practice your elevator speech, practice interview questions and network six hours a day, five days a week.
No matter how badly you want a job, don’t take one that’s a bad fit. Take one that doesn’t pay as much as you’d like, take one in company that’s not your cup of tea, but don’t accept a job that you don’t like, don’t understand or haven’t been successful at in the past. Your job is to get the job, keep the job and advance in the company you join. So think beyond the end of next week. You’re smarter, faster and better than that.
Joyce Richman is a speaker and career coach conducting seminars and workshops throughout the United States, and the author of “Roads, Routes & Ruts: A Guidebook for Career Success.” You can reach her at 288-1799 or JERichman@aol.com. Watch Richman’s latest career advice Wednesdays at 6:35 a.m. during “The Good Morning Show” on WFMY News 2.
