2009 will be an extraordinarily challenging year for all of us here in Russia and hopes are high that after a likely very slow start, things will pick up and opportunities will begin to present themselves again. Those of us who have weathered the 1998 financial crisis and the following depressed period, and in general believe in and understand cycles, are confident that what is down will come up, and until then patience is a virtue we all need to adapt. 2009 job seekers should focus on the same.
The most important thing in any job search is to be prepared. Today’s disadvantage for job seekers is that companies will take their time to hire, ensuring their higher success rate of finding the best person for the available role. Gone for a while are hiring frenzies where more risks are taken to increase headcount faster. Resumes, cover letters, interview presentations (communication and appearance), best-practice follow-up, to name a few, should be in near-perfect form in order for job seekers to compete successfully during these highly competitive times.
Consider what your value proposition is. Where in a job search before you might have been up against 5 to 10 people maximum for the available role. Now you might be up against 2 to 20 times that. What makes you special? What can you offer that others maybe cannot? What makes you better and ‘the one’ a hiring company should choose to employ? Think about it, define it and then practice hypothetically presenting it. Most job seekers don’t think of these things, so if you can define a confident value proposition for yourself, you will increase your chances of seeming like, if not actually being, the better candidate for the available role.
Strategize your job search. Create a plan for yourself. What industries do you want to target? Which occupational roles would you fill successfully? Then research which recruitment firms on the market specialize in your profile, and which companies you want to target. Knowledge is a key to success. Read the news and talk to people. Look for opportunities. The more intelligent your job search is, the more likely you are to succeed at it.
Work hard at it. Time management is everything. Motivate yourself to get up early and after a refreshing shower, make a list of what you want and need to accomplish that day, and then work until you get everything on your list done. Once you have prepared yourself, determined your value proposition and planned your job search, start relentlessly making the calls, sending the emails and making the appointments. By working as hard and as smart as you can, you will increase your chances of finding a new job, faster than others.
Be flexible. Understand that the market has changed and what just recently was a ‘candidates’ market, where available jobs outnumbered available suitable candidates, now suitable candidates outnumber the amount of available jobs. The bottom-line is more important than ever for every company right now. Be prepared that new compensation packages offered may be lower and performance expectations higher. Focus on getting the job. Then once in the job, focus on outperforming expectations, which will eventually lead to promotions and higher compensation in the future, when the market picks up again.
It’s a numbers game. The more cover letters and resumes you send, to the right people, the more interviews you will likely have. The more interviews you have, the more chances you have at getting an offer. The more offers you have the more likely of your accepting a job you really truly want.
It is going to be a tough year, but there will be jobs on offer, there will be opportunities. Prepare yourself well, determine your value proposition, strategize your search, work very hard at it, be flexible and remember that it’s a numbers game, so keep at it. Be patient and good luck.
Tags : flexibility, job seekers, гибкость, подъем, поиск работы, советы, соискатель, стратегия, экономическим спад
Nice blog!
Great site. Keep doing
thank you for this
Да, было бы смешно, если б не было так грустно …
It is the coolest site,keep so!
It is the coolest site,keep so!
I agree with all of the content, although I would challenge the point that it’s a numbers game. I unfortunately played the numbers game for two years, and came up with nothing. Maybe I compromised the strategic part, trying to make myself cover too wide a field.
I think a highly focused campaign, with telephone follow up, is invaluable. As is a clear CV, with achievements, budgets, bottom-line improvements, and above all success stories.
After an interview, I used to phone the interviewer to thank them for their time.
Research of the market, the sector and the company are invaluable and provide a platform for discussion, be it at interview or in the covering letter.
You are in effect, a product which needs marketing, branding, and selling. Bearing in mind how to sell yourself to a potential employer is essential. Remember you have competitors who may know this too.
I also think you need to be prepared to relocate. many are not, which of course limits the search geographically.
I support the view that positive thinking is essential. It can be a hard, hard uphill fight, especially after some time out of work. The rewards of working hard at your campaign make it worth while.
I agree it is crucial to motivate yourself for systematic action for successful job search that requires to develop time-management skills first of all. And of course it is very important to keep positive thinking and not to mistrust own powers.
I agree with the author that self-presentation skills are extremely important for a successful candidate who goes to the first client meeting. People generally take you at your own estimation. If you present yourself as ordinary, that’s how they’ll see you. If you come across as confident, professional and a good kind of person to know, they’ll believe that’s what you are. Thus, it is extremely important to be well-prepared for the interview to show yourself to the best advantage.
Совершенно верно! Бойкий ритм работы необходимо поддерживать и при ее отсутствии и поиске нового рабочего места. Много лет назад мною было принято решение перейти из профессии в другую, при этом, и менялась отрасль, это было трудным решением. На прежнем месте проработал более 7-ми лет. Такая смена работы была равносильно сегодняшнему положению рынка лично для меня, ведь совершенно не было опыта и связей в новом деле. Составил жесткий план встреч для себя, количество которых с потенциальных работодателями было равным количеству профессиональных встреч (как при продажах), а звонков и писем, которые я составлял по утрам было не менее, чем в рядовой службе телемаркетинга. Через 2 месяца мне стало поступать значительно количество совершенно разных предложений и пришлось перестраивать работу, так как уже надо было – выбирать. При этом старался ответить на каждый вопрос, поступивший ко мне и предложение от заинтересованного (хоть немного) работодателя. В результате – приняли Менеджером по телемаркетингу! Затем быстро рос в продажах. … Покой нам только сниться!
The importance of networking should not be under estimated as part of an overall strategy. For sure, finding the job that you want is not going to be easy in today’s market, on occasions it can feel like an impossibility.
There are people who you will know who can help. Recruitment firms obviously, but also friends, former and current colleagues and in particular professionals in the market. Through your research identify open networking events, sign up for them and attend.
Another interesting article. I could only add that it is easy for us, for recruiters, to compose in the right form a resume or a cover letter, to highlight our strengths correctly and to choose the best strategy of looking for job and etc. So, if you are about to start a job’s search it would be more useful and productive at first to take some advices from professional recruiters.
Best regards,
Idris
Тери, это очень важная и, безусловно, очень полезная информация. Я уверен, что эта статья поможет многим кандидатам структурировать поиск нового места работы, и, в конечном счете, найти свое “идеальное” место.
Thanks a lot, this article should read every job seeker to be successful!