Career Moves
The old way of job searching is broken
Denver Business Journal - by Judith Briles
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What do General Motors, CitiGroup and AGI have in common? Their businesses are broken.
They did business the old way, failing to adapt and change in a rapidly morphing environment.
In Colorado, unemployment is near 7.6 percent. Who knows how high it will go? Or will it plateau and plummet? If you’re looking for work, or thinking about it, it’s time to re-think the process.
It’s not like the old days (last year), when you updated your resumé and networked like crazy, and hoped the phone would ring off the hook. If that’s the way you’re seeking work, go to the end of the line. That mode has gone the way of the Dodo bird, on its way to extinction.
So what works? According to Gordon Miller, senior partner with Dovetail Solutions in Denver, it all starts with taking a business-like approach to pursuing a job. Wishful thinking is out. It’s not all about who you know anymore. “It’s about value,” he says. “What value will you specifically bring to the company?”
In advising job-seekers, he says there are five key areas that will send you to the head of the line.
• Stop sending resumés. Everyone and their brother is wallpapering HR and anyone else they can think of with their resumés. It’s not that you shouldn’t have one — just don’t use it as your primary contact piece.
• Who do you want to work for? That’s the critical question. Forget about places that you’ve heard rumors are hiring or have open positions.
Stop and think. What are the three companies you want to work for? Or, what are the three industries you want to work in? Then ID the top three companies in your region (or nationally if you’re open to moving) you’d like to work for.
What do you love about them? The products? Services?
• Pretend you’re an investor. If you had $100,000 to invest in a company, what would you like to know about it before you write a check? How long it’s been in business, what products it makes, what’s the buzz in the business media, what’s its reputation in the community?
Miller says many of his clients are shocked by job-seekers’ lack of knowledge about their companies and what they do. “There’s no real in-depth understanding of the company, its culture or the product,” he says.
• Dig before you contact. It’s wise to expand your sphere — reach out to others who might know something about the company, its history and the industry. The most reliable information comes from those who are in the know — which rarely is someone in HR.
If you aren’t a member of LinkedIn, join. I get weekly requests from people I know, asking to connect them with others I know, who in turn, know someone they’re trying to reach.
• Write a value proposition letter. Resumés are out. Value is in. Let’s face it: The position you had in the past may no longer exist. Even the industry may be a thing of the past.
Your letter should go something like this: “Dear President/CEO: I’ve done in-depth research on your company and industry. With my skills, here are the three ways that I can specifically bring value to your company.”
Do you have an idea for a new process, strategic alliances, converting old technology or practices?
You send this gem to the decision-maker, not to a paper-pusher. It’s not about the past. It’s what value you bring to the table today and how your value will enhance the company.
Business as usual is broken. Dead. You, as the job-seeker, must start with a clean slate. Alive.
Judith Briles, a speaker and consultant about workplace issues and author of more than 20 books, can be reached at 303-627-9179 or judithbriles@aol.com.
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