"In" and "Out" in the job hunt

April 16 2002 - Today's competitive market requires considerably more effort than in recent years, notes Tracey Turner, executive director of The Creative Group, a specialized staffing firm placing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals. According to Turner, methods that may have worked in a robust economy should be replaced with more focused, aggressive strategies.

"As competition for employment intensifies, job seekers are branching out beyond obvious tools such as job-board postings and classified ads," says Turner. "They're networking harder and smarter, and using their resumes to paint vivid pictures of the value they can add to companies."

Adds Turner, "The most successful applicants thoroughly research prospective employers before initiating contact. They approach job interviews with a 'sales pitch' on how their skills and expertise can directly benefit the company."

These are the "in" and "out" tactics to landing a new position in 2002 according to Turner:

Out	In
Working the want ads	Working a room
Free time while job hunting	Freelancing, volunteering or continuing your education while job hunting
Mass mailing generic resumes	E-mailing resumes tailored to specific companies and positions
Listing creative job titles (e.g., "innovation guru") on resumes	Using creative job-search strategies to identify leads
Providing a laundry list of previous job duties on resumes	Highlighting and quantifying specific achievements on resumes
Waiting by the phone	Calling potential employers
Using business buzz words and jargon in application materials	Using clear, simple and persuasive language in application materials
Including references with resumes	Preparing references for phone calls
Cover letters addressed "To Whom It May Concern"	Personalized cover letters that complement information on the resume and "sell" your skills
Telling people you're "between jobs"	Asking everyone you know if they have job leads
Ending the interview by asking when they'll be contacting you	Ending the interview by asking for the job

 

The Creative Group is at:www.creativegroup.com.
 

Bibliography and Amazon.ca

What Color is Your Parachute?: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers
by Richard Nelson Bolles

Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider's Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century
by John Lucht

The Interview Rehearsal Book: 7 Steps to Job-Winning Interviews Using Acting Skills You Never Knew You Had
by Deb Gottesman, Buzz Mauro

Power Interviews: Job-Winning Tactics from Fortune 500 Recruiters
by Neil Yeager, Lee Hough

175 High-Impact Cover Letters
by Richard H. Beatty