
"Do You Really Want to Work There?"
Most job
search approaches in today's economy are Ready! Fire!
Aim!
Don't do it.
Do your company research FIRST.
What happens
in the real job search world is that most job searchers, in the
interest of generating a lot of search "activity", will throw a
lot of resumes against the wall and see what sticks. Knowing
that job search is a numbers game, the thinking is that a
certain percentage will fall your way, so why not stack the
deck up front and follow with those that "stick"?
Here are two big problems with that
thinking:
Having not done the basic research beforehand,
should a call come through for an initial phone screen,
you are caught dead in the water if you don't even have
any basic knowledge about either the company or the job
opportunity. Not only do you look foolish, you're now
toast. You've just been ruled out of contention after a
5-minute phone call and your resume has just been thrown
on the reject pile as the interviewer moves on the next
candidate to call. Why is this? Because in today's
employment market, it's very much a "buyer's
market". Far too many candidates for far too few
positions as employers are more picky than ever
before.
Your resume is an application for working at
this company. If you haven't put any forethought into the
reality of this possibility, when are you planning to do
so? Waiting until after you have interviewed for this
position could put you in a more emotionally vulnerable
state. Feeling more desperate to make some change now, you
tend to overlook certain negatives that creep up once you
get caught up in the excitement of the interview process
and the possibilities of change.
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Here's an
example from my own career:
Many years
ago I was working for a large pharmaceutical
company as a territory rep and was desiring a
change to a more dynamic company when, after a
few months of being "available", I had an
opportunity to interview with a company I knew
little about. I met with them and let myself
get caught up in the excitement of change and
ignored the nagging doubts that told me the job
responsibilities were not right for me. I
accepted the job offer, and spent most of the
next 11 months hating my new job looking for a
way out. It was a great company, too.
However, the job itself was a bad fit with
my personality and there was no changing or
glossing over this fact. I knew this
AFTER I started interviewing, but I found it
hard to say no.
If I had
done my research ahead of time, I would
never have considered this opportunity and
could have saved myself the anguish of a job
that was a bad fit plus having to start a new
job search all over again.
Lesson:
Research BEFORE you leap when you're calm and
rational and can focus your time and energy on
those specific companies and opportunities
where you'll feel more of a fit at the
beginning of your search. This may mean
you rule out job opportunities with solid
companies if the fit is not there for
you.
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You should answer these basic
questions:
How large is the
company?
What products/services do they
offer?
Who are their competitors?
Where do they rank in their
market?
What is their financial
situation?
Can I do this
job?
The
advantages of knowing this information up front, puts you in a
power position when you DO receive a call
from
an employer. You're now in a position to talk
intelligently about the company, their opportunity, their
products, etc and use this information to generate a
knowledgeable conversation with your
caller. This signifies interest and gets you to the
next stage: a more in-depth phone screen or a face-to-face
interview.
Here are some resources to get this
information:
Corporate Website (see also their Press
Release section)
Hoovers™, Thomasnet™,
EBSCO.
The Reference Section of your local
public library.
Standard &
Poors.
The Business Journal, local
trade or business papers (see your library).
Talk with people (social software,
network).
Be up to
speed on a company before you even send your resume. Find out
earlier rather than later whether you would actually like to
work for a particular company. It can make all the difference
if you do the legwork up front rather than leaving it to chance
late in the interview stage.
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Here's a
Shocker…
The Job Search
Industry is
Not On Your Side.
Why would you put your career in the hands of
those who have no vested interest in your success?
Yet, most job seekers unwittingly do it every single
day.
Find out how you can stop playing the game
of "resume roulette" and start making a serious move
toward finding that "right" job. Click here to learn
more.
Job Search
Blog:
Have you checked out the Job Search Guy
Blog? You can get the latest
tips, tricks and techniques to
win your dream job presented by Joe Turner, the "Job Search
Guy". Also, find out what
others are doing and saying about how to succeed in today's
job search scene. Do you have a job search or
interviewing question? Post it here. Click Here for the Job Search
Guy Blog.
Have a Killer Job Search!!
Best Regards,

Joe Turner
"My Goal is Getting You Hired
Faster"
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