A recent report states that 80% of all jobs being obtained these days are on a personal basis. Basically, 8 out of every 10 new hires got their job through a friend or a friend of a friend. Only 2 out of every 10 jobs were found through Monster, CareerBuilder, TheLadders, Indeed, Craigslist, HotJobs, etc.
First, WTF? If you don’t know the right person, especially at the right company, it looks like you’re screwed…well, 80% screwed anyway.
OK, that sucks. But instead of saying “that’s not fair” and throwing in the towel, look to see how you can succeed playing this game. Ask yourself who you know; then contact them. Leverage sites like Doostang, LinkedIn and Facebook; see who your friends know. Once you have an understanding of your network, use it. BUT use it intelligently. Do not just mass email your resume out there and ask for a hook up.
Also, remember that despite their 2/10 job placement rate, Job sites are still important. Look at them and see what positions are open. Mark down the ones you have the most interest in. Apply online through these sites AND then reach out to your network. Explain that you recently applied and think you would be a viable candidate (make sure you actually are. Do not ask a friend to vouch for you if you are not qualified. You will make yourself look like an ass and your friend will never vouch for you again (if they are smart)).
If you do not have a contact at a company, your resume really needs to look great. You want it to be easy to read and full off all the information the recruiter is looking for. Basically, make sure your resume fits the position you are applying for. Make sure keywords from the job posting are in your resume. If the employer has some struggle connecting your resume with the open job, you are done.
2 comments:
This may be true but out of my 3 jobs exactly 3 of them were gotten through job boards...
I disagree with your order of operations - submitting your resume through the company's site before reaching out to your network might result in your networking contact losing out on a referral bonus, or might be jumping the gun by missing out on an opportunity to get better insight into the position and making your resume as appealing as possible. I would say ask your network if they have an "in" to the recruiting process first before becoming another nameless submission through the career site.
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