6 Hard Truths Every Job Seeker Should Know
To find success in your job search, you can't have any false assumptions. Too often, talented people find themselves upended because they were surprised about something they didn't know or expect. Here are six things you should keep in mind throughout your job hunt:
1. You need to have the necessary skills and experience to get a job. "I would have loved that job and could have figured out how to do it with some training and help along the way." Employers hire people because they are convinced those hires already have the skills and experience to do a job well. That doesn't mean you can't make a significant career change. But no matter the circumstance, you need to somehow demonstrate a strong basis of relevant skills and experience upon which a hiring manager can predict your success.
2. Just because you have the required skills and experience doesn't mean you will get the job. From an employer's standpoint, the hiring process is about much more than matching candidate skills and experience with a job opening's stated requirements. They also carefully consider that elusive quality called "fit." While it isn't a very satisfying reason to hear when you are rejected, "fit" can include personality, temperament, career progression and a host of other legitimate elements.
3. You will likely be asked the salary question in your first conversation. Be prepared for it. Rather than fumbling or becoming rattled, give a respectful answer that highlights a current or recent compensation level. Make it clear that you understand that the salary in this job will be different because the role, environment, cost of living and other factors will be different. Then, quickly deflect the conversation back to talking about the value you offer rather than the cost you represent as a new hire.
4. Employers are interested in your key accomplishments and how you attained them -- not your job description. You can pretty much assume that serious candidates for a given role will all have histories of more or less similar responsibilities. When you begin bullet points on your résumé with "Responsible for ..." you lump yourself in with the rest of the candidates and provide no reason why your background is superior to theirs.
As an alternative, use a CAR -- challenge, action, result -- statement. Explain one of your responsibilities, and then highlight what you actually did and what value resulted from your actions. Here's an example:
Challenge: Grow and transform a fallow sales territory with few accounts into a vibrant and consistent revenue stream.
-- Crafted a business plan and obtained buy-in from management. Prospected, formed new relationships and closed XXX new accounts resulting in $YYY of revenue.
5. Employers aren't interested in what you did in 1997. There is no need to highlight skills or expertise that are passe. If you surfed the World Wide Web using Netscape Navigator, composed documents in WordPerfect for DOS and made Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets, no one cares. Really! The same is true about listing jobs you held more than 10 to 15 years ago. Like or not, in almost every instance, they are no longer relevant. In the interest of honesty, it is very reasonable to include a line like this in your résumé, under the earliest position: "Details of prior experience are available upon request."
6. Sour grapes make you sour. Even if you only apply to jobs for which you believe yourself to be well-qualified or even perfect, no job is a shoo-in. You will get rejections. Sometimes you'll get many rejections. Stuff happens. Maybe your résumé wasn't read. Maybe the hiring manager wasn't smart enough to figure out how great you really are. It's possible that the job was "hard-wired" for someone else.
It's true that life isn't fair. Wallowing in self-pity or placing the blame on others for the job you didn't get won't get you the job you deserve. Often, just the opposite is true. When you blame your circumstances on the faults of others, you rob yourself of the ability to go forward with a positive attitude. Without that, no matter how skilled and experienced you are, chances are good you won't have the positive energy it takes to do what must be done to succeed the next time around.
Happy hunting!
Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic "I'll apply to anything" searches into focused hunts for "great fit" opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.