Number One Networking Tip

Networking, and job hunting itself are emotionally taxing, physically draining and occasionally discouraging. Therefore, do not try to go it alone. Talk to other people with whom you can share your victories and setbacks -- people who can sympathize, but can also keep you on track the days when you want to quit.

Networking can also be enjoyable and rewarding, especially when you keep it foremost in your mind that YOU have something to offer every person you speak with.

If you do not feel that you have something to offer the marketplace and the people you talk to, or if you are unclear on what it is that you have to offer, then you may need to do a little more work on self-assessment.

Throughout the networking process, your focus and emphasis should be not on your need for employment but on your competencies and on what you have to bring to an organization, company or employer.

Fundamentals of Job Searching

The fundamentals of job hunting have not changed dramatically in the last 50 years. Job seekers still need a resume to summarize their experience, skills and abilities. Employers still expect a cover letter to accompany and introduce the resume. As in 1950, many job seekers identify desirable positions through personal contacts and networking. And, just as it was two generations ago, few of us obtain positions without interviewing with our prospective employer at least once.

Why then, we may wonder, do the tasks of selecting a career and finding employment seem so challenging -- even, at times, daunting? One reason for this, surely, is that the society in which we now look for careers and jobs feels more competitive, complicated and confusing than in the past. And it feels this way because it is this way. The reason for this has to do with the accelerated pace of change. The phenomenon of change, always a feature of human life, has itself changed. Is is occurring at a faster rate than ever before in human history. Moreover, despite our love of future-telling, rapid change makes the art of prediction hazardous for those who crave certainty about what is to come.

The Hidden Job Market

One way of finding job openings is to read the help wanted ads or research on-line job banks; jobs can be found by responding to these openings. But, these job listings represent only a limited selection of the jobs available. Many desirable positions are not advertised and their existence is never known to the general public. These opportunities make up what is generally known as The Hidden Job Market. But, if such jobs are not publicized, how does anyone find out about them? Usually through networking. Even jobs that are advertised are often filled through networkers before or while the ad appears. As you identify potential jobs, before they are advertised, and are alerted to positions that will not be publicly available at all, you tap into The Hidden Job Market. Depending on the kind of work that you do, between 50% and 80% of the positions that interest you will be filled at the "hidden" level. These successful applicants, appear to be "insiders", "people in the know", who have "special" access. You may be wondering how these jobs are snatched up by people who are no better qualified than you. The answer is -- connections. People get these jobs by networking or being part of an already existing network.

5 Advantages of Focusing On A Specific Type Of Position In A Job Search

1. Serious job hunting is time consuming. An unemployed job seeker should put 30 to 40 hours a week into the effort. Ironically, people who are unfocused may put considerable energy into their search and thus feel as though they are doing everything they can. But their energy is dissipated in too many directions to be productive.

2. The more contacts you establish in your search, the more likely you will be to uncover a desirable position. Your concentration of contacts is like the application of pressure -- the greater the pressure, the more likely it is that something will happen. This likelihood is decreased if the pressure is diffused over several fields of specialties.

3. Here is another irony of job searching. The unexpected opportunity pops up mast frequently for those whose full energies are marshaled in a specific direction. Job seekers who do not concentrate on an objective rarely make a significant enough impression on anyone to attract unexpected possibilities.

4. Productive job searching requires us to present ourselves convincingly to prospective employers. These employers tend to be unimpressed by statements such as, "I do not care that much what kind of job I do" and, "I am willing to do anything." If we present ourselves in our written and oral communications with persuasive conviction and commitment, we need to fit who we are and what we have to offer with a set of recognizable skills and abilities.

5. To look at it from the other side of this coin, it is hard to be enthusiastic and remarkably well qualified for 10 to 15 different kinds of jobs.

Purpose

The goal of this blog is to provide job seekers and those seeking to advance their career with tips that will aid them, as well as to present the latest news about the job market. If you are currently looking to find a job, want to advance your career or just want to keep up to date on the job market then you should subscribe to this blog.