There are few certainties in life, one of which is that we will always need some form of currency to pay bills and taxes. At a presentation I attended in 2014 at the Australian Human Resources Institute’s national convention, there was discussion around the future of work and that the future is the ‘selfie’. Now don’t go reaching for your selfie stick, as the selfie I’m talking about here is self employment. It’s a well known fact that there are more people than there are available jobs, and with this dilemma, people still have career goals they’d like to achieve and bills to pay. Enter the world of sole traders, contractors and before too long we may have more people competing for contract work as opposed to full-time employment.
Regardless of what the future may look like, the reality is that there are presently many people unemployed searching for work. The job search process has changed in so many ways with the introduction of the digital age, it doesn’t surprise me that so many are struggling to get noticed by employers. The most common complaint I’ve had thrown my way by job seekers is that they can’t get a job, and don’t know why.
If you’re looking for a job, and have been looking for more than three months without getting noticed by employers, I’ve got a question for you – “Are you truly serious about getting a job?”
Getting a job is not as simple as applying online, the process is far more complicated and it starts with the job seeker’s commitment to the process. It’s those job seekers who have a strategy for gaining work, relevant and up to date job application documents, interview skills and qualified reference checks that are being offered jobs. Thinking about your position in this process, how do you fare if you were to do the four point check on your commitment to getting a job? Would you tick all the boxes and be seen to be serious about getting a job?
I was speaking with someone recently who has been unemployed for five years and in tears that they’d not been offered a job interview, let alone an actual job. When we started talking about their strategy, she said she had been applying for every job she could find online (big mistake). Using a scattergun approach to applying for jobs is not going to increase your chances of getting a job faster. In fact, not having a clear understanding of your skills, and the value you can offer to your future employer, can work against your job search. Transferable skills do cross over into different industries however previous experience as a Cash Operator does not qualify you for the position of Engineer. Applying for every job creates mayhem for the employer now who receives several hundred unqualified applications, and this tells that me you haven’t given serious consideration to your job suitability.
When did you last review your cover letter and resume for relevance? I had a message come through to my Job Search Central facebook page asking if cover letters are really necessary as part of a job application. If you’re asking this very same question, let me tell you that if an employer asks for your cover letter and you fail to provide it, you’ve also failed the job application process. Job advertisements are written to provide you with specifics around the job opportunity available and how to apply. Not providing your cover letter when asked to do so, could exclude you from being considered for the job.
I co-manage a closed group on Facebook where people share job vacancies, and from time to time, I’ll contribute with a post to help those seeking employment. More recently, I posted a link to a survey I’m conducting to better understand what is stopping job seekers from getting a job and interestingly enough, the results confirm that the general public are not serious about their job search. When rewriting their resume, seven out of ten job seekers will ask family and friends for help, which is great if they’ve any recent experience in recruitment – but do they? If my car needed a look over, I would take it straight to a Mechanic as their qualifications and experience would save me the time and effort is resolving the issues experienced. Let’s imagine I give my car to a friend, who has only dabbled with cars on weekends as a hobby. How soon will my car be back on the road if assessed by someone unqualified to tell me what’s wrong with it? This is no different to your resume, and if you’re serious about getting a job you would have sought the help of a professional resume writer to give it the once over. Together with your resume, your cover letter tells your specific story and is your first introduction as a potential employee.
The job application process may appear easier for the job seeker, but with the introduction of online applications and job boards, the quest to find an employee has become more difficult for business owners. Give consideration to specifics sought by employers in each job advertisement, and meet their requests. Job seekers do need to be fully accountable for their job search efforts and take ownership for the (lack of) results that come from their efforts.