Don't be passive: Let companies know you're there -- Career Center Blog

April 23, 2009

Don't be passive: Let companies know you're there

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By Randy Woods
NWjobs

For many job seekers, the age-old method of scanning the listings in the internet job boards has been a relatively low-impact, low-reward method of finding a job. It may take dozens of résumés before you get a single nibble, but it's easy to do and at least somewhat effective. That was before the recession hit.

In today's economy, when the competition for virtually every listing has reached hysterical proportions, landing a job through a want-ad has become akin to winning a lottery. Witness the tale told by my colleague Nicole Brodeur a few days ago about a Tacoma meter-reader position that elicited a staggering 1,400 responses over a two-week span before it was filled.

Rod Mattson, a communications consultant based in Des Moines, Wash., says it's time for the madness to stop. Rather than waiting passively for a job listing to magically appear before you (and everyone else in the Puget Sound region), you must be the one to find the right position before it becomes public knowledge--sometimes even before the hiring managers know it themselves.

"You have to let people know you're looking," says Mattson, who is also an adjunct professor at Green River Community College. "One of the best places to start is to contact all of your friends and people you do business with, folks you meet at the store. People love to help others out and that's often a great place to find new leads."

Years ago, when Mattson was a sales manager at the old Bon Marche store, he says one of the first things the execs used to do when thy wanted to fill a new position was to ask around the office to see if anyone had a lead. "The last thing I wanted to do," he adds, "was put an ad in the paper." (Ouch.)

To get the inside track on these stealth job openings, Mattson urges job seekers to start doing some digging. "Come up with a list of about 20 to 40 companies you'd like to work for and start identifying departments that would be most suited to your talents," he says. "Find out who the hiring managers are and get to know the core competencies they're looking for."

Most importantly, he adds, make the first move to contact the hiring managers. "Don't call asking what they can do for you," he says. "When you go fishing, you don't put a Miller beer on the hook. Show them that you have what they want."

Though you don't want to become a pest, he says it's important to stay in touch with potential employers. Give them something, perhaps as a half-page write-up about a recent development in their particular field, that shows you are willing to take the intiative. "You need to be the one to solve their problems," he says. "Build a relationship. Ask what it is they need and tell them how you can help them."

For more tips about finding jobs in the region, check out Mattson's two-hour job-search seminar, held May 6 & 7 in Federal Way.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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6 Comments

RH on April 23, 2009 12:18 PM | Reply

Excellent points. You would think that in a tough market like this that most job-seekers are being proactive and reaching out already. I was surprised to find, however, that many of my well-qualified friends and associates have been doing exactly what you describe: waiting passively for a job listing to magically appear. Insane!

Many people think that "being qualified"(having Skill X or having worked at Company Y, for example) is enough, alone. That sooner or later good things just come to "good people". But there is always a need for marketing yourself and for good 'ol fashioned effort and initiative. Today's market makes this even more true.

There is a very long list of things that a job-seekers can do that were once considered going above-and-beyond. These days, these things have become bare minimum and, at best, get your resume into a pile with *only* 100 other candidates instead of the usual 300.

Here's the "Job Search Plan" for many people these days:
1. Revise resume using and generic MS Word templates
2. Do same as above for a Cover Letter
3. Get a Linkedin Profile. Cut-and-paste resume into your profile. Don't edit or target it. Don't learn how to leverage LinkedIn fully.
4. Check Seattle Times, Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder, Dice and Indeed daily. Surely, ALL job openings are posted here, right?
5. Put resume on these same websites. Companies are coming to YOU, right?
6. Spam un-targeted resume and cover letter to anything and everything. Something will stick to the wall!
7. Sit back and wait for the offers to come rolling in.
8. Repeat Step 7.

Folks, don't delude yourself into thinking that doing this "plan" is enough. Today, it's barely the bare minimum. Millions are doing the exact same "strategy" across the country.

Swallow the pride, get creative, roll up your sleeves and get to work, folks! Practice your "pitches", target your searches, know your stuff inside and out, and differentiate yourself.

Good luck to all!
RH
Seattle, WA
zomackadindin@yahoo.com

Rod Mattson on April 23, 2009 1:03 PM | Reply

Hi there RH,

You have the same observations I have had. However, you articulated them in a perfectly organized list. Can I steal this list from you for my seminars? It makes the point very clear using excellent satire. Well said,

Rod Mattson
Mattson Communication Training
www.MattsonCommunication.com

RH on April 23, 2009 2:07 PM | Reply

Thanks, Rod. Feel free to use as you see fit on one condition: that Mattson Communications does not take this list, add 100 pages of fluff to it and sell it as a "Get a Job Overnight in a Recession" book/seminar ;)

RH
Seattle, WA
zomackadindin@yahoo.com

PS: And if you do do the above, cut me in. I'm unemployed, myself ;)

dean zarudenec on April 23, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply

Nice article all I want to do is link up to it so my readers can enjoy it @

Cheers Dean

Susan Soto on April 24, 2009 9:42 AM | Reply

OY!

Do you have any suggestions or examples of brilliant job seeking attributes or successes?

Rod Mattson on April 24, 2009 11:59 AM | Reply

Hi there Susan Soto,

I have many examples and suggestions. One just yesterday as I got a call from a past student I have been working with for the last three weeks. She just got hired on officially at an organization close to her home in Auburn. They didn't have any openings when she contacted them. I told her not to be discouraged and bypass HR and find the manager of the department she wanted to work. She identified that person and wrote her an email introducing herself. However, I told her not to ask for anything, just tell her she was in the job hunt and would like to help the manager in any way she could while looking for work. She asked the manager if she was having a hard time keeping up with reading of the latest findings in her field. The manager responds she had no time to keep up with innovations and changes in the field by reading. So this past student offered to do this job for her and write summaries. It kept the student on the cutting edge, kept her busy, and provided a benefit for the manager. This went on for three weeks when magically, an opening came up and guess who got hired.

I have another example of an other student who didn't want to apply for an internal opening at an organization in Kent because it required a degree she didn't have. I suggested she apply anyway and in the interview ask if they would rather have the degree and no experience or her 10+ years of experience in the organization. This is the short version; however she got the job. I do admit she was lucky no one with a degree and 10+ years applied; however, if you don't ask, the answer is always--NO.

The brilliant attribute is simple: show and help the prospective employer solve his/her problems, ask what they need; DON'T tell them what you want and need.

That's the secret!

I hope this helps you and anyone reading this out a bit.

Rod Mattson
Mattson Communication Training
www.MattsonCommunication.com

Don't be passive: Let companies know you're there

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