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| Our Take: When Less Is More |
by Jon Jacobs - June 12, 2009
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Which is wiser: To pursue as many potential opportunities as possible, or home in on a carefully selected circle of job openings and professional contacts, giving each significant attention from the get-go? In my opinion, it's no contest. For an experienced professional, selectivity is vital to a successful job search. Given the avalanche of highly qualified applicants now pounding the pavement, there's little sense diluting one's efforts among hundreds, even thousands, of potential opportunities and contacts, blindly hoping one scattershot blast will strike an unseen bull's-eye.
That's my main takeaway from the story of Byron Wilson. A former investment advisor, insurance company vice president and Big Four CPA, Wilson contacted more than 4,400 chief executives, headhunters and alumni of his college and business school after being laid off from his last job in August 2008. His efforts produced not a single interview. When our sister site eFinancialCareers News picked up the story from the Philadelphia Inquirer early this month, several users chimed in to endorse our view that Wilson should have devoted more effort to researching his targets and winnowing his list instead of writing to every recruiter and business leader he could find.
"What does this guy want to do?" wrote one user. "If he's out there hawking his resume to that many executives, somehow I doubt he has a really good idea beyond 'get a job.' I don't hire those people -- I need to know why they want to work for a firm like mine."
Job Postings and Elevator Pitches
Now let's talk about job postings. Should you answer as many as you can in the time you've allotted to that particular job-search channel? Or, should you apply a rigorous filter, and target a handful that look especially promising?
The widely endorsed "elevator pitch" concept points toward the latter: Having a clear and concise statement of the specific type of opportunity you seek, what you've done and what you're good at, that you can articulate smoothly in under two minutes, is indispensable for making new contacts. Why? Because it shows new acquaintances exactly how they can help if they're so inclined.
To work, your pitch must be narrow enough to let most contacts instantly locate you within the framework of job categories they carry in their heads. Try defining yourself as all things to all people, and you'll end up representing nothing in particular to anyone. Figuring where you fit in is a task you should be performing. You shouldn't be thrusting it onto your contacts' shoulders. The more work you make them do in order to help you, the less likely they will.
How does this relate to job postings? The more postings you apply to, the greater the radius between the least promising among them and the core of your skill set. If you adopt the scattershot approach, you may not even have sufficient time to gauge how closely each opening meshes with your skill set, or tailor your resumes and cover letters to spotlight facets of your background that best match each opportunity you seek.
Time Per Posting
On Thursday a member of the eFinancialCareers LinkedIn Group wrote, "I'm sure that thoughtful cover letters help a lot, but where do you draw the line between answering as many postings as possible and doing so creatively? Spending half an hour or more on each application can limit your exposure."
My response: I believe most job-seekers actually will do better to limit their exposure by concentrating on the best possibilities, and devoting significant time to crafting individual resumes and cover letters that maximize the likelihood of a response. To get the most bang for your buck, winnow down the number of openings you pursue, and utilize a variety of channels, starting with networking.
As a point of reference, when I was unemployed and engaged in a full-time job search from mid-2006 through early 2007, I spent an average of two hours crafting a resume plus cover letter for each posting I answered. I got callbacks - an initial phone interview, at a minimum - roughly 7 percent of the time. I've been told that's a strong response rate, even for the boom period when I was doing this.
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| Mike in CA (San Ramon, CA) |
on 16 Jun 2009 at 5:21 pm |
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| I believe the advice given in this article is good for those in the initial stages of a job search. To be realistic, however, as time goes by and savings dwindle, you may need to "cast a wider net" and consider job opportunities that don't fall neatly into a narrow and targeted search. Let's face it folks, this recession is pretty nasty! I've adopted a different strategy: I've identified three distinct job functions that dovetail nicely with my experience and created a resume and cover letter for each. Both the resume and cover letter still need to be customized for each job description, but I've found I can accomplish this in about 20-30 minutes. I believe this is a sensible compromise to the advice given in the article and the realities that many of us face. I hope this helps. Good luck! |
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| Jon Jacobs (New York) |
on 16 Jun 2009 at 4:11 pm |
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Frank, I have heard career advisors tell professionals caught in a prolonged transition to take even unskilled manual labor work if necessary. The competition for unskilled jobs is probably even greater than for professional work, and they drain precious hours away from your job-search and networking time. But if you absolutely need some kind of cash flow, then it may be time to bite the bullet.
One expert suggested literally walking into all the retail stores on your town's main street and offering to re-stock shelves in their back room for a couple hours each day. I also recall seeing a TV documentary, I think it was, where a laid-off manager who used to earn $150k or so, took a job with a janitorial contractor, mopping the floors in a building that housed a company in his former industry. He sounded pretty upbeat, and said he'd just applied for a posted opening in that company where he planned to present his credentials.
Obviously, one's throat must be unusually broad in order to swallow one's pride in this way (or, put differently, one must have been exceptionally free of ego to begin with). But ultimately, self-effacement of this kind might prove psychologically helpful prepration for the eventual climb back toward a "real" job opportunity. Letting go of pretensions and attachment to what you used to do or be, can be a precondition for adopting a realistic approach toward one's new career situation and its associated challenges.
Two other caveats:
If you take a gig as a manual laborer (or very junior-level office worker) to support yourself, you must schedule your time very carefully so as to continue not only your networking and job search activities while not on the job, but also to leave time for contract and/or volunteer work you'll need to showcase in order to be a viable candidate for the professional jobs you'll continue to seek. That means you'll be working three jobs at once: your minimum-wage day-job; your job application and networking program (it's often said, justifiably, that looking for a job is a full-time job); AND your volunteer and/or contract work that will fill what would otherwise be a critical hole near the top of your resume.
To manage those three jobs simultaneously, you will probably have to be in good phyical health.
-Jon Jacobs, Jobsinthemoney News staff |
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| Frank Boni (Dallas, Texas) |
on 16 Jun 2009 at 2:34 pm |
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| What if you run out of money to support yourself? Then you have to take the best opportunity that you can get in the quickest amount of time, just to survive. You can't be "picky" indefinitely, because you have to pay the rent and eat, and put gas in the car. That is where I am. What advice can you give me? |
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| Melisa Doker (New York New York) |
on 16 Jun 2009 at 2:28 pm |
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I think this a strong article reminding us job searchers where to stand and how to proceed with our search. It's difficult sometimes to remember to aim for the small target with a big arrow than vice versa; in this economy, we just want to get that interview. I don't know about everyone else, but I tend to look at all the generic postings and think to myself, "That's not what I want, but I can do that for now!"
Thanks for the advice and for the insiders' outlook, and the reminder that we should go back and refocus our efforts on what we truly want in our careers. |
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| Alveena |
on 16 Jun 2009 at 2:19 pm |
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One has to be balanced and explore all options in these uncertain times because there is inordinate amounts of uncertainty. People must do what they feel is best.
Some jobs are on the verge of being wiped out altogether. My resume was ready to rock for certain kinds of jobs, people were encouraging, regretful and keep me on file.
So I applied broadly and went for whosoever called me for interviews and there were a few. I was boned up on the industry. The response was excellent but the positions haven't been filled.
The same jobs are being shopped by multiple agencies and the employer themselves so it does not even make sense to keep applying through multiple avenues for the same job.
Rethink life's goals. Take this job loss as your enemy and swear to be the damned thing. Become entrepreneurial. Check out new sectors. Be who you always wanted to be if your aren't !!! |
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