Top New Job Search Strategies
(By Mark Bartz, Senior Writer for Executive Careers, Inc.)

Let’s look at how our clients recently landed their new positions. Before we discuss what works, let’s consider what does not work.  

Karl Slowgun.  He is seeking a manager role for $70k/year.

1. He posts his resume online at all the major career sites.
    

2. He buys an expensive database of employers and recruiters.
    

3. He mails his resume to 500 + employers simultaneously. The people at the post office love him.
    

4. He mails his resume to 100+ recruiters, and then calls each recruiter to set up an interview.
    

5. He doesn’t work effectively with the recruiters who respond to him. He was expecting recruiters only to call him with the ideal position for which he is  suited.
    

6. He somewhat accidentally lands a job that pays the bills, but he is seeking new work within six months.

Total Time Invested:  7 months

Karl’s twin but smarter sister, Karla.  She has the same career goal.

1. She posts her resume to those sites specializing in her function and/or industry.
    

2. She does not buy expensive databases; she knows smaller targeted databases are a better choice. She carefully thinks through her selection criteria: Long-term industry outlook? Financial situation? Do I want to work for a major employer where I may be more of a specialist or a smaller company where I can wear many hats?
    

3. She mails her resume to 20 employers per week for 5-10 weeks. A week after each mailing, she mails the same employers a hand-written (or computer generated if her hand-writing is bad) follow-up note inquiring if there is interest in an interview. This method produces a 400% better response rate for interviews.
    

4. She e-mails her resume to approximately 20 recruiters; she knows recruiters prefer resumes via e-mail. She carefully selects the recruiters based on their expertise within her function and industry(s). She does not call the recruiters to confirm receipt of her resume – most recruiters respond to her. 
    

5. When a recruiter calls, she offers to be a resource, to help the recruiter make a contact with an employer she may have worked for once, or to help the recruiter find a certain kind of candidate. The recruiter remembers this favor; what goes around comes around.
    

6. She networks and gets training on how to network. Top networking choices: Toastmasters, professional associations that specialize in her function/industry(s), and informational interviews. She stays involved with her network – helping others land jobs and in turn discovering great unadvertised job opportunities through her network.

Total Time Invested:  3-4 months