job search strategy

There is a Difference!

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Most Connected vs. Well Connected

Have you noticed these types of monikers attached to members on Linked In, Facebook, and Twitter? The “most connected” statement always makes me think Rolodex. Is it really possible to have a relationship with 16,000+ people on Linked In? Perhaps I’m a little old-fashioned but it seems to me that building relationships is about quality not quantity. Unless you are building a cold call contact list (like a recruiter), being well-connected to, and engaged with, a few will serve you better than merely collecting a lot of names.

Networking vs. Showing Up

These are very different. Many of my finance executives struggle with the networking concept. And I understand. For many CFOs, their jobs are demanding. Who needs one more thing to take time away from family and other priorities. 

However, networking today is defined as raising your visibility among those who need to know about you. That means engaging people. Just having a place holder on the various social networking sites with no picture, no interesting bio, and no conversation is merely showing up. Being a wallflower doesn’t raise visibility, it merely takes up oxygen.

Job Searching vs. Searching Posted Positions

A well-balanced job search strategy includes a variety of activities with searching posted positions as one of the “least” effective. And, the posted position game becomes even more ineffective the more senior your position. 

The best of all worlds is to do the things you need to do before you need to do them (managing your career) rather than being forced to give up power and do them because you have to do them (searching for a job). But, if you do fall into the latter category, move away from the job boards and diversify your search strategy.

And while we are speaking of job boards, the CFO recruiter who joined me on the Proformative Insight and Strategies for Seasoned Executives in Transition webinar told me he rarely, if ever, posts positions on public job boards. He’s not alone.

Branding vs. Marketing

This came up on the Proformative discussion boards following the Insights and Strategies webinar. There is an important distinction between authentic branding and marketing. Marketing is the pitch, persona, and perhaps even spin used in selling yourself. Branding, on the other hand, is leveraging the combination of your unique strengths, passions, and values that others … regardless of how they know you … all see in you and which attract “likeness”. This naturally pulls the kinds of opportunities that are a good fit with who you are. 

Branding occurs at the intersection of how others see you as it aligns with how you see yourself.  It requires honest feedback from people who know you and is why a person just can’t say I’m going to have this brand and then put it out for the world. If it isn’t who you really are, the world won’t buy it, at least not for long. 

Think of it this way. If you believe yourself to be a strategic finance leader but when asked, your team and the CEO and Board members all say they view you as a micro-managing bean counter … who are you really?

The “Spaghetti” Job Search Strategy

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There’s a lot of angst in the LinkedIn CFO group this morning. Not hearing back from recruiters these days is enough to send even the most stable senior finance executive to the edge of the cliff after a period of unemployment. The job search system is already flawed, and the Internet has exacerbated the breakdown … candidates send resumes to a big black hole and never hear back from anyone. If you haven’t read my article “Everybody Lies,” email me and I’ll be happy to send it your way. 

Anyway, the flawed search strategy that almost every job seeker uses is what I call the “spaghetti strategy.” They throw their resume into the black hole hoping it will stick to something. It doesn’t have to be the “right” thing, just, please, let it be “something.”  

When HR has posted a position or a recruiter has been hired to do a specific search, they are in “screen out” mode. If you don’t meet these specific requirements – every one of them – you’re out. And, short of a solid long-term relationship with a recruiter that might sway them, there is nothing you can do about it.

Playing the posted position game elicits this advice from some … “you must modify your resume for every position to which you apply.” That is because when you are throwing your resume into the black hole and hoping it will stick to something, it requires you to be “all things to all people.” You’re like a chameleon constantly changing colors depending on where you’re standing … or in this case, depending on what the job posting says. 

I believe there is a search strategy is that far more effective, much less anxiety-inducing, and focuses on what you want rather than anything that’s available. It is hard work AND it requires you to move away from the job boards and into a position of strength. 

You first need to identify your sweet spot. Business coach Deborah Gallant, in summarizing points from “What Would Google Do,” said this …

“Mass market are irrelevant, it’s all about niches: identifying what you do really well and doing it supremely well.”

The next step is figuring out who needs what you do really well and then how you can get on their radar screen. Whether that company has a position posted is irrelevant because if you can take away their current pain, having a conversation with you is always an option. It’s hard work, certainly more challenging than the spaghetti strategy, and generally much more effective! 

Are You TOO Comfortable?

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This question was asked in my training class yesterday … followed by the statement that “being too comfortable drives out any desire to be uncomfortable.” In effect, being too comfortable is paralyzing. It keeps us frozen where we are no matter how miserable that place might be.

For example,

––Are you too comfortable in a job you hate?

At least half of the population is unhappy but despite the fact that they are unhappy, they stay because it’s easy and comfortable. Being a job hunter is hard work and can be very uncomfortable … which is why I recommend positioning oneself as a “hunted” candidate.

Life is too short to be miserable 40+ hours every week, and yet, people stay miserable because at least it is comfortable.

––Are you too comfortable with your job search strategy …

even though what you’re doing isn’t yielding any results, or not the results you should be getting? Sitting in front of the computer responding to posted positions sure seems like it should work, after all, the position fits you perfectly. Sadly, this is ineffective, frustrating, and for the most part a waste of precious time.

Moving away from the computer though is definitely uncomfortable, and scary, but necessary if you want to be successful in the shortest amount of time.

––Are you lulled into a place of comfort by a sense of job security?

It is easy to stick your head in the sand and live under the false illusion that your job is secure and there is corporate loyalty, so if you just don’t rock the boat you won’t have to worry. Wrong!

Just ask the people at Bear Sterns. Or the VP with a 20–year career at a privately–held bank who was walked to the door a few weeks ago. Or your next–door neighbor. In this time of economic uncertainty, it is more important then ever to adopt the mindset that you are merely between searches … in order to continually have new opportunities coming your way.

Are you too comfortable where you are, or are you willing to get a little uncomfortable in order to get what you really want?