Remember being asked that question ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ when you were young.  You saw people at work and wanted to be a fireman, nurse, doctor, teacher or postman.  You had no idea what it took to become skilled in those professions, they just sounded exciting and very grown up.

Well now that you’re grown up, the question of what you want to be is actually a little more difficult.  Yet knowing what you want is fundamental to ensuring that you find the right job, otherwise you could land up in a job from hell.  You see, some people are really suited to teaching, yet others loathe this profession and end up tired, stressed and burnt-out before reaching 50.  Likewise some people don’t want anything to do with client contact, yet others people love client contact and get maximum enjoyment from connecting with diverse people on a daily basis.

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With the passing of Steve Jobs, we are reminded of how technology, information sharing and the internet have changed since its inception.  Just 7 years ago, the idea of typing your name into Google and having your name appear in the search engines was unheard of, let alone LinkedIn and Facebook.

These are exciting times and an information sharing revolution is upon us.  As a job seeker, you need to be aware that this information sharing has taken us to a new age as a job seeker, in both the public and private sector.  What you primarily need to be aware of, is that the majority of employers and recruiters are undertaking comprehensive background checks on all applicants  (both online and offline) and if you apply for a government job, background checks are usually mandatory, with those requiring security clearance undergoing very intensive scrutiny.

So what does this all mean to you as a job seeker?

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Recruitment can be a fickle game, and one of the largest gripes from job candidates is the fact they get overlooked for a job, even though they are suitability qualified.

The reality about job-hunting is that it is often not the best qualified person that gets the job.  The person that gets the job is the one that can successfully demonstrate that they meet the employer’s requirements.

Take this example:  Frances was a qualified lawyer with extensive experience in business development and marketing obtained from a leading law firm in London.  Upon returning to Australia, Frances applied for several positions at law firms, requiring a business development and marketing expert.  She failed to secure an interview – even though she met the employer’s exact requirements (if anything, her international experience made her more qualified than other job candidates). 

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It is really interesting, but the way job-hunters generally look for work and how employer’s generally look for someone to fill a vacancy are the absolute opposites of each other.

You see a typical employer generally fills a vacancy in this order or preference:

(a) promoting within;

(b) hiring someone that is known through a network, or someone that comes recommended by a friend, or colleague;

(c) using a recruitment agency;

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I’m sure by now most of you have heard of LinkedIn, a business-related social networking site. Launched in 2003, it has grown to more than 100 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

These figures of growth are staggering, but what is more staggering, is the change from traditional job boards, to new technologies and social tools.  If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, consider the following:

• The traditional job board is on the decline and many experts believe that they are becoming archaic, with a shift to new technologies and social online tools such as LinkedIn.
• Over 83% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source talent for job openings.
• It is estimated that 80% of employers use LinkedIn to screen job candidates.
• Employers list jobs on LinkedIn.

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There is nothing more frustrating as a job-seeker than being told that you are too over-qualified for the position, even though the position was exactly what you were looking for. I mean, what’s with them – why aren’t employers picking up on someone like you that could do the job blind-folded.

So what can you do about it to ensure that next time you won’t be rejected on the basis of being too over-qualified for a position. [Read more...]

Cracking the Hidden Job Market

Talk to most job seekers and they presume that the best way to find a job is to discover an open position posted in traditional media or online.  The problem of course with this focus, is that you will only see approximately 15% of the jobs currently available advertised this way, with the remaining 85% or so being referred to as the “hidden job market”.

The actual expression ‘hidden job market’ is a misnomer, in that the jobs are not hidden, or non-existent, it’s just that they are not in plain sight for the majority of job seekers.  These out of sight jobs are created in three ways: [Read more...]

Why referees can make or break your job application

The most important thing to keep in mind, is that employing people is an expensive exercise for employers, so it is important that they hire people that already have what people call “social proof”, namely evidence that you are good and can deliver the results, before they hire you.

The reason a referee can make or break your application, is that whether consciously or subconsciously, seeing or hearing glowing references can make the employer feel safe about hiring you, and could potentially secure you the role.  Likewise, if you have lousy or indifferent references, then it is unlikely that you will be hired.  Yet in spite of this, most job seekers forget to strategically use referees to their advantage.

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