All too often, job seekers fall into the trap of relying on advertised or posted job openings as their primary strategy for their job search. They start off with enthusiasm and the best of intentions, but after the initial flurry of activity, their efforts degrade and so does their attitude. Sticking with this approach will significantly lengthen you job search. There is a better way!
The most effective and efficient job search strategy is a self-motivated approach.
This is a proactive approach where the job seeker actively engages the job market to discover opportunities where their skills and competencies bring the greatest value to an employer.
There are several distinct advantages of conducting a self-motivated job search that help you get a job more effectively. These advantages can also help you get the compensation package you want.
1. Hidden Job Market
A self-motivated job search will tap the Hidden Job Market, uncovering unadvertised positions. Statistically speaking, 75 to 80 percent of all open jobs are not advertised.
Instead of passively searching, you’ll engage the job market proactively by networking and contacting target companies to create your own pipeline of opportunities with as many leads as your well-planned efforts can produce.
2. Present Yourself as a Solution/Value Proposition
Your professional value proposition is the totality of your education, experience, and other intangible factors that an employer views as valuable to the company. When you present yourself as a solution to a hiring need, this professional picture of you sparks the employer’s interest and motivates them to evaluate the benefits and costs of making you an employee of the company.
You will discover how to transform information about the company, products, services, executives, industry, company news releases, and so on into messages to the hiring executive of how you can prevent, solve, or divert a business problem.
In the end, your value proposition must make or save the company money beyond the costs of hiring you and keeping you as an employee (leading to positive return on investment, or ROI).
3. Attitude/Confidence
A self-motivated job search puts you in control. Rather than being at the whim of posted job openings, you make things happen. This will keep your attitude about your job search positive, helping build confidence and self-image.
Believe it—maintaining a positive attitude and showing confidence is a big deal and being proactive will keep things moving forward. It’s likely you won’t fall victim to the negative emotions a stale job search may bring if you’re feeling good about how your search is progressing.
4. Direct Contact with Hiring Executives
One of the keys to landing job offers is getting hiring executive(s) inspired about your background and benefits you can bring to the company. Enlisting a champion for your cause will significantly increase your odds of more interviews and job offers.
5. Networking
Networking is proactively reaching out to others in your professional and personal database, both online and face-to-face, offering yourself as a resource to help others, and knowing that they will do what they can to help you in return.
Networking keeps you engaged with others and with the events, news, and emerging trends in your industry. Networking will include reaching out to your contacts in a variety of settings including LinkedIn, your local Chamber of Commerce, professional associations, and civic and philanthropic organizations, among others. Networking creates relationships.
Your next job will likely be as a result of “people, talking to people, about people.” It’s estimated that from 60 to 80 percent of jobs are filled by networking.
6. Referrals
As your networking expands and your relationships mature, you will receive a steady flow of referrals and recommendations from colleagues, insider-employees, former bosses, and others. Your reputation and sphere-of-influence will grow and you will gain the inside track regarding open positions.
7. Competition
It’s no secret that in today’s market, many candidates vie for the same job position, all with the same goal: to be hired. However, in a self-motivated search, you could become one of just a handful of referred or recommended candidates, or in some cases the only job seeker under consideration, minimizing competition.
8. Direct Insider Information
When you use a self-motivated job search strategy, you will quickly learn what the hiring executive wants from the person filling a position. This invaluable information allows you to focus your background and achievements to fulfill those needs.
9. Rapport
A self-motivated job search encourages building rapport. If you are introduced to a hiring executive by referral from your network, you may be able to speak with others who know the individual. They can give you valuable insight on personality, hot buttons, and so on. And if the executive is the decision maker for hiring, you avoid Human Resources, sometimes until after you’re hired.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
The Motivated Job Search and The Motivated Networker
All of these advantages of a self-motivated job search may sound nice, but how do you do it? What do you have to do to get these advantages? This is where The Motivated Job Search and The Motivated Networker books come in.
The Motivated Job Search is a job search book written for career-minded professionals that want simple and direct answers on how to conduct a successful job search in today’s job market. The book covers meaningful topics like how to correctly prepare for a job search, profiling your next job, understanding the employer’s mind, branding, elevator speech, success stories, LinkedIn, resumes, networking, social media, and how to penetrate the hidden job market, along with a myriad of useful job search tools not otherwise written about in other job search books. It is one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-read job search books to ever hit the market.
The Motivated Networker has been endorsed by Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI (Business Network International) – The world’s largest business networking organization. Dr. Misner has been dubbed “The Father of Modern Networking” and is one of the world’s leading experts in business networking. This is what Dr. Misner had to say about The Motivated Networker:
“The Motivated Networker is the most comprehensive networking book on the market on how to use networking to find a job. Well-written, thoroughly researched, and practical, The Motivated Networker covers important networking topics and introduces the “ICE” Method for job search networking. It is a must-read for all job seekers!”
The Motivated Networker book is a practical, non-nonsense guide for networking during a job search. When 60-80%of all jobs are filled through some form of networking, mastering the skill of networking is imperative to success in landing a new job in the shortest time possible.
The Motivated Job Search and The Motivated Networker can be purchased through Amazon.
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