Jobs Search

There was an interesting blog post recently by a resume guru noting the frustration job seekers experience when faced with conflicting advice from resume experts. That frustration is easy to relate to because even we professionals don't always agree on what's correct.

Every advice giver relies on his or her own experience (whatever that may be). And because of all the variables involved in hiring processes across the board, there is no one correct answer for most aspects of the job search including the construction of resumes. But this explanation for job seeker frustration is missing the bigger picture.

Job seekers are frustrated because they are not getting jobs.

The big "Why?" involved in that frustration varies from person to person. The truth is: every situation is unique to the individual involved.

The advice that we so called experts dole out is general in nature by design because there is no good way to address unique individual circumstances in an article or blog post published for mass consumption.

There's a harsh reality inherent in virtually every company's hiring process that a job seeker must face. Even if your resume gets looked at by a real person, at the first hint of any type of red flag or concern your candidacy will be dropped instantly; no discussion, no second chances. When this happens you almost never learn what caused your elimination. You might not even know that you've been eliminated from consideration.

It will be up to you to figure out where you went wrong. Unfortunately, most job seekers don't have the perspective needed to trouble shoot their job searching techniques on their own. What's needed in that case is the job seeking intelligence that comes from in-the-trenches experience.

If you are sending your resume but aren't getting calls, interviewing without getting offers or are getting left at the job offer alter, you are unintentionally doing something to sabotage your candidacy. That's assuming, of course, you are actually qualified for the position.

That's why it's important for the frustrated job seeker to realize two things:

1) If you keep doing the same things, you'll get the same results over and over.

2) It usually takes an informed perspective to pin-point the flaw in your technique or approach.

The fellow that is getting plenty of interviews but no offers has a different problem than the one who can't get an interview at all. And neither of them has the same problem as the guy who gets right down to the wire on an offer only to be shut out at the last minute or the one who keeps hearing that he is overqualified.

There are ways to deal effectively with all of these issues, but you have to be willing to take a hard look at what you are doing. More importantly, you must be willing to accept ownership of your job search and do the work necessary to build a job winning candidacy. If you're not sure where you're going wrong or how to fix it you need help.

Help can come in many forms. If you're a visual learner, you might very well be able to help yourself get hired by reading, studying and implementing the advice of knowledgeable experts.

If you've been out of work for 3 months or more, or keep getting eliminated at the same point in the hiring process, you should consider having your job search tactics and marketing materials reviewed by a qualified employment coach. By qualified I mean someone who has both in-depth hiring experience as well as experience helping job seekers find and land jobs.

The effort to change and the investment involved will be more than worth it when you land that coveted job faster, are able to negotiate a higher rate of pay and start your new position with your best foot forward.

Shirley Ray is an employment coach and job search strategist. She is on a mission to teach job seekers how to get hired. Shirley has in-depth hiring experience and has interviewed thousands of job hopefuls. Starting as a corporate recruiter, then moving into professional recruiting and finally staffing agency ownership she has successfully placed hundreds of deserving candidates with top companies.

Ms. Ray helps job seekers land jobs by providing insider tips and advice distilled from her in-the-trenches 360 degree perspective at Job Seekers Edge.com

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