In the early days of Svenneby Corporation, I spent a few years recruiting – helping companies build their sales teams. As a result, I still hear from people who are looking for their next job. Given the economic climate right now, those inquiries are on the rise and I thought it might make sense to share my thoughts in a blog, so here goes.
First, what exactly do you want? This is the hardest part. Compensation level, type of company, type of role, type of products/services, etc. The more specific, realistic and humble you are with yourself about what you want the better. Some have asked me “But do I exclude myself from being considered if I’m too specific?” Not really.
Here is something to consider – in a down economy there are a lot of resumes on the street. Recruiters skim them looking for an exact fit – not a generalist. If you were looking for a life partner, and came across somebody who was also looking, and they describe to you what they want in a mate as “any warm body”, how interested would you be? On the other hand consider if you met someone who described in great detail what they wanted and every bit of the description was you (and they didn’t know you), how would you feel then? Companies don’t hire generalists in a down economy – they hire exact fits. You may have two or three different things that you really want – in which case you can write a resume for each.
Second, update your resume. Think of it like this. You are selling a product (you). The resume is your data sheet. The only purpose of your resume is to get you (the product) a conversation, and from there you are on your own. Your resume should be short and to the point without omitting the facts. It isn’t so much a story about us, or a historic document about everything we have done. It is much more a quick synopsis of why someone should be talking to us for that job they have open.Your resume should be full of relevant numbers and results that you have generated from your past hard work. “Increased (key metric) from (starting number) to (final number) after (elapsed time) resulting in (currency) cost savings to my employer.” You get the idea.
Next, Network. A lot. There is a subtle distinction between networking and soliciting. Soliciting sounds like “Do you know anyone who is hiring?”. This generally doesn’t work well – people sense the desperation and the sales pitch and their defenses go up. Try something like this: “I’ve started a job search. I respect your thoughts. If you were me, who might you talk to? Who would you network with?” If they know of a job, you are more likely to hear about it if you can get a meaningful conversation started with them. A direct solicitation usually ends awkwardly and quickly.
Last, be bold and make direct contact. Being a recruiter in a down economy was tough because nobody wanted to spend the money. In order to get a person placed, the candidate had to be perfect. Even then, the hiring company might suddenly begin considering somebody’s brother-in-law at the 11th hour, and of course all of the strict criteria aren’t being applied for the brother-in-law. In short, BE the brother-in-law candidate. Or the guy that just wrote the president of the company a great letter. In my experience a good candidate for free always beat out a great candidate for $20,000 in a bad economy. I wouldn’t advocate those sorts of hiring practices… but I certainly did observe them.
Some closing thoughts. Make sure you are both passionate and realistic about the job you want. Energy and enthusiasm often sets a candidate apart from an ocean of applicants. And treat the whole process like a sales job, persistently sending out letters and making calls to different CEO’s, presidents, and VPs every day. I read that Thomas Edison had 3,000 attempts to create the light bulb. When asked about the failures he said “I didn’t fail 3,000 times. I found 3,000 ways not to create the light bulb.” It probably won’t take 3,000 letters/calls, but it is a good place to start.
I’m sure I’ve missed some key ideas – please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
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