Job Search Strategies (as published in the Washington CPA Magazine, May/June edition)

I was honored to be asked to write an article on job search strategies for the WSCPA.

Effective Job Search Strategies from a Recruiter’s Perspective

You have spent hours online searching job boards for open positions and have applied for hundreds of openings. You are exhausted, but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Is there anything else you should be doing? Absolutely! Like with anything, the smarter your job search strategy is, the more effective it is going to be.

While working as a corporate recruiter, I had a front-row opportunity to see how candidate’s different job search strategies worked out. If the company I worked for extended an offer to a candidate, I backtracked several key factors, including how the person found out about the job, how their resumes looked, how they interviewed and how they followed up. Now, I share that information with my business clients. One of the first questions my clients want to know is how to find a job and in this article, I’m going to share that advice with you.

Start your job search by choosing 15 - 20 companies for whom you think you would love to work. They can be employers you have heard great things about from friends that have worked there, businesses you have read about in the news, companies that are geographically convenient or employers who make a product or service that you love. They should meet your "hard" criteria too; they should be of a size likely to provide you with the type of employment opportunities you seek, for example. This is a list you will add to and subtract from, as you gain more insight.

Don’t wait for an opening to be posted to apply. Some open positions can’t be posted, the person leaving may not know it (performance termination) or may not announce it publicly (planning a move), for example, but often the recruiter or hiring manager has already started looking. If your resume were to land on their desk before they needed you, you would likely get more attention than if you applied when they posted the job.

Once you have selected your target companies, start your research and record your findings on Excel. For each company, assign a worksheet and add information gained from news articles, blogs, company websites or word-of-mouth. Search your LinkedIn contacts for people you already know that can offer insight into the company’s culture, hiring process, opportunities, etc.

Not on LinkedIn? Join! LinkedIn provides a great place to keep track of your network. These are people that you work with or used to work with, friends, family, neighbors and fellow group members. The first step to using LinkedIn is to create a profile. You will enter information about where you have worked or volunteered, where you went to school, and the groups you are a member of. Then, start adding contacts; I suggest you only add people that you know, like and trust.

Lost track of some people? LinkedIn has several ways to find people with whom you have lost touch. You can look up an old employer and see all of the people who have identified that place as their current or past employer. If you remember them, add them. In addition, LinkedIn has a feature where it will “look” in your email and tell you who you already know that is signed up on linked in. Alternatively, you can type in someone’s name and see if they have an account. In any case, the person will get an email from you asking if they would like to connect. Once they do, you will be able to see their profile and that is when the magic happens!

Let’s say you connect with 100 people on LinkedIn and they have worked an average of five jobs each. That is potentially 500 employers where you now have an inside connection. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can also see friends of friends, raising your potential inside connections exponentially. You will know right who to go to to get the inside scoop on a particular company.

LinkedIn has a few other terrific features and I have learned a few job search strategies that they do not talk much about. In addition to a terrific Q&A section and job board, you can learn a lot from looking at the profiles of people who hold your “dream job”. Wondering what industry affiliations to join? Check what groups that people holding the jobs you want are members of. Wonder what your ideal employer is looking for in a candidate? Look at the profiles of recent hires for clues on certifications, volunteerism and education.

Join and attend professional organizations. Typically, they meet once per month and you will often find that there is a guest speaker, they may offer snacks or a meal, and there is usually time for networking. Set a goal to talk to two or three people at each meeting. More than that and you will forget with whom you spoke. Ask for the cards of the people you converse with and jot down some notes about the conversation on it after your talks. Then, follow up – add them to LinkedIn and arrange a coffee meeting if your conversation went particularly well. Folks I have worked with have had great luck with alumni associations, so consider joining those as well. Many have a charter to provide services to job seekers.

Treat your network connections as you would your friends. Always ask about how you can be helpful to them, for example, to ensure they do not feel as if you are purely contacting them to see what they can do for you. Since the best networking is always done in person, casually ask if you can chat with the person in their office, short of that, a coffee meeting or other gathering is perfectly fine. Phone contact is next best, but try for a face-to-face meeting if logistically possible.

The best networkers never ask for a job, they know that someone who knows, likes and respects them will be alert to potential opportunities without having to be asked. The key is to keep your network responding to you in the “yes” mode – Yes, I can tell you what I like about the company – instead of the “no” mode – No, we don’t have any openings. Don’t encourage your network to avoid you because they don’t want to say no.

Did you get a “yes, you can stop by” response? Let them know you will have five questions prepared and that you won't take more than 15 minutes of their time - then stick to that. Make it clear when you have reached the end of your questions and observe the time, this will help them gain trust that you stick to your word and are not taking advantage of their kindness in seeing you. Quite likely, they will want to extend the conversation and at this point, it will become more of a conversation and less of a favor they are doing for you. Even so, be respectful of their time and they will feel more confident in referring you to talk with someone else. Your tone should be curious and positive while asking questions. Make notes during the meeting, add new information to your Excel worksheet and follow up on leads.

In addition to asking about what the person with whom you are talking likes best about the company, other great questions include, "What was your first position with the company?" "What is the hiring process like?" and "What advice might you have for someone in my situation?" Also, ask what groups or industry associations they are active in; consider following up on those groups to see if they might be a good fit for you. During your job search, strive to meet two people per week and join two groups that meet monthly.

Be sure to triangulate information whenever possible and don’t dismiss a job opportunity just because you hear negative comments from one or two people. They may be disgruntled, had a bad boss who is no longer there, or were bad employees. Even the happiest employees will bring their own skewed perspective; just keep that in mind.

Where you cannot seem to source a "warm" connection to a particular target company, be sure to drop the name of the place into your conversations with people. Chatting with your neighbor? Toss in, "I wish I knew someone from XYZ, it seems like an interesting place to work." If they know someone there, and if they know and trust you, they will introduce you. Don’t pressure them by asking outright whom they know; you want your network to say “yes” to you and you want it to be their idea, so they’ll take ownership of it down the road. Consider the difference: “Here’s that great controller I was telling you about,” vs. “John asked me to ask you if there were any openings for a controller.” The best connections come from a mutual party's desire to make a match, not a desire to get you off their back.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned answering want ads yet. That is mostly because the numbers are against you. As a warm contact referred by someone that the hiring manager knows and trusts, you are much more appealing than a stranger answering an ad on the Internet. This factor alone explains the reason why 70% of all open positions are filled by someone who knew someone who knew the hiring manager. Sure, that leaves 30% of all jobs, but would you rather be one of 3-4 people personally referred for a position, or one of 300 – 400 who apply for a position posted on Monster?

By the time most jobs make it to Monster, they are picked over. The company’s recruiter has exhausted their network of strong candidates as well as the networks of everyone that works for the company and is forced to go fishing with a large net. Instead of taking the work of someone she trusts that the candidate being referred is sane, smart and motivated, she has to shuffle through hundreds of anonymous resumes to try to find the best candidates. If answering ads on the Internet is part of your job search strategy, try to keep it under 15% of your search time.

Consider using staffing services, especially if your network is skimpy in your industry or if you are new in town. Know that it is thousands of dollars more expensive to hire you through a service than if you found the job yourself, so if you have leads on certain companies, be sure to let your recruiter know not to refer you to those places due to the commissions involved. Wonder which service to contact? Check the LinkedIn profiles of people working where you want to work for prior involvement with staffing agencies. Or, contact the HR departments of your target companies and ask if they are contracted to work with a certain company. When you meet with the staffer, talk about temporary, temp-to-hire and permanent placement options.

You never know where your next job will come, so take advantage of every opportunity and be prepared. Practice a brief “elevator speech” about what kind of job you want and why you are a valuable candidate. Tell a story about a time where you “saved the day” in some way in your last role. Don’t be overly concerned about not being completely qualified for the positions that interest you. An 80% skill match is close enough for most places as they are also interested in hiring people that are a good culture fit and show enthusiasm for the company.

Jill Walser, of I got the job! Career Services, is a former corporate recruiter now sharing inside secrets with her clients. www.igotthejob.us

Thinking About Moving?

Think the grass is greener elsewhere? Miss your family? Here are some strategies to facilitate your long-distance job search:

1. Read your target city’s local newspapers, journals and publications on a regular basis, for job listings and relevant business news. Note which companies are reducing staff off, who is hiring, who just received angel investments, etc.

2. Join (and start attending the meetings of) at least one locally based professional association or the local chapter of a national professional association. In the Seattle area, www.iloveseattle.org is a great resource for networking organizations.

3. Plan to spend time in your new city, to conduct networking in person rather than just over the phone or on-line.

4. Develop a list of potential employers for whom you would like to work and for whom your background and experience are a good fit. LinkedIn, to do your research, including identifying the name of a hiring executive.

5. Send each of the employers a targeted, personalized letter and resume, linking your interest and qualifications to their area of focus. Try to schedule an exploratory interview even if there are no current job openings for you. You will be setting the stage for future employment should their needs change.

6. Consider short-term consulting gigs with area employers. When you meet employers, think about how you might help them by consulting. Do they mention any projects that you would be qualified to do? This would be an excellent way to establish yourself with locally-based credentials.

7. Use the city and state in your contact info, instead of your own. In a tight job market, hiring managers need not look beyond the local area for highly qualified job applicants. They seek candidates who are ready to work without much training, are familiar with the local market and competition, and perhaps have local contacts. Employers certainly prefer avoiding travel reimbursement and relocation costs.

It is important to demonstrate to the employer that you are committed to being in the area for the long haul, not just until the economy turns around. You may want to consider moving in with a friend for a while during your job hunt. Beware that if you are only pretending to have a local address, you may be caught when an employer wants you to interview on short notice or even during the informal ice breaking part of an interview, e.g., talking about the hometown sports teams and weather.

How to handle reference requests

You've read the ad for your dream job. This is it, the ONE. But what's this? Your prospective employer wants to see your references BEFORE you even get to the interview? What should you do?

First, treat your references list with the same care that you treat your credit card numbers. Identity theft and privacy abuse are real risks. Never put your references on job boards or send them with your resume when applying for jobs. Only disclose them to employers with whom you’ve fallen in love – AFTER the first interview, when you think you’d like to work there. They may ask in advance, who cares? As a corporate recruiter, I’ve never avoided a candidate because they didn’t fork over their references immediately. I actually consider it revealing of a candidate’s judgment and ability to recognize an unreasonable request. It’s a bit of a game, like salary negotiation. I can understand why some recruiters would request references up front. They may have been burned in the past when presenting candidates with weak references to the hiring manager and want to avoid a similar situation. They may be getting their ducks in a row for a demanding or time-strapped manager. They may just think they’re “supposed” to get them in advance. Regardless, this is personal information and should be treated as such, in as graceful a manner as possible. “I’ll zip my references over to you the second I learn I’m a finalist. Can’t wait to get that call!” or “Gosh, it seems I’ve left my references in my other briefcase, I’ll send them over as soon as I find out I’m the top candidate,” or “My ex-boss Joe said he’d be happy to provide a reference. I’ll email his contact information over as soon as we’re at that point.” Smile and change the subject.

If you have several irons in the fire, one strategy to avoid over-burdening your references with phone calls is to ask them for a letter of reference. Offer to write it for their signature if they agree but don’t produce one. Try to get it on letterhead. Having letters of reference available will help you to appear organized and well liked. Note: In the future, try to get this task done before you leave the job. How do you do this without spilling the beans that you’re looking for another job? Say you have a volunteer opportunity and the agency wants to check your references in advance. Better yet – actually pursue a volunteer job where you get to do something that’s a bit of a stretch for you. It’s good karma, great experience, and lovely networking occurs when you’re working alongside other volunteers. Another great time to ask for a reference letter is when your boss is leaving the company. Even when your boss is just moving departments, it’s easy to say, “We’ve had such a great working relationship, and I’ll miss working alongside you. Could you write a letter so that in five years when one of us leaves the company it will be easy to remember my accomplishments in this role?” When you actually announce your departure sometime later, ensure that your manager is still willing to serve as a reference, remind them of the fabulous letter they wrote, and you’re all set.

At the end of the interview, if you’re pretty sure you’re interested, you can show your prospective employer the original reference letters. At your discretion, provide a copy of the letter or offer to email one if you need to buy some time. Pleasantly ask the recruiter or hiring manager to make the reference check call when you’re the final candidate. They’ll already have the letters, so that should tide them over.

Another consideration regarding reference letters is that many agency recruiters and headhunters use references sheets as shopping lists. You’ve provided the name, job title, direct number and email address of decision makers and potential “steals” that they’ve been searching for for months, how nice of you! Sure, they’ll call your references and talk about you, but their objective is also to talk up their agency’s services or a fabulous opportunity with your reference’s competitor. If a recruiter won’t set you up on interviews without seeing your references, that’s a red flag that they are shopping your references list.

Is it a good idea to use recruiters in my job search?

Using recruiters from staffing agencies can be a great resource, with one major drawback and potentially one great advantage. The good ones have met the hiring managers of the companies they represent and can offer some insight into personality types of the hiring manager and team, what works and what doesn't to get love from that company, etc. If you don't know anyone at the company who can give you this type of insight, outside recruiters can be a great way to get it.

The drawback is that their services come at a price to the employer, sometimes up to 25% of your first year compensation. For this reason, if you were to approach the same employer yourself (especially encouraged if a willingness to cold call and/or "sell" yourself are core competencies of the job you seek) you'll be more appealing than if a recruiter were to present you. It's also much smarter to apply for a position before the hiring manager has gotten so desperate for talent that they're willing to pay a premium for it.

The potential advantage of going through a recruiter is if the company only staffs certain positions through a particular staffing firm. I've been in this role myself as an agency recruiter where if someone wanted a particular job at a certain company, they'd have to impress me to even get consideration because the hiring managers didn't have time to post ads, wade through resumes, etc. Even so, if you landed on the hiring manager's doorstep without representation, and before she got so desperate for talent that the recruiter's fee was worth it, you'd be 25% less expensive.