WorkWise: Job-hunting blunders that derail a search

While there’s no mass of job openings, people are still making mistakes that keep them from landing jobs. Any one mistake can keep you job hunting forever, but multiple ones could send you to your career grave. This column discusses four of the worst strategic blunders you can make.

SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS

Many searches fall apart because of the unrealistic expectations that one or two opportunities will be enough to explore to advance at their company or land a new job. “Moving up is like a sales funnel or sales process,” says Thomasina Tafur of Memphis’ Thomasina Tafur Consulting. “If your funnel isn't full, there's less likelihood you will find an opportunity.” In other words, you must conduct an expansive search and not give up too early.

“For every ‘yes,’” Tafur remarks, “there are about 10 ‘no's.’”

REFERENCES

Reference problems make it difficult for an employer to hire you. Many times people are caught unprepared to provide references during an interview. That’s only a first problem, according to career coach Deborah Stephenson of New York City’s Phoenix Coaching Inc. “One employer pet peeve is the investment of time and energy chasing down references,” she reports. “It’s one more project. Playing phone tag can extend over days.” Often, people don’t check with each reference. As a result, employers call contacts who are no longer at a company, don’t know the applicant, didn’t agree to be a reference or have discontinued telephone numbers.

“When employers get too many question marks,” Stephenson adds, “they're not going on to the next phase.”

MATCHING

Even more people don’t do the research to match themselves with companies with employees who are like them. Anna Gregerson of Los Gatos, Calif., who’s looking for a marketing job, has seen countless friends derail themselves this way. “Think about the difference between IBM and Google. If a job description calls for four to six years of experience, they don’t want you,” she states. “They want someone younger. Read it.”

She recommends this method for identifying your target customer so that you don’t waste job-hunting time and avoid age discrimination:

• Scour job descriptions for clues. “Recent graduate” = “young,” as does a request for GPA or SAT score. “Passionate, seasoned” = “old.”

• Ferret out average age by reviewing company publications, including FAQ’s and press releases, list of company officers and LinkedIn. Note which companies they left to get there and which ones they find afterward.

• Get the scoop from employees on Glassdoor.com.

FOLLOWING UP

Almost everyone knows how not following up may bankrupt a search. However, methods of follow-up differ. Bonnie Coffey, speaker and trainer at Bonnie Coffey & Associates L.L.C., in Lincoln, Neb., advises asking at the end of an interview when the person expects the position to be filled. Follow up then. If you forget to ask, let three weeks pass. She considers contacting employers every two weeks, but not asking questions that require only a “yes” or “no” answer. “Ask who, what, where, when and why,” she suggests, “such as:

• “‘When will you be making a final decision on this position?

• “‘How long do you think it will be before a decision is made?

• “‘What's the time line for having someone on board for this position?’

“There are gracious ways to follow up to complete the process,” Coffey concludes.

Joan Schramm of Momentum Coaching in Annapolis, Md., cautions against more than one follow-up after the thank-you note, if the employer doesn’t tell you to call again. In her opinion, that one call or e-mail occurs a week or ten days post-interview. She doesn’t want you to “bombard” the person.

“It’s sort of like dating,” she explains. “If you don’t hear, they’re just not that in to you.”

Now, decide what to do so you don’t derail your job search.

Dr. Mildred L. Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2009 Passage Media.