Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

WorkWise: Extricate yourself from the online trap

New York City’s Robert Johnson of Bittenbyazebra was job hunting online from April through July, 2007. He landed 50 job interviews (and what promised to be a fine position) by applying for ten jobs each day.

Back at it again since June, 2008, he says, “I’m lucky if there have been ten jobs to apply for each week. I could count the interviews on my two hands.” One posting calling for two people garnered 150 responses.

OPENING DOORS

If, unlike Johnson, you’re in IT, continuing to focus most of your effort online might make sense. If, like Johnson, you’ve taught yourself the webmonkey.com method of retaining a good resume format when applying online, you might be at a crossroad, wondering what to do.

How can you improve the odds when it’s still necessary to apply online? Don’t allow online applications or be your exclusive vehicle or dominate your search, even when you use CareerBuilder and other online giants. Take over your career through in-person marketing. Let online applications be a footnote.

Review your focus. Do you truly know what kind of job you’re trying to get? When you do, apply selectively. If a company posts a plum, run after it. Get a contact inside the company to identify the hiring manager. Use social media; call the company; or, in a pinch, drop by to get your answer.

If you don’t restore the personal in online applications, you’ll be reduced to an automaton. You’re looking for a social entity with real people in it. Be one yourself.

The times require classic 101 Job Hunting:

— Make contacts offline everywhere — your references, former colleagues, fellow alumni, professional associations, headhunters, everyone — and through social media.

— Build a pyramid by asking each person you meet for three names of people to contact. Call them up. Ask to drop by their office for 15 minutes. If they decline, ask them immediately if they could tell you a little about their company. (Be specific about what you want to know without asking “if you’re hiring.”). Ask each one for three more people to contact. Ask each contact when you may call or e-mail again.

— Follow through. Follow through. Follow through.

Emphasize the standard job-hunting methods. Convince yourself that it’s absolutely essential to do this and squeeze applying online around it, not vice-versa.

LURE OF COMPETENCE

Taking the personal route frightens many people; so you might think that if you keep working harder, faster and smarter, you’ll beat the odds. Stop. You can’t do everything better and you really shouldn’t be doing everything. Tips for improving your online application are flooding the market, just like the applications. Here’s an easy tip from Lisa Johnson Mandell of In Hollywood Productions in Los Angeles, which produces audio and video products, some for job hunting. Save your resume with your name rather than “resume.”

“It's absolutely essential,” Mandell notes. “It’s so common and easy to fix, yet so unknown, and it can disqualify you immediately. Many employers delete applications from people who fail to label their digital resumes with their names. They reason that if the potential job seeker is not bright enough to use their full name, they're not bright enough to work for them.” Would it keep your application out of the trash folder?

Can you be perfect? Consider this advice from Dawn Martinello of Monday Morning VA, a virtual assistant company in Harrow, Ontario, Canada, that receives all applications online. She’s developed a system that requires applicants to:

— concentrate and pay attention;

— ferret out the meaning and intent of an application; and

— respond with care, not abandon.

Not everyone thinks it necessary to do all of these things, and that’s the point. You can become an expert in online job seeking and make the overwhelming effort to do everything. You risk turning the process of applying online into an uncompensated job.

Doing this will cloud your thinking, contract your world and break your spirit. Remind yourself at least twice a day that applying online is only a start.

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