St.Louis Business Journal
LEAVE THE SHOTGUN AT HOME: JOB HUNTING IN A TUMULTUOUS ECONOMY

By Anna Navarro

September 2008  

Author's note: Client stories in this column are based on actual situations fictionalized to protect privacy and told with permission.



Unemployment is up. You need a job. It’s tempting to send out hundreds of resumes and pursue any kind of a job for which you are even remotely qualified. But that kind of “shotgun” approach to job hunting can be a serious mistake.

The main question in employers’ minds when they are selecting a new employee is, "What can you do for me?" If you don't have a compelling answer to that question, you stand a good chance of being eliminated. This is true anytime, but it is especially true when jobs are scarce and job hunters are abundant, as is the case in a stressed economy.

The question of what you can offer an employer isn't easy to answer. But it’s the most fundamental issue in job hunting. It's what gives you the upper hand competing with other candidates. It shapes everything you do: how you write your resume, how you search through job listings, how you talk about yourself in both networking and hiring interviews, who makes a good reference, and on and on.

How do you answer the question of what you can do for an employer?

You start by figuring out what kind of a job you are going after, so you can analyze what employers want from people they hire for that kind of position. Then you emphasize those attributes in all your job hunting communications.

If it’s work you’ve done in the past, you should already have a good understanding of what employers want. If it’s a job you’ve never actually done before, but think you can do, Internet and library research and talking to people in the field can help you verify what employers are looking for.

There will be variations from position to position, of course, but the trick is to understand and address the basic themes of what most employers want in a person they hire for a particular kind of position. That enables you to put your best foot forward from the start, even in the early stages, when employers are doing their initial screening but you may not yet have any details about a particular opening.

How do you decide what kind of a job you want to go after?

Sometimes it is a simple matter of doing what you’ve done in the past. But when you have to embark on a new path because there few jobs in your field (as in real estate appraisal today, for example), or you don’t want to do what you’ve done before, answering this question is harder.

If you are under severe time pressure, you may be forced to arbitrarily decide off the top of your head what kind of a position to go after. The drawback to this approach is you might end up in a job you don’t like. But as the saying goes, sometimes you need any port in a storm. Arbitrarily picking a target at least gives you the ability to research what employers want, so you can sell yourself more effectively.

If you are under less time pressure, perhaps because of a severance package or personal savings, or a spouse’s income to help tide you over, you may be able to take more time to figure out what kind of a job you would find satisfying.

In this situation, it’s best to start by figuring out what you want in a work situation. Then brainstorm types of positions you think might meet your needs and systematically investigate them to see which one is the best match. Expect to explore a number of fields before you find one that fits.

The research you do to determine whether a career fits your needs also gives you the inside scoop about what employers want. Then you can sift through your background to find the aspects of it that are most relevant to this type of employer, so you can package yourself effectively for job hunting.

I’ve heard many sad stories recently of job hunters who are replying unselectively to every job posting or ad they see, and who have sent out literally hundreds of resumes without getting to first base. Not surprisingly, these individuals get deeply discouraged and down on themselves. I hope some of them read this column and begin to understand why they aren’t making any progress and what they need to do differently.

Anna Navarro is the founder of Work Transitions, a nationwide career consulting firm that trains independent career strategists and consults with individual clients.

This column was originally published by the St. Louis Business Journal. The actual title of the column and date in which it appeared in the Business Journal may be slightly different from what appears on WorkTransitions.com.