The Mechanics of the Job Search
Monday - Day 1:
Go to Monster and Dice - do their profiles, post your resume,
sign up for notifications, and apply to jobs. Make note of keywords
that are asked for in jobs that you may have, but that are not
listed in your resume.
Tuesday - Day 2:
Create profiles, sign up and post on the next five smaller sites.
Add these to your log. Go to Monster and Dice - look at open jobs
and apply for all that are even close. Note: Never psych yourself
out of applying for a job. The worst that an employer can say is
"no". Moreover, if you haven't applied for it, you
definitely won't get it. If a recruiter calls and tries to put you
into a particular job, but you think it's a stretch - agree anyway.
They may know something you may not. On the other hand, the employer
may not want to pay full market price for someone experienced, so
they are suggesting you because you would work for less than an
expert would and you can be trained to do the work quickly.
Recruiters make their money by selling you, so they rarely waste
time promoting candidates that are not an easy sell to the employer.
Wednesday - Day 3:
Sign up with five more sites. Add these to your log. Go to
Monster and Dice - look at open jobs and apply for all that are even
close. Respond to e-mailed job notifications. Go to the five sites
from the previous day and apply to open positions. Some of the sites
you have to go to (like Monster), some you can just respond to the
mailings (like P.J. Scout).
Whenever you see the same job posted multiple times through
different recruiting agencies, go ahead and apply to all of them.
Since most of the recruiters are not very technical themselves, some
may disqualify you as not having all the keywords and others will
present you. Some are perceptive enough to understand what in your
experience can translate and when the client is asking for one thing
but really needs another.
Don't let someone screen you out that doesn't have the power to
say "yes". Recruiters are all trying to place candidates
they think will sell the best. Maybe the hiring manager will have a
different perspective on your qualifications.
Thursday - Day 4:
Sign up with five more sites. Add these to your log. Go to
Monster and Dice - look at open jobs and apply for all that are even
close. Respond to e-mailed job notifications. Go to the ten sites
from the previous days and apply to open positions.
Friday - Day 5:
Sign up with five more sites. Add these to your log. Go to
Monster and Dice - look at open jobs and apply for all that are even
close. Respond to e-mailed job notifications. Go to the fifteen
sites from the previous days and apply to open positions.
Saturday - Day 6:
Sign up with five more sites. Add these to your log. Go to
Monster and Dice - look at open jobs and apply for all that are even
close. Respond to e-mailed job notifications. Go to the twenty sites
from the previous days and apply to open positions. Take the
keywords from your notes list and update both Word and text versions
of your resume. For example, note whether or not programming
positions seem to be asking for lots of HTML, or conversely, web
developer positions seem to be asking for a lot of C++. Update your
resume to reflect this.
Sunday - Day 7:
By now, you have added twenty-seven sites to your log, noting
which ones have an option to reactivate your resume(s). Go to each
site where this is applicable, starting with Monster and Dice, and
then make a minor change to your resume(s) on each job board, and
reactivate it wherever possible. Try not to settle for
"refreshing" or "renewing" your resume, because
it will show the original date of posting. You always want to appear
as new as possible. When accessing each site, be sure to update to
the latest copy of your resume (corrections, additions). Respond to
any e-mailed job ads.
Proceed to Week 2. |
