Know what makes you special.

Know what growing businesses need your special value.

Find a way to be introduced to the decision maker at the businesses who need your special value.

Is this hard?  

Yes.  Freedom always is.  

But wouldn't you love to stop living in fear and start taking charge of your career?

This holiday weekend, while enjoying barbecues, pool parties, parades, family reunions, and all the other wonderful traditions of Independence Day weekend, connect with your friends and family.  Ask them about their careers.  Ask them how you can help.   

The first step to career freedom?  Helping others.

Happy Independence Day!

Are they asking you lots of questions like "How many resumes did you send out this week?" 

Or, "how many jobs have you applied to?"

Maybe they're telling you that you should be working full time, sending out resumes and applying for jobs.

They're right about one thing, you should dedicate as much time as you can to your job search.  

Beyond that don't listen.  Run.  Don't walk.  Do not pass go.   If you listen to them, you will never collect $200.

There is a lot of hard work in a job search.   But why on earth would you keep sending resumes and job applications into the ether, hoping for a response, some sign of life out there.  

Spend your time doing the hard work of a job search.  It just doesn't involve sending out resumes and applying for jobs.

First of all, are they real jobs?  Some companies post jobs on job boards, but they haven't funded the job, they aren't sure they won't hire from within, or they just haven't decided whether to fire the person currently in the job yet.

Secondly, why spill your life story to an anonymous company?  How do you customize your experience and interest when you don't know the name of the company to which you are applying?  You can't.  So don't.

Thirdly, remember what we've said about resumes.  Thousands of them for each posted job.   Same with applications.   Thousands.  For every posted job.  

Do you like being lost in the crowd?  Do you think that your fabulous answers in an online form will jump off the screen and make the recruiter fall in love with you?  Think again.

Online dating may work, (although think about all those stories about people who say they're one thing and they're not), but online job applications don't.

You want the hiring manager to fall in love with your captivating personality.  Filling out a job application isn't captivating.  

What are job postings good for?  Due diligence on possible target companies.  Use those posting boards to learn who is hiring, and in what departments and in what cities.   Are they hiring an SVP, a VP, and Directors in the same department?  They're cleaning house in that department.   Are they hiring above, or below, your preferred job level?  Good to know.  Job postings are super valuable intelligence.  Just don't go and apply to one.   

You wouldn't order a mail order bride would you?  Why apply for a job site-unseen?

They believe in Prince Charming.  They can see him, on his white horse, looking fabulous, sweeping in, and rescuing them.   

I know even more men and women who believe in the job search fairy tale.  Grown men and women. Successful men and women.  Intelligent men and women.

They believe in Prince (or Princess) Charming.  They can see him (or her), on his (or her) white horse, sweeping in, and rescuing them.  Giving them the perfect job.   

What is Prince Charming's name?  The recruiter.

One problem.  Fairy tales are for children.  Not for job searches.

Recruiters are paid to help employers find the ideal person for a specific job with very specific requirements.  

Do you have 25 of the 20 requirements that the hiring manager has dreamed up for their ideal candidate? That's not a typo.  I said 25 out of 20 requirements.  If you aren't more than perfect, the job is history.  The glass slipper just broke.

Recruiters are not paid to help you find your ideal job, or any job at all.   

They aren't a match maker.  Their website doesn't say, come to me, and I will hand you the perfect job, on a silver platter and you won't have to lift a finger.  

Stop believing in fairy tales.  Start taking charge.

Decades later he tells his adult children, find a recruiter.  If you aren't talking to recruiters, you're not looking for a job.

Oops!  Daddy doesn't always know best.  Now, perhaps in highly specialized fields, like actuarial science, law, medicine, there are inside track recruiters who are your best path to your next job.  

But, for the rest of us?   Who do you want in charge of find your next job?  You, or a recruiter who gets paid by an employer for finding the employer's perfect candidates?

Should you ignore calls from recruiters?  Of course not.  Should you do everything you can to help them, introducing them to possible candidates?  Of course.   Some day, that recruiter just might have the needle in a haystack perfect fit client with the perfect job with your name written all over it.

Until then...

Start taking charge.  

I asked her, "When you were in HR, what did you do with resumes from people you didn't know?"

"I filed them in a locked cabinet" was her answer.  She proceeded to tell me that she loved it when the hiring manager had candidates in mind, from their network, for the open position.  "That was soooo much better," she said.  

I asked her, "Then why on earth would you use a resume to land a job?"

Internal recruiters, people who work in a corporate HR department, are inundated with resumes for every publicly posted position, plus unsolicited resumes from people hoping to work for that company.  They are busy people.  

Their job is to turn a pile of 1000 resumes into 20, so they can call those 20 and whittle them down to a list of 5.  

It is much easier to use the negative to make decisions, so what will they do?  Look at your resume and look for reasons to put it in the "I am just not that into you" pile.   Typo?  You're out.  Odd formatting?  You're out. Degree from a non-Ivy League school?  You're out.  Too old?  Too experienced?  Too young?  Too inexperienced?  The resume doesn't completely match the job description?   You're out.  

Don't trust your career to a piece of paper and an overworked corporate recruiter.

As for the contingency and retained recruiters, don't forget who signs their checks!   The employer.   

This is not about you.  This is about the recruiter pleasing the client, pleasing the boss.

I told him to stop sending out resumes.  He thought I was crazy.  Stop sending out resumes, but keep (fill in the blank here:  doing yoga, surfing, playing poker, playing hockey/soccer/softball, going wine tasting, having dinner parties).

With the advent of internet recruiting, employers receive thousands of resumes for each posted job.  Would you trust your career to a piece of paper?  You shouldn't.

People hire people they like.  Be likable.  Be someone with passions.  

Now, in addition to your passions, there are some things you should do, instead of sending out resumes.  But let's start with first steps.  

Stop. Sending. Out. Resumes.

Wrong!

Here are five reasons why you should speed up your search, rather than slow it down:

1. For a lot of hiring executives, their 2010 budgets are set in stone now.   They need to hire in December to fill those positions they (finally) have budgeted in 2010.  

2. For a lot of hiring executives, if they don't spend what's left of their 2009 budget, they lose it for 2010.   Can anyone say "hiring bonus"?

3. Many hiring executives curb their travel schedules during the holidays, so it will be possible to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your networking.

4. A lot of executives and professionals in transition believe the myth and have halted their searches during the holidays.   With less competition, you have a leg up.

5. Holiday spirit makes many people more open to meeting new people (think networking), more generous with their time and money (networking and negotiating), and generally more open to change (making a hiring decision).

Keep that search going.  You may have a new job by the new year!   

Assuming you've done your homework and have a clear value proposition positioned for the current global marketplace AND a solid networking strategy to land your next job, and the one after that, and the next and...  

It is time to party.    

A few things to keep in mind:

Networking is about relationships, not asking for a job.   Which person would you rather talk to: the down-in-the-mouth guy who offers his card to anyone who will take it, and attends every event he can, talking about how he really needs to find a job OR the interesting professional who engages you in conversation and learns more about what is important to you?

Look at every holiday event as an opportunity to grow your network and build relationships.  

Yes, I know, you need a job, NOW!  

The fastest way to your next job is to grow that network.  

Go to those holiday events, meet new people, learn about what makes them tick, and how you can help them.  Then, follow up.  

Of course, do let them know who your current target companies or leaders are, and see if they can recommend someone you should talk to.  

It is that simple.  You will leave each party with follow ups and introductions that will grow your network, strengthen your relationships, and shorten your search this time, and the next.  

What a gift! 

How can LinkedIn make the recession good for you?

1. LinkedIn can help you build your network.

2. LinkedIn can help you build strong relationships in your network.

3. LinkedIn can help you build your value-add offerings.

4. LinkedIn can help you build your credibility and brand as an expert in your field.

5. LinkedIn can help you meet the people who can hire you.

Want more information?  Stay tuned.