The old adage about it’s not what you know, but who you know is in full effect in today’s job market. Recruiters are posting positions online and being inundated with the number of resumes that are submitted. Because of the sheer volume of applications, job seekers are often ignored unless something sets their applications apart from the many other candidates.
One way for job seekers to get an “in” with their preferred employer is to find out if they have any existing connections already working for the company. Until now, this was a pretty tedious and time consuming task. However, virtual networking just got a lot easier with Glassdoor.com’s launch of Inside ConnectionsTM earlier this week. The tool connects Glassdoor’s existing functionality with Facebook’s networking capabilities to allow users to view their friends and where they work now or have worked in the past.
For most job seekers, friends and family are the go-to people for finding out about companies. If your best friend raves about her employer, you’re probably more inclined to consider jobs with that organization. In fact, according to a recent Harris survey, people rate their friends and family as the most trusted resource for learning about companies (52 percent), followed by feedback and reviews from other people who work at the company (14 percent). The least trusted resources are the company’s website (5 percent) and the company’s recruiters (2 percent).
I had the opportunity to speak with Tim Besse, the co-founder of Glassdoor.com, and he said the goal of Inside ConnectionsTM is to help job seekers make informed decisions about companies by providing one place that is a comprehensive research tool on where the jobs are, what they are and who you know there. After doing a brief pre-release demo of the tool, I’m convinced this is going to change the way people search for jobs. It’s also going to save a lot of time for job hunters and hopefully give them better odds at being noticed by a recruiter.
Employee referral programs have been hugely popular for helping organizations find qualified leads. Essentially, Inside ConnectionsTM takes the employee referral concept one step further and puts the information in the hands of the job seeker. Depending on the security settings of your Facebook friends, you may also be able to see job information for friends of friends. This will allow you to expand your networking reach even further. Once the connections are listed, you can make contact with them by sending brief messages via Facebook and inquiring about their companies and opportunities.
A personal contact with someone in the company is more effective than submitting your resume unsolicited to the general jobs e-mail address. It’s even more likely that you’ll be successful in landing an interview if your friend is willing to speak with the recruiter for the position on your behalf.
According to Glassdoor, their site includes connections at more than 150,000 companies around the world. Chances are good that at least a few of these companies are hiring someone with your skill set.
Amanda Haddaway is passionate about helping you ace your interview. She is the author of "Destination Real World: Success after Graduation," which helps new and soon-to-be college graduates with navigating the world of work.Connections inside networking image from Shutterstock
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
The old adage about it’s not what you know, but who you know is in full effect in today’s job market. Recruiters are posting positions online and being inundated with the number of resumes that are submitted. Because of the sheer volume of applications, job seekers are often ignored unless something sets their applications apart from the many other candidates.
One way for job seekers to get an “in” with their preferred employer is to find out if they have any existing connections already working for the company. Until now, this was a pretty tedious and time consuming task. However, virtual networking just got a lot easier with Glassdoor.com’s launch of Inside ConnectionsTM earlier this week. The tool connects Glassdoor’s existing functionality with Facebook’s networking capabilities to allow users to view their friends and where they work now or have worked in the past.
For most job seekers, friends and family are the go-to people for finding out about companies. If your best friend raves about her employer, you’re probably more inclined to consider jobs with that organization. In fact, according to a recent Harris survey, people rate their friends and family as the most trusted resource for learning about companies (52 percent), followed by feedback and reviews from other people who work at the company (14 percent). The least trusted resources are the company’s website (5 percent) and the company’s recruiters (2 percent).
I had the opportunity to speak with Tim Besse, the co-founder of Glassdoor.com, and he said the goal of Inside ConnectionsTM is to help job seekers make informed decisions about companies by providing one place that is a comprehensive research tool on where the jobs are, what they are and who you know there. After doing a brief pre-release demo of the tool, I’m convinced this is going to change the way people search for jobs. It’s also going to save a lot of time for job hunters and hopefully give them better odds at being noticed by a recruiter.
Employee referral programs have been hugely popular for helping organizations find qualified leads. Essentially, Inside ConnectionsTM takes the employee referral concept one step further and puts the information in the hands of the job seeker. Depending on the security settings of your Facebook friends, you may also be able to see job information for friends of friends. This will allow you to expand your networking reach even further. Once the connections are listed, you can make contact with them by sending brief messages via Facebook and inquiring about their companies and opportunities.
A personal contact with someone in the company is more effective than submitting your resume unsolicited to the general jobs e-mail address. It’s even more likely that you’ll be successful in landing an interview if your friend is willing to speak with the recruiter for the position on your behalf.
According to Glassdoor, their site includes connections at more than 150,000 companies around the world. Chances are good that at least a few of these companies are hiring someone with your skill set.
Amanda Haddaway is passionate about helping you ace your interview. She is the author of "Destination Real World: Success after Graduation," which helps new and soon-to-be college graduates with navigating the world of work.Connections inside networking image from Shutterstock
