How do you search for a job?

There are likely to be as many Job Search types as Job Seekers.

The global rise in unemployment has led to a new influx of job seekers, many of whom have never had to do the Job Search in their lives. Many job seekers are dissatisfied, feeling that their efforts in Job Search are not being valued by the employment industry, which has led to an increase in long-term job seekers.

But, if they knew the type of job search they were doing, they would be able to predict what kind of result they can expect.

Direct Offer: The Insider
A direct approach from a company and an offer to work for them is often surprising to someone who is not actively looking for work. This type of job seeker is usually an employee and already knows the company. This could be because you are currently working for a competitor or supplier, or an existing customer. This method has a 90% chance to work for you if you are approached.

Networking: The Virtual Insider
This direct approach is again a pleasure for someone who is not actively looking for work but is not yet known by the employer. This approach is a testimony to the person’s personal elevator pitch and track record in delivery. It also allows others within the employing organization or within a mutual network to call them. This area is rapidly growing in recruitment. Companies now pay existing employees to introduce new hires. This method has a 50% chance to get you hired if you approach them.

The Star is being Headhunted!
Modern headhunting revolves around direct client business-oriented briefs that are quickly fulfilled. Social networking has made it easier to search for and find candidates. While the client side has remained the same, but has become more niched. Boolean search allows headhunters to build larger lists of qualified candidates and offer more applicants who have been thoroughly researched in a shorter timeframe. These job seekers are often not actively looking for work, but they can be considered stars in their chosen field or profession. If you approach this method, your chances of getting hired are greater than 35%

Networking to: The Inside Track
Now, we move away from passive job seekers and towards active job seekers. This is for those who are employed or currently in between jobs. These two types of job searches require job seekers to:

Know yourself and what you can offer
Find out what they are looking for
Communicate the combination in an elevator pitch
You should be willing to do research on the targeted/desired organizations

This type of job search is difficult and most job seekers avoid it. They are often ten times more successful than other active job search types, but they also have less time to think about other options.

Inside track requires that you have already established contact/s within your target organization/s before you decide to start job searching. You may have an inside contact because you are a customer, supplier or competitor. The initial contact is made over coffee and person-to-person conversations. This allows you to make subtle research based informational interviews to determine who you should be speaking to and what they want to accomplish for your business. This method will increase your chances of getting hired by the companies you are targeting.

The Navigator
Although the navigator approach is statistically similar to the inside track, it’s not as effective. You need to establish contacts within the target organizations. Start with 50 names and reduce them to 20 by simple research. This method has become much easier with the rise of business-oriented social networking and the increased number of companies offering bonuses to existing employees for successful introductions of new hires. This requires you to be clear about who you are and what you want from your career. It also requires you to do the same amount of research on the target organizations as you would on yourself. You should also develop suitable insider contacts. Applying via job boards or newspaper job ads is five times more effective than using them. You have a 15% chance to be hired by the companies on your list. You can easily increase your success rate to virtual insider level of success by doing more research and using networking techniques. It all depends on how serious you are about a job at that company.

Recruiter – The Mountie
While the success rates for each of these three options are different, they all share two commonalities:

To be hired, you will need to follow a clearly defined HR process
You will face a lot of competition because the positions are advertised openly. For each position, expect 5 candidates to be interviewed. This is multiplied three times by each stage of recruitment (ie. application, CV sift online testing, telephone interview etc.). 100 job applications could result from this.

Your chances of finding employment through this route are at least 15% if you post your job search using a recruiter advertisement. If you are able to use the right questions and tactics, this can increase your chances of getting hired to 35% or higher. To fulfill a job, the recruiter may have to compete against other recruiters or the HR department of the company. The recruiter is paid if they fulfill the job and get their man; if not, it’s on to the next opportunity. Good recruiters get their man. After being introduced to the employer, you must follow the defined recruitment process of the organisation.

Job advertisement in a newspaper or on a company website: The Jockey
Real job opportunities can be found in newspaper ads and on company websites. First, the job postings require effort or cost from the hiring organization. This means that they are genuine and not just a way to get CVs. You are allowed to speak directly to the organization, even though you must accept that you won’t be speaking to the hiring manager. However, you will be able to follow a carefully managed, HR-managed and monitored recruitment process. You shouldn’t expect to be treated as if you were a person. The process is non-judgemental and selective. Therefore, you have very little control over the race that you choose to join. You can only assume that you have chosen to participate in it and have no influence on its outcome. The chances of you being hired via this method are between 3% to 5% once you click the apply button or submit your application through the mail. However, this number can be easily increased with a little effort.

Job board: The Donkey
The job board is one of the most popular and used methods for job searching. Statistics show that only 12% are filled by job boards in any given market. Why is it that so few job openings are filled by job boards? It doesn’t take much to search for or apply on a job board. However, job seekers get the internal satisfaction of saying at the end each day, “yes honey,” that they spent the day job hunting. As a recruiter, it is not always possible to find the job advertised on job boards. There are 50,000 job boards in North America and 50,000 worldwide. This makes it very competitive. It is possible to advertise a job on a jobboard for as low as $1. How often would you perform the task if it were free? An employment organization found that 10 jobs fulfilled the criteria for 126 jobs advertised in a large metro area. It is no surprise that your chances of succeeding via a job board drop to as low as 2% when there are so many fake or repeated job ads and it is so easy for CV fish.

Job Search Conclusion
What type of job hunt are you engaged in? According to statistics from different parts of the globe, most job seekers spend their time responding to job ads in newspapers, job boards and recruiters. Their chances of success are usually 15% or less. Over three quarters of all jobs that were filled in the last year have not been advertised. At least half of these jobs are available for job seekers who put in some effort and have a few simple learned tactics.