Turning Downtime Into Job Offers

Bob Larson, CPC

Career Report

May 2018— Issue 219

Turning Downtime Into Job Offers

If there’s one thing that most unemployed job seekers have in abundance, it is time. And yet many of them misuse it. According to an article in The New York Times, that’s because in the post-layoff life it can be easy to put off completing activities and projects. Unlike when you’re working, no one will come after you if you don’t finish them.

But having a structured schedule can change all of that, turning downtime into productive time and helping to improve one’s chances of finding a job.

Without a structured schedule, the article pointed out, it can be very easy to go to the gym, have a leisurely lunch, take a nap, and watch some TV before dinner. Or you may engage in a whirlwind of e-mail messages, Googling, calling and appointment-making, only to realize that very little of it got you closer to finding a job.

“Having no structure is the biggest enemy to being organized and being focused,” said Julie Morgenstern, a productivity consultant in New York and author of “Time Management From the Inside Out.” According to Morgenstern, job seekers should create specific work hours and a time map along with mini deadlines, she said. Like many other experts, she recommends treating job hunting like a full-time job.

Kimberly Bishop, chief executive of a career management and leadership services firm in New York, added that looking for a job involves so many steps that trying to define and prioritize them can be overwhelming. “I don’t think that there’s ever a time that the job search process is easy,” Bishop said. Because it is not something people tend to do on a regular basis, few are truly skilled at it, she said, but “being prepared and having a plan and a process brings confidence.”

To begin, Bishop told the newspaper, set aside a physical space for job hunting and devote from several days to a week solely to laying the groundwork for your search, she said. Too often, Bishop said, people fling themselves into making appointments and arranging interviews before they even have their résumés updated or know what kinds of jobs they should realistically seek.

Prepare résumés, write sample cover letters, assemble your references, and put together samples of your work, she recommended. Compile an inventory of your skills, accomplishments and honors – Bishop calls this a “success folder” – ready to be shown or recounted during interviews.

“Once the job hunt gets started, it’s so easy to become overwhelmed with just the management and organization of paperwork,” Bishop said. So create files, either paper or computer ones, to keep track of where you have applied and where you have had interviews.

After this initial preparation it’s time to get started in earnest, the article pointed out. Morgenstern suggests dividing the day into three compartments: preparation and research, meetings, and follow-up. “Mixing it up” this way can stop you from obsessing about things and from being paralyzed by perfectionism.

Bishop echoed this sentiment, saying it is dangerous to spend too much time on any one thing. Some people spend all of their time in front of the computer sending unproductive e-mail messages and applying for jobs for which they aren’t qualified. Other people spend all day at networking meetings and informational interviews without doing the concrete work that leads to an actual application or an interview.

In the article, Morgenstern suggested this sample day of varied activities: From 9 to 11, do background research on companies that you will be applying to or interviewing with. Research unconventional industries that may fit with your skills. Take an online career assessment test. Generate a list of contacts for networking purposes. Look up networking organizations.

Between 11 and 2 or 3, you might meet with a friend or former colleagues or a career counselor for lunch or coffee. Try to schedule a meeting every day, or five meetings a week. “These benchmarks keep you from becoming complacent or depressed,” and keep you connected with the outside world, Morgenstern said.

Then go home and do follow-up work, she said. Send a thank-you e-mail message to the person you had lunch or coffee with and forward any articles or leads that you may have mentioned. Send thank-you notes that day. Do not put that off, she added.

End every day by planning the next one, plus the two days after, Morgenstern said. This “three-day arc” puts your job search in context and enables you to pace yourself. “People are energized by getting things done,” she said. “Energy then begets more energy and more productivity” and that begets confidence. Then, she said, when you’re calling people on the phone or meeting with them, you radiate confidence and increase your chances of being hired.”

NEWS FROM BLK

Finally we have experienced some warm spring weather and the job market continues to warm and at times even over heat.  We have been experiencing challenges in finding great talent in several niches.  Client plans for hiring continues to increase and the unemployment numbers remain in record low territory.

So this remains a good time for job seekers and hopefully wages will see an increase for all in the near future.

We do see job descriptions being restructured as the nature of productive work continues to adjust to innovative market conditions.

As always we thank everyone for their support as we celebrated our 38th anniversary bringing the “Best Staffing Options” to employers and job-seekers.

New Competitive Landscape Develops for Talent Acquistion

We at Berman Larson Kane have witnessed a shift in the “IT Technology and Sales Staffing” that requires labor intensive steps to isolate the best talent. If this change has occurred in a few niches the majority of the market is not far behind. To recruit the best talent a recruiting plan that isolates the passive non-job-seeking candidate has always been the core of the BLK’s 33 years success. So to bring the best talent to your door we fish in three pools continuously.

Pool #1 – Qualified but Not Looking Talent – The majority of talent is not looking for a new job. Even if they are not 100% satisfied most employees are sitting at their desks doing a good job and bringing great value to their employers. Reaching out to this pool requires: organization, automation, tenacity, persistence and a very labor intense effort by our staff here at BLK. In organizing a work plan we at BLK need to discuss with the client: competitor sources, optional titles that this person might bear, email blast lists, lures to temp a passive candidate into speaking with the client, advantages to working for our client, career path, current and potential compensation and competitive advantages. All of these steps and many more require a very organized detailed plan and communication and sales skills by our recruiters.

Pool #2 – Qualified Actively Looking Talent – These are the millions of job seeking candidates that have their resumes displayed on the web. Whether displayed on the public, private, and niche or discussion boards. Sifting through this vast resource to isolate the “unique” requested talent is an art and a science and requires seeking, qualifying, and as the market becomes more competitive luring talent.

Pool # 3 – Actively Selective Looking Talent – These are what we refer to as web surfers. They do not have their resumes displayed on the boards nor are they sending out mailings to announce their availability. This is a group of talent that checks the job boards and selective websites on a regular basis looking for the ideal position or career move. To get the attention of this group one needs an organized web campaign that includes: job boards, social media, niche sites, corporate sites and agency sites. Attractive image, reputation, tenure and ethics presented correctly yield the best responses from this group. However, to attract the correct “unique” talent” using this method always means sifting through the 1,000 of incorrect responses to isolate the few correct ones.

So as you look to fill your jobs or find the best talent, remember jobs and hiring are very serious undertakings and the step of isolating the best talent is a very labor-intensive undertaking. We here at Berman Larson Kane have been attempting to get it right for the past 33 years and continuously are modifying and improving our systems to attack the “Best Talent the Market Has to Offer”.

If you have a talent acquisition challenge it is my pleasure to listen and see if we can recommend a cost effective solution. Thank you for your continuous support. Stay well. Bob Larson, CPC