Read my new book, An Enlightened Entrepreneur:
57 Meditations on Kicking @$$ in Business and Life"4.8/5 stars" on Amazon

Job-Finding Advice: Focus On Meetings (Not Jobs)

Do you need help finding a job?

I was catching up with my pal and former boss Mitch York — awesome business guy — the other day and he pointed me to some neat job search tips from The 5 O’Clock Club (an outplacement and career coaching service).

If you need to find a job, keep these in mind:

Tip 1: Focus On Getting A Meeting (Not A Job)

5 O’Clock encourages its job seekers to first select industries they’re interested in working in and specific companies they’d like to work for (regardless of what jobs are available).

“Everyone (on a job hunt) makes the mistake of placing too much emphasis on published openings,” the 5 O’Clock Club says.

Your goal should be to get a meeting with key people at these companies.

Tip 2 : The Top 4 Sources Of Meetings To Help You Find A Job Are…

1) Networking (35% of meetings found this way)

2) Direct Contact (direct-emails, cold-calls, walk-ins, etc.) (27% of meetings found this way)

3) Job Posting/Ads (online and print) (20% of meetings found this way)

4) Search Firms (Recruiters) (8% of meetings found this way)

Tip 3: Focus on Proactive Versus Reactive Sources Of Meetings To Find A Job

Networking and direct contact are proactive techniques for getting meetings (that help you find a job): you are in control of the exchange.

Search firms and job posting ads, on ther hand, are reactive: you have to wait for a job posting ad to appear and wait for an interview from a recruiter.

Consider all four techniques, but spend most your energy and brainpower on networking and direct contact as they account for the lion’s share of your leads and leave you in more control.

Tip 4: Direct Contact Is The Most Efficient Way To Get Meetings To Find A Job

Surveyed job hunters spent 24% of their time on direct contact, resulting in 27% of their meetings.

Comment