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10 Job Search Lies That Will Get You Caught Up

This article was originally published on Career Metis!

No one pays you for effort. Not in 2016.

People who know little about finding a job will get sucked into taking advice from anyone who shares anything with some authority. The sadness is the person is lazy. These days, you must test everything, even as it comes from a reliable source until the person’s advice is consistently effective.

I have saved you a little trouble by filtering out the following common but overused, clichéd, and antiquated job search advice we’ve all heard:

1. All I can do is submit Resumes,right?

Assuming that you are looking for a job, and your time is about your job search like the lady says in the Geico commercial, “That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works!” Networking, reading job advice, connecting with people who are helpful, going to Workforce Connection and more are part of finding a job. If you value your effort and time, get referred by people you know or people you’re just getting to know. Over half of recent new employees are hired through referrals from employees within a company.

2. All I need is a LinkedIn profile,right?

Wrong. You need an active LinkedIn profile. Don’t tell me, are you the one with the photo of you and your spouse/date/girlfriend/best friend. Unless you have your own website, I recommend you manage your LinkedIn profile as you would your own website. Regularly offer your network updates, participate in groups and participate in conversations. Most of all, connect, connect and connect!

3. Recruiters and employers really don’t care about a thank-you note of my kind, I think.

I beg to differ. You’ll find recruiters and employers who can care less about them, after all, the thank-you note itself doesn’t make or break the opportunity. It does set you apart. I have seen many job seekers grab the attention of employers through a thank-you note. My recommendation is to email a note, and deliver a handwritten note or card to each participant in the interview. Employers note shows you cared about the time interviewers took out of their schedule to meet.

4. You must have a job to get hired.

Although many big employers have sent that message to the public, not all of them are neglecting unemployed job seekers. Even small businesses might be ideal and less restricting of employment status. Keep in mind that if you are a likable candidate, then your chances are just as good as anyone else’s. But if you need to take it higher, there are ways to do volunteer or consulting work to list on your resume. It is more advantageous to you to show current activity than it is to just look for a job.

5. Keep doing what everyone tells me to do.

Uh…no. If all you do is follow everyone else’s advice then you will yield the same results. There is a voice that is telling you to try something unconventional and bold. Exhaust the what ifs and fire away but it helps to ask advice from a smart and savvy person who is thriving in your desired career. If you don’t know him or her, then you have more work to do.

6. Look full-time to get a full-time job.

Slightly misleading advice depending on your definition of what a full-time job search looks like. Following that advice in the 1980s means that you are filling out applications, and scouring the newspapers from 9-5. Ten years ago, a full-time job search meant spending time looking in the papers, applying to countless online job board applications. You may have even been organized enough to use an excel spreadsheet to keep organized. Today, you can hours between networking on and off-line, researching companies using job boards as an outline to match your accomplishments up with the responsibilities, learning new skills and abilities, and so much more.

7. Paste your resume into your LinkedIn profile.

It’s easy, right? What a mistake! You’re missing an opportunity to complete your career story. Ideally, your resume is the table of contents, your blog (what you don’t have one?) has a few chapters of your career, and your LinkedIn profile along with other social profiles are an epilog (OK, epilogue) of your career. My personable but not personal rule applies across the board.

8. All I want is a job.

Let’s say that’s true. Any good hiring manager is going to detect it easily by asking, “Why do you want this job?” I betcha’ you can’t answer that question! If you want a career, understand this, the day you stop focusing on filling out applications is the day you will begin you career. Yeah, see #6 again.

9. “You can’t…”

Who says? People will tell you not to email the president of a large company. Who says you can have coffee with the president of a small profitable company? People will tell you not to beg for a job. Who says you can’t go to your community radio station (people are listening to radio still) or start a podcast where you interview people who are thriving in the field you are interested in?

10. Follow Your Passion.

To me, this advice is as misleading and uninformed as marrying someone solely based on lust. Now there are people who will give that advice with a caveat: passion should be based on knowledge, skills, and abilities of the job/career. People who marry with only lust as their latch will find divorce quicker than a falling star.

You have my permission to turn off your discerning ears once people start their sentences with any of these phrases. Just be sure we discard the message and not the messenger. It’s now obvious everyone is not caught up with the 2016 job search or has left 1990 behind.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

5 Signs Your Job Search Lacks Courage

It’s discouraging throughout your job search to see the success of others when you are working hard to find your next opportunity. Whether you’re unemployed or trying to find a job while you’re employed the length of time it takes to find a new job can be daunting.

Depending on the job search articles you read, or who you talk to there are no hard facts on the average time it takes to complete a job search in 2016. Many are still quoting articles from a couple of years ago citing that one should plan for one month of job searching for every $10,000 of salary desired, so if you desire a salary of $60,000 than your job search will likely take six months.

When unemployed it is important to renew your reasoning for pursuing a chosen path.

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It has to be YOUR reason. If it’s not, it will be that much harder. Plus there’s the possibility that you lack motivation.

There are probably signs you have lost motivation and here are some ways you are giving in:

You’re afraid to fail so you apply to easier jobs. If you do this, you’ll be overlooked for the sake of appearing overqualified. We get it, when your motivation begins to wane, sometimes you don’t want a job with much pressure so you fool yourself into thinking a lesser paying job will be fine for now. But what happens when the lesser paying job is much more stressful and aggravating than the one on your career path?
When criticism from past jobs persists in your current job search. It is a problem when the voices of the past haunt you. The best remedy is to fill your life with more success narratives that remind you that you are good at what you do and you have the confidence to succeed. Just because you might be currently out of a job, it doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do.

For the complete article go to Beyond.com’s The Confident Career!

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

6 Hazardous Roads to an Unsuccessful Job Search

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Welcome back to “The Voice of Job Seekers” podcast, this is Mark, your host of the show. I’m grateful you decided to listen to this episode. This is a solo edition of the podcast where I will lend my views in some areas where your job search possibly needs help. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and ideas on this show. Here’s how:

1) Leave a voice mail or text message at 708-365-9822. Let me know if I can share it on future shows
2) Email me: [email protected]
3) Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com and press the “Send Voicemail” button to leave a message online

You can do this on your phone, right now, if you want. All of this is set up so you’ll have the most convenient access possible.

Announcements

I will be taking a short spring break and time to celebrate 25 years with my wife, so I won’t publish another show until March 29.

6 Hazardous Roads to an Unsuccessful Job Search

1. The rough road
You are not finishing anything completely to anyone’s satisfaction. You read job search advice but rarely follow through completely. Then you go to someone who you respect saying you have tried everything. Your resume, cover letter, and other necessary marketing materials are done, but what about your social profiles, LinkedIn profile, or other efforts completing your branding? Why are they incomplete? LinkedIn picture? Other profiles incomplete? How about your networking efforts? Are you having great conversations? You get the point. You know what happens when you go down a road needing paving? Your car gets damaged in more ways than one. The same will happen in your job search when it’s incomplete. Your job search efforts could be easier if you don’t finish strong.

2. The long unwinding road

Did you know your references can sabotage your job search efforts? Are you sure that the people you have listed as references can speak to your competencies? You must know there are areas that your references can speak in your favor. Do you know what they will say? A few months ago, a client got the interview, completed the entire process until her reference check process didn’t pan out. The interviewer knew (or, at least, had familiarity) with her boss, and asked about her. Her boss replied, “She can’t be trusted!” Of course, my client was devastated but understand this could go on if you are not sure what your references will say. If they can’t speak positively, it will be viewed negatively. Know what your references will say and avoid this road that will never end.

3. You underestimated how where the road leads
YOU UNDERESTIMATED THE DEPTH OF BACKGROUND CHECKS.I had a client who lied to me about her job situation but didn’t know I knew the truth at the time. I recommended her to a friend who interviewed her, impressed by her, but the FBI background check was problematic. Not that they were able to verify what was wrong other than many other things that were unverifiable. This grey line is the road you don’t know where it leads. I include a link to a report on the blog on background checks. You should know what each job you leave will say about you. This unnecessarily lengthens your job search and undermine your efforts if your former employer is unfavorably confirming employment. Now many companies today take the position of not giving much information at all. Don’t assume your old employer is among them. Call the ones you’re relying on to confirm employment. Ask them what are saying? If you’re getting ready to leave or more importantly, terminated, how will the employer communicate it. In many cases, you can negotiate or request to just confirm employment. I know there different thoughts on it, but I have had two clients in particular who went and asked the verbiage to change.

4. The indecisive road
You don’t know where to go. Sometimes, you quit or claim some type of moratorium.

5. This road went out of your way. You ignored the detour signs

Many job seekers don’t sell themselves well during their job search, although there is a slight anomaly if you don’t know what you’re best looks like. You never thought about it. Or, in some cases, someone told you, and it’s not what you wanted to hear. If you are unsure of your best features, then look at your old performance reviews, ask others who worked with you, or take strength assessments. Starting there will trigger other areas that you excel, then you’ll be crystal clear what you can contribute.

6. The road only you know
No response to your requests for help because you offer no value. Are you the same person that keeps saying that my network sucks? You don’t give, share, or interact! Like a road no one knows where to find it, it’s a single route you keep to yourself. Networking shouldn’t be an occasional event in your life; it warrants a lifestyle. The road only you know means several hazards within itself:

You can’t re-route right away. It’s likely you’ll not find someone right away to redirect you
Maps have hesitations. A landmark ‘s hard to spot on a map.
You don’t know the conditions of the road. It helps, to know the terms of the market you seek a career in
You get lost and don’t ask directions, or you don’t admit being lost

Need help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

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