Outdated Job-Search Techniques to Avoid!! | Career Point Jobs ...

By Dorcas Karuana,
There are certain things you can do to improve your chances of getting an interview, and other things that may hinder your job search. Here are some job-search techniques that you should try to avoid if you want to improve your chances of getting hired.
1. Submit to new job postings that are already old
Many jobs that get published have already been circulating for a while. Employees within the company will be asked if they know anyone who's good for the position. Headhunters will be contacted. Word-of-mouth spreads the job. By the time you see the job in the classifieds and apply, candidates from far and wide have sent in their resumes, and you're already at a disadvantage. The job may simply be posted so that the company can be seen to be offering equal opportunities to everyone. So if you really want a job in a certain field or company, be proactive. Get to know the hiring managers or HR people. Do some cold calling. Ask around. You want to be fishing for the best jobs before they're announced to the masses.

2. Send out masses of unsolicited resumes
This was a tactic a friend of mine employed as we were finishing college, and it did not work. The mass-mailing is usually fruitless and can waste a great deal of your time and money. It may also irritate hiring managers and these resumes usually end up in the trash.

3. Assume that if there's no job posted, it means there?s no job available
A lady friend of mine applied for a sales job through a recruitment company. She did well in initial interview and was shortlisted for the final interview. The position she applied for was sales while in the interview a member from the recruitment company on the interview panel realized that she had a good education in Human Resource. She was given a job in the recruitment company.
The moral of this story, whether it's true or "inspired," is that opportunities present themselves everywhere. You can't assume that the only jobs around are the ones that are advertised. Your skills could be perfect for a company and they may not even know they need you yet. Keep your eyes and ears open, be inventive and be proactive. You never know where it may lead you.

4. Apply for more jobs to increase your odds
Here's another common error. "If I apply for 100 jobs, I'll get more interviews and that will mean more chances of getting hired." Well, not really. If you're sending standard cover letters and CVs to every job that sounds remotely interesting, you'll fail to get noticed by any of the hiring managers. You're basically hoping that your CV gets picked from an enormous pile and you get the call. You need to be smarter; be targeted. Pick out the jobs you really want and write cover letters and resumes that are tailor-made for those jobs. Do your homework. Find out everything you can about the industry, company and role then make an application that cannot be ignored. Now, you're not relying on chance any more. In this day and age, quality is far better than quantity.

5. Have only one resume and cover letter
This is related to the previous tip. Competition for an opening is very high. So do not ever rely on one standard CV and cover letter for every job you apply for. Job searching is hard work; some say it's a full-time job, so you cannot just make 20 copies of both your cover letter and CV application and apply for 20 different job postings.? Worse still, if you do apply online or via email, a simple copy and paste may not be good enough. Focus. Find out how the company operates, what is required for that job and the challenges they face. Present yourself as a solution to the companies need. It proves you're a step ahead and do nothing by halves.

6. Rely on just one job search technique
It's great to check a site like JobsKenya.com every day. But don't pop online, see what's new, and then log off. It's outdated thinking to expect the ideal job will be in the one place you're looking. This is the age of digital networking, featuring FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google + , and so much more. Dive into them all. The perfect job could be lurking inside any one of them.

7. Focus on yourself
What? But it's all about you, right? Not exactly it's all about the employer. They're like a first date and they want to know how interested you are in them, not yourself. It may have worked well in the past, but that kind of "me, me, me" attitude does not sit well with employers these days. Let them know how you fit in with their organization. Show them why you would make a great addition to their team. Set your sights on making the employer feel like they're the only company you'd ever want to work for, because they're the perfect fit. When you focus on them, they focus on you.

8. Refuse to change careers
Remember the days when people were accountants at one company for 30 years and then got a golden handshake at a retirement? Those days are gone. Nowadays, there is rapid and constant changes in technology as well as new careers are springing up all the time. There was a lady who was a secretary for over 20 years, because of the importance of her role which required a great deal of work to be handled manually, the demand for secretaries was great and their salary was also good. With the introduction of IT in the office and use of networked phones employees are now more independent. Unfortunately, the lady was on a salary that was close to Ksh 100,000 a month. Her skills and role were obsolete. With some retraining however, such as business administration, human resource or accounting she could make herself relevant. How many jobs are out there now that weren't around 10 years ago? Or even 5? For instance, social media is now booming. It employs many people. They had to come from somewhere and no doubt they switched career paths. While you shouldn't cast your net so wide, as to be fruitless, consider fields that are related to yours in some way.

Dorcas is a Recruitment Officer. Corporate Staffing Services. email: dorcas@corporatestaffing.co.ke. Web address. www.corporatestaffing.co.ke???

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Source: http://www.careerpointkenya.com/2012/07/job-search-in-kenya.html

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