Nothing but Marketing and Selling? Those things are not easy for many people. None-the-less, Job Searching is a marketing and sales
job. Job seekers must sell the benefits of being hired, thus they become
salespeople by default, whether they want to or not. One can sit on the sidelines
and watch others get jobs or one can learn marketing and the art of selling.
Resumes and cover
letters are advertising literature used in marketing and selling. They are the
collateral documents used to advertise the benefits of being hired, but they
are only the starting point. They need to be used in conjunction with selling
skills that support a marketing plan. A job search marketing campaign requires
a strategy, the fundamental approach, and tactics, the details that support the
strategy.
So it is important
for job searchers to treat job searching as their job and learn the necessary
sales techniques to be successful. I’ve been a job searcher and later, a
recruiter. Trust me, if I can learn how to sell, anybody can!
For starters, job
seekers are well advised to use job boards and the web as research tools to
identify companies and positions, not as a place to apply for positions.
Applying online is equivalent to jumping into the black hole and disappearing.
There are far better ways to get a job.
As a general rule, don’t
apply for a position until AFTER speaking to the hiring manager. Learn the
right tactics to support your search strategy:
Learn how to research
the companies for the information you need. Learn what information to
search for and where to find it.
Learn how to network
properly.
Learn how to find out
who the hiring manager is.
Learn how to make warm-
or cold-calls to hiring managers, (don’t call HR unless you are looking for an
HR position, and even then, call the HR manager).
Learn how to create,
practice and internalize scripts in making calls to the hiring manager and to
get past the various gate keepers.
Learn how to close
(close every communication and finally, the job).
Learn how to overcome
objections.
Learn how to handle
rejection (sales is full of it - good salespeople don't take rejection
personally, it's just part of the job, so they learn to simply say
"NEXT!" and continue on.
That's a lot of
subjects to learn if you are not already a salesperson. But if you don't try to
do it, your competition will.
I am among many
people who teach and coach those skills. There are plenty of resources
available. Selling was not my career until I became a recruiter after retiring
from my engineering career. So I learned how, and now I share what I learned
with my clients. Again, trust me, if I
can learn how to sell, anybody can!
Get help by emailing me at kl@hoochresumes.com or by visiting http://www.hoochresumes.com.