Run Your Job Search Like You Would Run a Company

There is a very lively discussion, started by Tyson Winfrey, in the “Hiring for Hope” group on Linkedin about treating your job search as a full time job. I agree with Tyson’s point of view, but I suggest you need to take it one step further. In reality, you are the CEO of your own company, and you are the product.

Granted, the salary sucks, but the responsibilities and focus you need to be successful are the same as those faced by any CEO.You are, not only the product but, the only sales staff your company has. However, you can build a strong marketing department that will get you noticed.

The overriding question any company must answer is “why would anyone want to buy my product?”. This cuts to the heart of your job search - why would anyone want to hire me? You MUST be able to successfully answer this question. Remember, your search is not about you getting a job; it is about what value you can bring to the company who would hire you. Do you need to improve your “product” to make it more salable? Will additional training or certifications make you more marketable to potential employers, or do you already have the necessary skills and background? If you need additional training or certifications, get them. Now, it all boils down to marketing and sales. John Covington, who owns Chesapeake Consulting and moderates a Job Club in Severna Park, Maryland, loves to say “If you are not getting interviews, you have a marketing problem. If you are getting interviews but not getting offers, you have a sales problem.” I totally agree with him.

Again paraphrasing John Covington, there are three phases to marketing - awareness, familiarity, and emotional response. Awareness just refers to people knowing you are looking for work, and, if you are lucky, the type of work you want. It is a fact that we will only retain 2% of all the information we are exposed to after 48 hours. Familiarity refers to people knowing the kind of work you are looking for and keeping that information in the front of their consciousness when an opportunity to refer you presents itself. Sending out resumes only creates awareness unless there is a need, AND your resume grabs the reader’s attention. With the average job ad receiving 300+ responses, the chances of you getting past the awareness phase are slim. All things being equal, you have approximately a one in fifty chance of landing an interview. This may be a major reason only 20 to 30% of jobs are gotten by responding to ads.

To get to familiarity you must network. Not only must you network, but you need to routinely stay in touch with your network so that when opportunity presents itself yours is the first name that comes to mind. You will strike a chord with some of your network. This is known as an emotional response. These people will actively go out and promote you to their contacts rather than just wait for an opportunity to present itself. If this is achieved, you have built an effective marketing department whose size is only limited by the size of your network

That is why you are the CEO, and the job search is a full time endeavor.

Next up - the sales discussion - coming soon to a blog near you!