The Biggest Mistake that Job Seekers Make (And How to Conduct a Successful Job Search)

Secrets of the Job Hunt lists what they think is the biggest mistake that job seekers make as follows:

In my experience, the biggest mistake that most job seekers make is in poor planning and improper expectations. Even with a well-done resume, often they are still not really prepared to launch an effective job search. They are ill advised on how to use their resume, and they are hoping against hope that all they have to do is throw their resume out there on Monster or TheLadders.com and the job of their dreams will fall into their lap. Unfortunately, it rarely works that way. A job search requires time, energy, and yes, even money. And you can waste all of those if you don't know how to conduct a good job search.

Here's my two cents:

1. Generally, I agree -- people usually don't have a plan. But even before that, they don't have the knowledge on how to conduct a proper job search. So most don't know the basics PLUS they don't have any sort of effective plan to make their search work if they did know the basics. As a result, many job searches flounder badly.

2. This begs the question "what are the basics?" Here's a quick list from me:

• Write a good resume that has a standard format and highlights your accomplishments. Then get your resume to everyone you know -- potential employers, friends, families, etc. Use your network!

• Once you get an interview, prepare for it so you can wow the interviewer and get an offer.

• After your interviews, follow-up with a thank you note. Yes, it can make a difference in your favor.

• Once you get a job offer, be sure to negotiate for the best salary you can. Simply taking a few extra minutes to raise your starting salary can pay off big. And be sure to consider total compensation, not just your starting salary.

• Once you get your new job, work towards being a successful employee. Once you establish your contributions to the company, you'll be in prime position to get a promotion or ask for a raise.

For more career-related tips, check out my pre-2008 career posts and my 2008 career posts. There are over 370 tips in these two categories -- plenty of suggestions for super-charging your career.

Comments

[MFK (Open-Source Career)]

I used to be a lurker but am now becoming more of a commenter, and I just want to say: I have really enjoyed your career posts over the last couple of years! I wholeheartedly agree that one's career and income-generating potential is one's best asset. Well, assuming one can EXECUTE one one's income-generating potential.

Thanks for the strategies, tactics & inspiration!

[Shaun Connell]

Wow, very nice. I have my afternoon filled now... ;-)

[poor boomer]

I feel like I'm throwing my resume out on TheAdders.com, where a bunch of snakes posing as employers are clustered.

[Bryan@BankerBryan]

These are some great tips, I especially like the third suggestion of sending a thank you note. I've only had one person that I interviewed ever send me a thank you note and it was so impressive to me that I pulled out their file for another review.

Such a small gesture and requires little effort to say "Thank you for giving me the opportunity..." If that gets your file read one more time, it definitely helps.