Afolabi Akindele
In the second part of the hidden job market series, I emphasized why you must embrace the HJM methods. In case you have not identified with the benefits, let me give you more reasons why the traditional job search method does not work. After this, I will give you what to do to break away from the current pattern of job search.
I have already told you that only a small fraction of open positions are published, so it is to your disadvantage to depend solely on this market where demand is higher than supply.
The high imbalance in the supply and demand ratio in the traditional job market sometimes put on job seekers the pressure to stand out by trying goofy gimmicks. Sometimes job seekers go overboard in standing out of the pack and eventually end up looking stupid to the potential employer. For instance, you don’t want to assume you would be outstanding by sending a colorful resume. You can avoid this pressure in the hidden job market.
You may not believe this, but guess what? It is true. Resumes are sometimes a necessary evil; they give people reasons to screen you out more than welcome you in for further discussion. Apart from the fact that not so many people are good at preparing a winning resume, resumes are about your past and the job is about your future and the future of the organization and how you can help each other get there. The HJM method gives you the opportunity to introduce your potential to the company you might want to work for. When you use the HJM method, you are a person in the mind of the hiring manager, not just a piece of paper like thousands of others waiting to be read and screened.
The worst thing you can do is to blindly send your resume to recruitment agencies and expect that they will do the job searching and door opening for you. If you embrace the HJM using the method that we will be teaching, you will be the driver of your own luck.
In order for you to break free from the hold of the traditional job search method, you need to challenge the status quo.
I like this quote from Alan Cohen;
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”
People have been found to not have achieved their dreams simply because they never dared to take actions. You cannot afford to live your life based on assumptions. I know you are probably thinking on some assumptions like the following that you think would not make the HJM method work for you;
– Nobody is going to want to talk to me, they are too busy or they don’t know me
– It is only insiders that get jobs in the hidden market. What if you become part of the insider? May be you can find out how
– It takes longer time to find a job this way than the traditional method
– Nobody would want to talk to me if am out of job.
Assumptions are what they are; unverified belief, they should be treated like that.
There are no quick fixes on how to break away from the traditional method of job search to get your dream job, it’s simply a process.
The first thing you need to do is to understand why you need to embrace the hidden job market method. I am very sure you have seen the reasons especially if you have read the previous two parts in this series. Are you still in doubt? Send me a line via info@myjobskills101.com.
Having understood why the traditional job search method is not supportive of your dream, you need to create a desire for the new method. You can do this by asking yourself a simple question; what is in it for me? People usually respond to change in major ways; open and willing to change; uncertain and hesitant about change; and close to change. You can help yourself to embrace change by providing answer to that question.
One of the factors that make people resist adopting a new method of doing things is lack of knowledge of how the new method works. To break away from the traditional job search method, you must know how the HJM method works. You need to acquire relevant skill that will help you in understanding how the new method works.
Knowledge of how the HJM method works is not enough; you also need the ability to implement the new method. Knowledge does not translate to ability; ability is the degree to which you can act on what you know. For instance, you know how to drive does not necessarily mean you can drive, you can even write a book on ‘how to drive a car’ but you still cannot drive yourself. Ability involves acting differently based on what you know, applying new methods and approaching your job search differently. To desist from the traditional method of job search, you need to develop the ability to apply the new method.
I will leave you with these words from Beverly Sills “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you never try.”
Do enjoy the rest of your week.
Akindele Afolabi
info@myjobskills101.com