Lazy or Un-Informed?

Job Search is hardly a DIY (Do It Yourself) project today.  Well, it can be, I suppose, if you have a natural inclination for building relationships and learning.  If you have never installed a faucet, tile floor, or hung wall paper, I doubt your first attempt would turn out as well as if it had been done by a professional.  So what would you have to do to make it turn out better?  Would you get a book from the library?  Google the project?  Ask a friend for advice?  Perhaps all of these or perhaps hire a professional.

As you probably figured out, finding a job is much more than reading the Help Wanted section of the newspaper (the WHAT?).  It is much more than posting for jobs on-line too.  It is a process.  It requires a plan.  It requires a lot of work.

GL Hoffman's recent post Are We Sanctioning Laziness in the Un-Employed?asks why the un-employed aren't spending more time in job search.  He sites the DOL figure that job seekers spend on average 18 minutes a day. WHY only 18 minutes a day when there is so much to do?

One answer is that the new job seeker is un-informed.

You can't start a job search by polishing your resume today.  Having a resume is just a small part of the process.  You need a plan.  Who will you distribute this resume to?  Oh, by the way, you will have to customize your resume for each and every employer and job you submit it to.  I still run into new and old job seekers who haven't heard this before.  How is that possible?  I'll cut them some slack.  Losing a job has a way of zapping the brain of even the most intelligent people. 

If you are determined to job search like a pro, read up on what it is going to take.  I love the libraries, but most books I've seen in libraries were published pre-2005. The job search landscape has changed and so have the rules of engagement. Read blogs.  On my sidebar, I've listed some of my favorite experts.  My Alltop page lists excerpts from the top career experts too.

Help those you know who are new to job search by recommending good reading. 

Let's make 2010 the year of the informed job seeker or better yet, the year of the informed career manager.

Do you have ideas on how to help the un-informed?  How can we get them the message earlier that they need to do more to manage their career?

Comments

[Career Sherpa]

Tim, sad but true. May 2010 be a terrific year for you and Spin Strategy!

[Tim Tyrell-Smith]

Hi Hannah - Hard to believe there are so many job seekers out there in the "uninformed" camp. But we both meet them every week, right? I guess we just need to keep writing and sharing our ideas! All the best to you in 2010!