Use the Side Door To Enter This Tough Job Market

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-dowdhiggins/use-the-side-door-to-ente_b_844313.html

Quiethawk wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-dowdhiggins/use-the-side-door-to-ente_b_844313.html

With the new realities of this job economy you can't rely on posted positions to land career opportunities. Innovation, creativity and strategic thinking are the most sought after competencies by employers, so use these skills to get into organizations where the front door is clearly locked. A side door entry is possible and will distinguish you as a resilient career builder that found an alternative route.

Some employers don't want to post openings because they will be flooded with applicants, many of whom are just fishing for any opportunity. Hiring managers have gone back to the basics of hiring who they know and who they trust based on network referrals. You need to be seen and heard on the inside of organizations in order to get noticed and to be taken seriously.

Quiethawk wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-dowdhiggins/use-the-side-door-to-ente_b_844313.html

Since the hidden job market represents up to 90% of positions that are never posted, you can use these strategies to get yourself into organizations and to become recognizable as a valuable hire.

The Informational Interview is a tried and true technique that works for students and professionals alike. By requesting information from a person in an organization, preferably someone with whom you have some common ground, you are non-threatening. Nothing is worse than outright asking your contact for a job. But people love to talk about themselves and by using the informational interview you will have an opportunity to learn about the person, the organization, and to describe your strengths and potential value-add when the conversation eventually shifts towards you.

mrgolf wrote:

Quiethawk wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-dowdhiggins/use-the-side-door-to-ente_b_844313.html

Since the hidden job market represents up to 90% of positions that are never posted, you can use these strategies to get yourself into organizations and to become recognizable as a valuable hire.

The Informational Interview is a tried and true technique that works for students and professionals alike. By requesting information from a person in an organization, preferably someone with whom you have some common ground, you are non-threatening. Nothing is worse than outright asking your contact for a job. But people love to talk about themselves and by using the informational interview you will have an opportunity to learn about the person, the organization, and to describe your strengths and potential value-add when the conversation eventually shifts towards you.

Volunteer your way into the company. This is a great way to research career fields you have no experience with. If you are pursuing a career transition, or simply have not landed your dream position, being an unpaid professional can allow you see things from the inside to help you find the right match. Volunteering has been a standard practice for students and now with the returnship model for non-students, volunteering is a career development strategy for all.

Quiethawk wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-dowdhiggins/use-the-side-door-to-ente_b_844313.html

It's easy to get down about the job search when opportunities are rarely, if ever posted. But you can take this opportunity to enter organizations through an alternative door and distinguish yourself amongst the masses as one who is industrious and willing to go beyond the job boards to find opportunities.

The job search is still a full-time endeavor and whether you are an entry-level hire, a seasoned professional or a career changer, meeting people face-to-face is always the best way to make a lasting positive impression. You need an opportunity to tell your personal strengths story and explain your value-add proposition. So if the front door is locked -- find a side door and use your creativity and strategic thinking to get inside and show your professional best.

Lots of good ideas there, thanks for posting

Need2Bworking wrote:Lots of good ideas there, thanks for posting

There are some good ideas. We are in a very unconvential job market

Honestly, all of my serious interviews have been via "side doors".

The job postings at best netted cattle calls!

What's with the "interview by e-mail" now? I've had 2 companies start an e-mail exchange - answer these three questions, then another set, then another. BTW, these are all legit companies - local, established, I checked them out.

It has been for a long time not what you know but who you know. I knew a lot of people but they were all cutting back and not expanding

mrgolf wrote:It has been for a long time not what you know but who you know. I knew a lot of people but they were all cutting back and not expanding

Yep. That's the problem.

anyoldname wrote:

mrgolf wrote:It has been for a long time not what you know but who you know. I knew a lot of people but they were all cutting back and not expanding

Yep. That's the problem.

I can relate to that big time - I know so many lawyers and a lot of my friends/acquaintances are legal secretaries - there are just no positions available - all law firms are making due with the support staff they currently have and are not hiring any additional support staff. They do hire lawyers and the existing support staff are just assigned more and more work. My sister-in-law is now working for 5 people - even though most of the younger group of lawyers nowadays do their own typing - you still have to enter their time into a time/billing system, answer their phones, make phone calls, prepare the court filings on-line (most of the courts now will only accept filings this way and just want a courtesy copy of what you are filing), make copies, put packages together for clients, etc., so on and so forth. Legal secretaries are still needed, however, the lawyers do a lot of their own work. The old-timers still want to depend on a warm body and need to be "taken care of".