Job Hunting over 50-part 2: The System is Broken

My first taste of the job hunt occurred at age 9. Then age 11. And once again at age 15.

No, this wasn’t a case of child labor law violations. Instead, my father was one who constantly climbed the corporate ladder and taught me that this was the way to make it to the top. My duty at those ages varied.

• At age 9, I stamped and licked dozens of envelopes going off to top chemical companies in the country (my dad was a chemical engineer with a Ph.D.)
• At age 11, I stamped, licked, and alphabetized the envelopes. Sometimes I alphabetized by company name, other times I alphabetized by city.
• By age 15, I was responsible for collating the cover letters (written by my mother) with the envelopes of which I typed the company address, return address, and then stamped and licked (on my own typewriter). It was at this time I was wise enough to know more about the country and whether or not I wanted to move to Norman, Oklahoma vs Tallahassee, Florida. (I remember cursing the areas I didn’t want to move to).

That was 40 years ago. By the time I was 22, I entered the job hunt process following my dad’s ingrained procedure.

And had poor results. I won’t go into the details about the past, but compared to the job hunt process today…

I think I prefer the “old-fashioned” way.

Why?

Because, from what I have learned and experienced, everyone “back then” had an equal chance of getting their application read. That is, if your envelope passed the first test—pristine formatting, spelling, and professionalism, followed by an intriguing cover letter.

Today, the picture is very different and involves a much more complicated process:

• Social media (especially LinkedIn)
• Online applications
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): a screening tool used by recruiters and corporations to screen candidates for a job—often before a human actually views the application.

Unless you master these processes, your chances of finding a job today, are extremely slim.

So what can be done?

First of all, here’s a hard fact from Michelle Mobley of noquo LLC:

• 1 to 3% of people land jobs through online applications.

Additionally, Michelle Mobley and Julie Bondy Roberts, MA a LinkedIn Profile Writer & Trainer, both agree the system is highly flawed.

• 75% of perfect candidates are overlooked due to the ATS. Most of the reasons are unrelated to the job description and the candidate.
• The online job application process is a time-sapping procedure that once again leaves the applicant at the mercy of the tracking software.

In order to improve your job hunting success, the process requires two primary activities:

1. Networking
2. Online presence

Yes, that means, regardless of age, you must be active and visible online if you expect to land a job. Similarly, if you are a business owner, these tips relate to attracting clients too. Julie Bondy Roberts recommends the following tips for those who are job-seeking, beginning their second act, or seeking a career change:

• Your primary activity should be dedicated to networking and building your brand.
• Update your profile—get clear and specific about your brand, your talents & strengths, and build conversations. Highlight your activities, expertise, and knowledge as it relates to the tasks you excel at.
• Share content on LinkedIn to show you “still got game”.
• Find what’s relatable to your ideal audience/companies and build conversations and discussions about it.
• Find online and local communities in your areas of interest which makes it easier for you to be found. Get involved in those communities by commenting and sharing.
• Be sure to like-share-comment on peers’ and related sites. The more they see you, the more they will think about YOU. (p.s. forget about the competition; there is plenty of business to go around and no one does exactly what YOU do the way YOU do it!)
• Create messaging that demonstrates how you solve problems—you never know who is watching and when their need becomes great enough to reach out to you.
• Use keywords and tags to highlight and expand your awareness. These keywords will expand beyond your current connections to others seeking similar keywords. For instance, my friend Fritz does an excellent job attracting conversations (and leads) with his LinkedIn activity:

*to view Fritz’s full discussion, click here.

• Research and follow the companies you want to work for; use your 1^st degree connections to put you in touch with decision makers. The more you know and get involved with key companies and people, the more you’ll enter their “talent pipeline” (see article link below), which means you’ll be higher on their list of considerations. As you build comfort, familiarity, and confidence around the process, narrow your search to the decision-maker.
• Implement the 6 degrees of separation: We are all ~6 contacts away from the person we seek. Ask those you know who they may know to help you grow (and likewise return the favor). This includes:
  • Connections & leads
  • Past & present clients
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Neighbors
  • Those within your community.
  • Grant Cardone, author of Sell or Be Sold, suggests reaching out to your enemies too!
  • Who else can you think of?
• Facing your fears: as long as you know your value and have solutions that will help others, leave the fear behind. Tough to do but pushing past your fears (comfort zone) takes you steadily into your growth zone (which is an exciting place to be!)

Every one of us, at one point or another, has sought a job or will seek a job. Whether you need it now or in the future, NOW is the time to be online because the process takes time. As long as you are constantly feeding your network, then opportunities will come your way.

Don’t wait until you are desperate.

Kristen Edens

**for more on this topic:

Job Hunting over 50, part 1: Busting the Myths

Three Ways to Convey You’re the Real Deal on LinkedIn by Julie Bondy Roberts

Talent Pipeline Case Study — Nestlé Purina Reaches an Amazing 43 Percent of Hires

photo credit: pixabay.com