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FAQ's: "Work" - Our Measure of Self, If Not Our Identity, is Who We Are At Work!
Advice and Solutions here come documented by standout authorities with supporting research and on-the-ground experience.
Q: Is any "work-search" technique more productive than another?
A: You bet! There are only eight work-search techniques in existence -- one produces up 85%-92% of the work you want; the other seven combined produce 8%-15% of the work you want. Numero Uno is Word of Mouth; the others are Print-Ads, Employment Agencies, Headhunters/Recruiters, Temp Agenicies, The Internet, Direct-Mail, and Cold-calls -- in that order. Eg: Internet job-search is the third least-productive technique you can use.
Q: How long should I expect my job-search to last?
A: First, today, your job-search should be continuous even if you have a good job so a light-duty seach is ongoing. If unemployed, however, you should be conducting a heavy-duty search. A heavy-duty search 'rule-of'-thumb' suggests that the length of your search will be approximately one month for every $10 thousand you expect in salary. Using a work-search coach or one of the good outplacement services, has been documented to cut the search time in less than half plus you land a position you really want opposed to taking the first job offered.
Q: Define light-duty search vs. heavy-duty search.
A: Light duty means that you are keeping your resume up-to-date both in content and following new trends in what knowlegeable employers expect to see. Resume writing -- both art and science -- can change almost as frequently as the technology around you. Light duty job-search means nourishing your network and staying up with industry/'business trends.
Heavy-duty job search, not for the faint of heart, is serious business! Frequently, HD job-search can be harder than the job you'll ultimately claim. Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that so-called heavy duty job searchers were averaging less than 10 job-search hours per week. My definition of heavy-duty job-search is a 35 hour week, every week, and that's the one that will cut your job-search time in less than half while landing you a 'choice' position. Payoff? Earning even one-week earlier than later is bonus $'s pocketed.
Q: My parents and their friends worked hard and kept jobs for 'life.' My friends move from job-to-job regularly. What's wrong with us?
A: Absolutely nothing is wrong with you! The workplace changed! Documented: the American worker, today, averages 15 job changes in a typical career. Average, five of those changes are in career fields. Your parents stayed in the same job for 25-30 years, you do the math to see what you can expect. That's why competent work-search skills might be your greatest asset. PLUS: as life-spans lengthen, you could have two 25 year careers.
Q: So, why is my high-school and college pushing me to make decisions for the rest of my life?
A: Excellent question! Young people today no longer have to -- in most situations* -- decide what to do for the rest of their lives or even 10 years downstream. If you're going to average 15 jobs in a typical career, you don't have to decide what to do forever, you only have to decide what to do first or next. That should take a ton of pressure off. You do, however, have to know what interests you, what you're good at, what your passions are...then, during your career you'll evolve through all the work situations that fire you up or you want to try. Frankly, bet your parents wish they'd had those opportunities.
* Doctors, for example, are not most situations.
Q: Speaking of my parents, my dad got laid off and he's devastated. What's he going to do?
A: First, let him know that the 50+ year old worker, today, is more in demand than ever in his/her life. Second, he, too, must develop job-search skills that become his greatest asset because even if he's 60+, he can still get laid-off several more times. Wisdom and problem-solving resourcefullness comes ONLY with experience. He's got experience, you don't; therefore, he'll likely land a good job faster than you will. He's got to get up-to-date, though, with his methods, techniques, and strategies. Not doing so tells a potential employer that he is not serious enough to prepare. Techniques, methods, strategies, and materials - today - don't look much like they did the last time he looked for work. Even if it was only 5-10 years ago.
Soapbox: Today, change occurs when the pain of the present exceeds the fear of the future. Actually, today is just a warm-up. Tomorrow promises us an even more complex world, a still faster rate of change; and, unless we learn to handle life with better skill, more stress than we ever dreamed.
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 | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink | Posted by The Peter Weil Group, Workforce Consultants and Career Coaches on Sunday, September 14, 2008 |
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