2017 Job Tips! Old School Rules
Every year there are predictions for every industry imaginable. What’s going to be hot? What’s new? What’s the latest trend? Well as it relates to the job search the biggest question should be, what works?
My friend Hannah Morgan aka Career Sherpa asked me and bunch of other well respected resume writers, career coaches and job experts what was new for 2017. You can read the entire article here.
I predicted mailing resumes would be big. I felt like an outlier with that response but like anything I do and say, it is not based solely on my opinions alone. I had read an article about a lady who sent out pain letters to employers, explaining her hard luck story and she actually got a job. I wrote about it here.
I’m not a fan of using emotional hard luck or bad luck stories because I believe that you should get a job based on your merit; skills, experience, education, abilities and personality. However, I thought that the process of mailing was different because now everyone and their mother sends their resume electronically. I asked a few of my trusted friends who are Hiring Managers, HR Professionals and Recruiters and they all said it would catch their attention and they would welcome it as long as it was professional.
Automation has taken over recruiting entirely. In fact, I cannot tell you how many people think they are Recruiters simply because they have LinkedIn and Facebook. There is a lot more that goes into recruiting than Facebook – things like talent evaluation, recruiting sources, talent communities, talent assessments, and fit. Being an effective recruiter is about being a brand ambassador, a good listener, a seller, a good negotiator, and a savvy developer of talent pipelines.
Back to the main point, with recruiters jumping on LinkedIn because it’s efficient, and job seekers using job boards and aps because it’s quicker – there is an opening for those take time to print off their resume and cover letters and mail them out. Or better yet, print the resume and write a hand-written cover letter and send them off to perspective employers.
It works folks:
Recently a former resume client called me to provide an update on his situation, well during that conversation he told me about a friend of his who sends out resumes and cover letters through the mail and he gets a higher response rate than using the internet.
Why it works:
- It’s different. You stand out.
- It shows off your professionalism, communication and writing skills.
- It breaks the monotony of the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s day (in a good way).
- It’s not cold and impersonal.
- It’s gutsy and people love to see that sort of thing.
No matter your career level, this could work for you but first let’s make sure your resume is updated and ready to be seen.
Let’s get started, email me [email protected]
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