The Complete Job Search Handbook
Job Searching Techniques
Answering Newspaper Ads
Although you should not spend the majority of your time doing so,
answering newspaper advertisements, or advertisements from any other
source, is an important part of your job search. Overall, the chance for
getting a job through an ad is not very great, but there are several rules you
can follow to increase your chances.
• Don’t avoid answering an ad because your qualifications don’t exactly
match those listed. The advertisement is meant to describe the “ideal”
candidate for the position, but this fictional person may not exist, may
not answer the ad, or may not be interested in the position even if
interviewed and offered the job. If your qualifications are close,
answer the ad.
• Always send a cover letter with your resume when responding to an ad.
• Ads that require salary history do so for a reason - to eliminate
candidates quickly and easily. This is the first criterion a hiring
authority will use to decrease the number of eligible resumes. You
don’t want to fall victim to this process of elimination before your
qualifications are even considered, so avoid giving specific salary
requirements by using one of two techniques:
1. Ignore the request entirely. The person who receives
your resume can only assume you forgot to include this
piece of information. If you don’t feel comfortable with
this technique, follow technique 2.
2. State your salary requirements in a large range, neither
overstating your requirements nor selling yourself short.
For instance, if you want to make $25,000, indicate your
salary range is from $20,000 - $30,000.
A word to the wise, don’t make the upper end of your
range too high - you could eliminate yourself from the
running. Along these same lines, however, you don’t
want to start your range too low, either. Assume you got
an interview and were offered a job originally paying
$30,000 to start. Will your potential employer offer you
$30,000? Probably not, since you said that you will work
for $20,000. Businesses are in operation to make money,
so the less they have to pay you, the better.
When discussing salary in response to an ad, it is always
good to include you are not so much interested in the
salary a particular job pays as the opportunities the
position holds.
• Always follow up a response to an ad with a phone call when possible.
Make the call within 5-10 working days for a local mailing and 10-15
days for an out-of-state location. Following up with a call shows you
are serious about the position, and you possess the confidence to make
a second contact. Don’t always assume that if you don’t receive a
response you are not being considered for the position. It is likely the
potential employer has been busy since receiving your resume (and the
resumes of 200 other candidates) to call anyone. By calling, you are
drawing attention to yourself and forcing the potential employer to pull
your resume out of the stack.
• If you are currently employed, especially by a large company, be very
careful when replying to ads that don’t list a company name but only a
P.O. Box (for instance, an ad may say: “Send your resume to P.O. Box
114, The LaPorte Herald Argus”). This may be your own company!
Even if they are not hiring, sometimes companies “go fishing,” which
means they put an imaginary job in the paper just to get a supply of
resumes to use when they are actually ready to hire.
• Check your local paper for job ads, but don’t stop there. Check
magazines, trade journals, and the PNC office of Career Development.
Also check newspapers from the larger cities in your area. Many
companies in small cities will advertise jobs in large city newspapers
because their ad will be seen by more people than a smaller newspaper.
The most important thing to remember about answering ads is not to base
your entire job search on this one method. The chances of finding the job
you really want are small.
Utilizing Personnel Agencies
Utilizing personnel agencies (also called “search firms” and “headhunting
firms”) is another method of job searching. A typical personnel agency will
interview you at their office, then set up interviews for you at the
companies actually hiring. Sometimes you must pay for this referral
service, but most of the time the hiring companies pay the agency if they
hire a person sent to them through the agency.
It is recommended you avoid agencies that require the job seeker to pay
fees. The chances of actually getting a position through this method are
small, and there are plenty of agencies in operation where the hiring
company pays any fees incurred. Either way, if you call an agency, be sure
to ask up front about fees, and sign a contract only after you completely
understand all of the facts.
Even if the company pays the fee, you should remain cautious. Remember,
in this situation, the recruiter sending you on interviews is a commissioned
salesperson whose first priority is not to you, but to the company paying
their fee. When called for an interview with a company, ask questions!
Don’t just blindly go on interviews (or temporary assignments if applicable)
without knowing exactly what you are interviewing for. You have a right
to ask questions and get straight answers. If you can’t get answers that are
to your satisfaction, refuse to go.
If you do chose to register with an agency, treat your recruiter with respect
until he/she illustrates they deserve otherwise. Keep in mind, they only
send candidates to interviews who are very professional and come across
well in the initial interview with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions,
and most importantly, don’t base your entire job search on this one
technique.
Now that you know what techniques you should NOT spend the majority of your time on, let’s move on to the key to job search success for most job seekers - networking.