During the past several months, clients have approached us asking how to manage a stalled application process. Silence is unnerving for highly motivated executives with the kinds of backgrounds that would have guaranteed a quick hire just a couple of years ago. The current hiring processes, protocols and timelines seem baffling. This article outlines ways you can cope effectively with today’s hiring climate.
I. WINNING ATTITUDES
Understanding the Economy
We are operating in a time of relative economic constriction in which downsizing and workforce reduction are commonplace. Some organizations continue to hire at the executive level while many others experience some kind of a downturn. Migration patterns contribute to shifting hiring patterns as job availability ebbs and flows. If you are a job-seeker, uncertainty translates into angst.
De-Personalizing the Process
Relax and accept the market with humor. Several factors contribute to the current scenario. Employers are so swamped by applications that they have given up acknowledging individual submissions. Only short-listed candidates are asked for interviews — and this might come via text over the weekend. If you have not heard anything in two weeks, assume the company passed on your application.
Understand How Technology Can Help You
Text messaging and web-based profiles expand the search process. (We will be writing more about this). Do not expect a phone call notifying you about an upcoming appointment. Instead, a terse text may give you directions to the meeting. Each and every exchange tells your employer something about your ability to think, organize and respond. Likewise, all information you post on the Web is fair game for a prospective employer. (We will publish ways in which you can manage the “Web Reference” process.)
Even employers who prefer traditional recruitment methods now use them differently. Some use “Job Fairs” to fill senior leadership roles. In such situations, rely on your self-confidence, good judgment and tact to impress your interviewer.
Creating New Possibilities
Key pieces of the search process are within your control:
- Understand personal connections are the key to job success in this market;
- Reach out to colleagues and associates in the US and abroad who have valuable networks;
- Create new networks that work better for you in your search. (This may involve joining professional organizations aligned with your job search and moving well beyond your existing frame of reference to embrace both related and completely new spheres); and
- Embrace emerging industries.
II. MAINTAINING STRUCTURE
Structure and routines help keep you in peak performance mode.
Physical Fitness
Without regular trips to the office and work travel, you may find yourself spending more sedentary hours browsing job-search sites and putting together applications. Exercising several times a week helps ensure you are in peak physical condition. Now may be a good time to schedule medical exams. Self-care equals productivity.
Mental Fitness
When you identify fields on which to focus, be aggressive about getting up to speed on them. Review articles on the Web. Attend Webinars, classes and programs. Online learning can be budget friendly. Interview colleagues actively involved in those areas of interest to you. Attend seminars, workshops and professional meetings involving the new industries. Learn the language. Speak like a player. Fully engage your mind in the enterprise.
The Value of Routines
Evening classes, professional clubs, associations and workgroups all provide informative opportunities to keep definition and purpose in your week. Keep positive movement in your life at this time. Despair tends to flourish in the absence of clear goals and deadlines. Structure helps you control and energize your search time table.
Last updated on December 17th, 2009 at 08:39 am
It is an employers market now. Everyone and their grandmother is looking for a job right now and employers have their pick of the lot and will wait for the cream of the crop. The competition is tight and it takes extra effort to get noticed in the vast sea of applicants.
Think about what makes you unique and what makes you stand out from the herd. With more people applying for the same positions, the paper work and the interviewing process for one job takes much longer than it used to. Less support staff also means a longer processing time. Be patient and understand the market and the economy. Times have changed.
It may take more than just a couple of weeks for a recruiter or search committee to process all the applications received. Two weeks is a good benchmark, but it is not unheard of for candidates to get the first call several weeks after submitting an application.