Cold, Hard Truth for Jobseekers

This one is for jobseekers. Sharks, join in the discussion if you have more to add. But I get frustrated every time I hear so-called career coaches dole out bad advice on TV or in a blog. Here are a few insider tips. Warning: some of it is not upbeat and hopeful.

1. Never pay anyone to distribute your resume. Those services are scams.
2. This is not the time to switch careers. There are too many good, experienced folks on the market. Few companies are interested in hiring newbies, when seasoned professionals are available.
3. Write a cover letter. A well-written cover letter customized for the job. It may make no difference at all. But it may make all the difference in the world.
4. Don't send your resume via snail mail. It makes you look old-school, limits the exposure you will get and poses a compliance problem. When no one is looking, a recruiting coordinator will throw it away, because he/she doesn't know where to file it, or how to scan it.
5. The "black hole" demystified: Most mid- to large- companies (and many small companies) keep resumes in a massive database. They also subscribe to the job board databases (and pay a hefty price to do so). Recruiters and sometimes hiring managers search these databases when there aren't any top internal or referral candidates. Timing, keyword relevance and the number of similar resumes determines whether or not your resume shows up in search results.
6. Recruiters and managers do read resumes. They do so very quickly. The BS sensors are turned on "high". Tell me your company, your title, your responsibilities and what you accomplished in chronological order. Do not tell me about your personality traits. Everyone is a "team player" on a resume. Telling me so doesn't make you stand out. Makes you sound too eager to please. I want to know if you achieved your sales goals and in what context. I want to know if you shipped the widget on time. Don't tell me you were 100% perfect. I won't believe you.
7. Get someone you know and respect to refer you. This is your best shot.
8. If you don't have a real network of people you know, have lunch or drinks with, who know your work, you're up a creek without a paddle. This is why relationships are important. If you lose your job, and suddenly turn to LinkedIn or Facebook to build your network, you're in trouble. If you lose your job and you're already in my LinkedIn or Facebook, I will try to help you.
9. Are you an A-player? Be honest. If you're not, it will take longer to find a job.
10. Your demeanor, what you wear, not slurping over lunch, your attitude when answering interview questions, all of these superficial things are important. Get several tell-it-like-it-is people in your life to offer critiques. Listen to them.
11. You may be forced to take a pay cut or title cut. Suck it up. It's a buyer's market.
12. So you see a job and the job description matches you to a T. You never get called. WTF? Because job descriptions are often recycled and don't tell the real story. Fact of life.
13. Keep at it. Persistence (but not stalking) pays off. Here are a few ways I have found and hired candidates:

• Candidate was referred by a senior person
• Candidate was referred by a junior person
• Searched a candidate database, looked at the first 20 results, selected the best of the bunch for interviews, hired the person who seemed most likely to succeed
• Searched the Internet for speakers, bloggers, committee members, people quoted in articles, etc.
• Searched social networking sites, especially LinkedIn
• Advertised on job boards, websites, association sites, etc.
• Met the candidate at a conference or event, on a plane, in line at the Target at a cocktail party, found the business card at the bottom of my purse months later
• Yelled over the cube for help from a colleague
• Opened my email and the perfect candidate just happened to be there

As you can see, hiring can be a totally random process. That's because of the volume. There are many, many people and few jobs. Then you add criteria and assessments and team environment and salary and it becomes a crapshoot, with similar odds. If you play craps long enough, though, you will win. You will.