By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
I was recommended to write an article about how people sabotage their job search.
Here’s what I submitted to the reporter, who chose to use my comments about the job description:
1. You only apply for jobs: Current statistics show that most jobs are filled through networking. This results in
2. You’re not maintaining your network. It feels awkward to rekindle those feelings about former friends, colleagues, and managers. You don’t want to look like “one of those people.”
3. You never spend time promoting yourself. “Who knows you?” is one of the questions I ask people because usually it’s a small circle People who have worked with them. Regularly writing and reviewing online, speaking publicly, and being interviewed on podcasts and YouTube channels will help more people get to know you so that you are seen as an expert and can be found on Google when recruiters are trying to find someone.
4. Use a generic resume instead of customizing it. A broken watch might be right twice a day, but a mediocre resume won’t lead to as many interviews.
5. You believe that the ad or job description you saw is accurate and what they are looking for. Job descriptions are at best 80% accurate. They are typically agency documents used to fill such prior positions and are rarely updated. You need to learn about the position early in the interview or screening call so you know what they are really looking for.
Sabotaging Your Job Search: Lukewarm References
6. Your personality is paralyzed. In order to appear “professional,” you turn yourself into a “me too” candidate—someone as impersonal as everyone else. If you were like everyone else, how could they decide to choose you other than by chance? After all, more often than not, your competitors are just as qualified as you are.
7. You don’t project confidence in your abilities. When managers recruit, they want to feel confident that you are the solution they need. Your lack of confidence causes them to distrust your abilities.
8. You didn’t prepare for the interview. Companies ask some predictable questions during interviews. Practice answering these questions and be prepared to talk about what you do and how you do it. Don’t just think about your answer in advance. Speak up.
9. You think they start negotiating when they make a job offer. In fact, they start negotiating from the first time any question about compensation is raised. Postpone and deflect answers to the question of what you’re looking for until you meet with a real decision-maker, not just a screener.
10. There are always other ways to get an interview. Alex Banayan wrote an interesting book called The Third Door in which he uses the metaphor of a nightclub. There was a line of people waiting to get in, there was a back door, and you were escorted in. The third door is the one in the alley. You have to knock for 10 minutes before someone opens the door. When people tried to be interviewed, they were too nice.
Ⓒ Big Game Hunters, Asheville, NC 2024
Job Search Mistake – Relying Only on Recruiters
About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter is a coach and has been a recruiter for a hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of No BS Job Search Advice Radio, the #1 job search podcast on iTunes with over 2,000 episodes, and is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
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