By John Seraichyk - Browning Associates
Job Hunting? Dont Take Maybe for an Answer
Job Hunting?
Don’t Take Maybe for an Answer
I am incessantly astounded by the number of execs I speak with that will take the time to painstakingly develop a stellar résumé, submit it to the company of their dreams and rather than initiating an aggressive follow up call; they are typically insulted when nobody calls them back!
Your job search cannot endure without a daily measure of NO’s
If you are presently unemployed and your earning potential is $200k annually; it is costing you $769.00 in lost wages per work-day to conduct your search….Therefore, if you scrutinize your job search strictly from a business perspective, each day of unemployment is sinking your biz to the tune of $4,000.00 per week or $16,000.00 per month!
GOT NO’s?
The length of your job search is not determined by market conditions, salary requirements, geography preferences or restrictions and/or by your specific skill set! No; the time it takes to generate the perfect job offer is only determined by the number of “NO’s” you receive per day.
Before you proceed to understand what qualifies as a NO, let’s look at what a “NO” is not.
These MAYBES don’t count!
You apply to a company, receive a polite form letter or email saying “thanks we’ll let ya know!” They are saying “know”, not No!
You honor your follow up commitment as stated in your introductory letter by means of actually mustering the audacity to place a follow up call (a damn follow up email doesn’t count)…The admin says your contact is too busy right now; you plan on calling back and you usually don’t! This is another one for the maybe file! Remedy: Place 3-5 more follow up calls, ask for a YES or a NO and call me in the morning!
You submit the perfect resume for the perfect job which you are perfectly qualified for and to your absolute amazement; they don’t call you back... You scratch your head, let go of another precious hunk of your all so necessary self-confidence and return to the black hole (Web) in search of another place that will tell you MAYBE! And so on and so forth…
You amass the bravery to call an old friend presently employed at XYZ Company. He doesn’t call you back, or worse, he sees you at your kid’s soccer game and ducks into a nearby alleyway... If your dim voicemail said you were looking for a job and he doesn’t have one, he’ll hide because he has no job for you today…..Asking for industry advice or to converse with another thought leader on your level as a means of simple networking is the key; asking for a job is a one way ticket to the HR MAYBE machine…
You attend an amazing 5 hour interview with the company of your dreams. HR calls the next day and says “we will be in touch before next Friday.” Next Friday comes and goes and they don’t call… You assume the worst, wait two weeks and place a halfhearted call to HR leaving a halfhearted jail mail (voicemail)….Or worse, because you think you have this one in the bag, you do nothing and nothing happens and it was all for nothing and you are now another 4 weeks ( $16,000.00) deeper in lost wages!
The recruiter is frothing at the mouth on Monday and by Tuesday the FBI couldn’t find him;
you go away peacefully!
You sent your resume, you have left 5 VM’s and your call has not been returned… you go away peacefully!
Now, go back and make a list of all the companies that have shunned you with a big fat Maybe. smile, dial, and move those MAYBES to your NO file. The sooner you do, the sooner you will find the ever illusive YES!
Here is what you job search needs to look like:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES
Don’t Take Maybe for an Answer
I am incessantly astounded by the number of execs I speak with that will take the time to painstakingly develop a stellar résumé, submit it to the company of their dreams and rather than initiating an aggressive follow up call; they are typically insulted when nobody calls them back!
Your job search cannot endure without a daily measure of NO’s
If you are presently unemployed and your earning potential is $200k annually; it is costing you $769.00 in lost wages per work-day to conduct your search….Therefore, if you scrutinize your job search strictly from a business perspective, each day of unemployment is sinking your biz to the tune of $4,000.00 per week or $16,000.00 per month!
GOT NO’s?
The length of your job search is not determined by market conditions, salary requirements, geography preferences or restrictions and/or by your specific skill set! No; the time it takes to generate the perfect job offer is only determined by the number of “NO’s” you receive per day.
Before you proceed to understand what qualifies as a NO, let’s look at what a “NO” is not.
These MAYBES don’t count!
You apply to a company, receive a polite form letter or email saying “thanks we’ll let ya know!” They are saying “know”, not No!
You honor your follow up commitment as stated in your introductory letter by means of actually mustering the audacity to place a follow up call (a damn follow up email doesn’t count)…The admin says your contact is too busy right now; you plan on calling back and you usually don’t! This is another one for the maybe file! Remedy: Place 3-5 more follow up calls, ask for a YES or a NO and call me in the morning!
You submit the perfect resume for the perfect job which you are perfectly qualified for and to your absolute amazement; they don’t call you back... You scratch your head, let go of another precious hunk of your all so necessary self-confidence and return to the black hole (Web) in search of another place that will tell you MAYBE! And so on and so forth…
You amass the bravery to call an old friend presently employed at XYZ Company. He doesn’t call you back, or worse, he sees you at your kid’s soccer game and ducks into a nearby alleyway... If your dim voicemail said you were looking for a job and he doesn’t have one, he’ll hide because he has no job for you today…..Asking for industry advice or to converse with another thought leader on your level as a means of simple networking is the key; asking for a job is a one way ticket to the HR MAYBE machine…
You attend an amazing 5 hour interview with the company of your dreams. HR calls the next day and says “we will be in touch before next Friday.” Next Friday comes and goes and they don’t call… You assume the worst, wait two weeks and place a halfhearted call to HR leaving a halfhearted jail mail (voicemail)….Or worse, because you think you have this one in the bag, you do nothing and nothing happens and it was all for nothing and you are now another 4 weeks ( $16,000.00) deeper in lost wages!
The recruiter is frothing at the mouth on Monday and by Tuesday the FBI couldn’t find him;
you go away peacefully!
You sent your resume, you have left 5 VM’s and your call has not been returned… you go away peacefully!
Now, go back and make a list of all the companies that have shunned you with a big fat Maybe. smile, dial, and move those MAYBES to your NO file. The sooner you do, the sooner you will find the ever illusive YES!
Here is what you job search needs to look like:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES
(notice you don’t see the word MAYBE anywhere?)
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