The Rules Have Changed

It used to be that companies who wanted to find good candidates for open positions would put out an ad either in the newspaper or, later as technology developed, on one of the job boards such as Monster or CareerBuilder. All of that is yesterday's news now.

Things are very different today in the job market. How companies and recruiters go about finding talent now is radically different than just a few years ago.

If you want to be seen and noticed today, the best way is to be passive about it. Yes, you read it correctly. The old way of marketing yourself was to put out your "billboard"...we called it a resume. In your resume you would very carefully arrange your information such as your contact numbers, email addresses, education, and work experience. It was sort of like putting out a billboard on the highway that says, "Hey, look at me!" and hoping for the best. Candidates would either post their resumes on the job boards or send them (snail mail or email) to prospective employers.

Today, we are in a very strong buyer's market, meaning that there are a lot more good people looking for jobs than there are good jobs for all of them. Finding qualified candidates is easy...but hiring organizations are looking for a lot more than just qualifications...and they are not looking for them on the job boards. If you want to be seen and noticed today, you should be focusing on making yourself noticable through the social and business networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why? Because, as I said, companies are looking for more than just qualifications. They want people who are not only qualified, but also who are a good culture fit for their organizations. They want to see what kind of person you are more than they want to see where you went to school, what skills you have, and where you have worked. It's not that those things are not important anymore...they are...but they are not enough to get you an interview! When companies see your profile on LinkedIn and Facebook, they want to see what you do for fun, how you write, and anything else that will tell them whether you would be a good addition to their team. In other words, they want to know whether they will like you before they will consider whether you can do the job.

So how do you make yourself attractive? It's called "Profile Management," which is describing yourself on these sites in such a way that (1) they find you as they search through your key words, phrases, and descriptions, and (2) you come across as the kind of person they would like to associate with in their organizations. It means cleaning up what is on your sites, making yourself visible, appearing professional (but not "stuffy")and putting in key words into your profile that will make you appear when they do searches on these sites. Hiring organizations today want to find you, rather than you finding them. They want people who are not looking (at least openly) for a job, who come across as someone who might listen to a great opportunity, but who isn't actively seeking one. As crazy as it sounds, the harder you try to openly and agressively market yourself in today's job market, the less success you are likely to have. To your benefit, when they find you rather than you finding them, it increases your leverage if talks get serious.

The resume is not dead, but it cannot be the only tool you use if you want to maximize your exposure to the job market. Many organizations still want to see a resume, but only after they have found you on one of the networking sites.

We can help you design your profile so that you will be noticed, as well as create a winning resume for you. It's the new way of marketing yourself in today's job market.

Contact us at (512) 732-2766 or via email (ken@austincareerservices.com) or via our website (www.austincareerservices.com).