"I've literally never had to look for a job - until now. I didn't know where to begin. You took an otherwise intimidating experience and showed me that it didn't need to be. Your professionalism and follow through are to be commended. You've opened my eyes to career options I didn't know existed."
Barbara Koon,
Operations Manager
Food Merchandising Service
Advertised Openings - Selecting, Responding & Getting Results
Advertised openings or online job listings are the most common and most readily available source of job opportunities used by most job-seekers. However, you should be aware that advertised openings only reflect about 15% of all jobs filled (according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics). So, while you can't simply rely on the help-wanted ads to find a job, you still should review them ? at least once a week (on Sunday).
The three keys to properly and productively tapping this source are:
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Be selective. You cannot afford to invest 100% of your job search efforts in pursuing only 15% of the available opportunities. Learn what to look for and what to avoid in deciding which advertised opportunities merit a response at all, so you're not "spinning your wheels." You can keep yourself quite busy with this, but with few results if you can't be more selective. More on this to follow.
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Be competitive. Since everybody can and often does respond to advertised openings because of their easy access, you need to package and present your response in such a way that you will create a distinctive first impression. Remember, you only have one chance to create that first impression through a brief, assertive cover letter accompanying a distinctive résumé format. When properly done, this will separate you from the crowd in a positive way, thereby assuring your résumé is at the top of the pile, not lost in the shuffle. Details to follow.
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Be diligent. Follow-up with an appropriate contact person whenever possible. This won't always be possible as there are so many "blind" ads placed to prevent exactly this. Sometimes you'll know the employer, but not who the decision-maker is. Worst case, you can always follow-up with the Human Resources Department, but as a former HR Director, I advise you to avoid this whenever possible. A little detective work can generally produce the right person to speak with. See what follows for more suggestions.
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