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This is a guest post contributed by Eric Macias, an experienced executive recruiter. Eric advises many companies and individuals on the intricacies of the hiring and interview process. Check out several of Eric’s Latest Video Tips on job hunting and interview success.
The playing field has changed when looking for jobs. While utilizing your network and checking the newspaper used to be the standard, today technology has changed the face of the job hunt. These days, job seekers can check a particular company’s website or browse the classic job sites: Monster, HotJobs or CareerBuilder. Regional sites like Jobing are available as well as networking sites such as LinkedIn and Spoke. And now the next generation of websites is coming onto the scene in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the online job search. Some actually run searches across the web for all openings on the popular job boards – examples of these are Indeed and Juju. In a few months, ImEmployed.com will add a high level of efficiency to the online job search.
Even with all that is new in the job search market, knowing what companies are hiring is only half the battle, the 2nd half is getting your resume noticed from a virtual stack within HR’s inbox. As a recruiter, I am trained to locate the hiring manager by calling into the company and asking for the individual that is hiring for the position – some companies will tell you, others will not. If you are referred to HR, make sure they received your resume and if possible try to get yourself an interview. Should you get the hiring manager on the phone, be sure to get their contact information so you can follow up with a resume via email. Is this aggressive? Absolutely. Does it work? You’d better believe it! The next time you see a job posting, call into the company, identify the hiring manager and get your elevator speech ready. The goal at this point is not to get the job; it’s to get the interview.
In the HR inbox, the playing field is level. Pick up the phone and separate yourself from the pack.