Happy 2015 to all you job seekers and those actively hiring or considering it. January, 2015 should be a big deal. Why? Because January is always the busiest time of the year for new hiring. The fact that the stock market just hit an all time high isn’t going to hurt either. The phenomenal growth of the industry guarantees it.
I’ve been recruiting in the emerging technologies arena for over 20 years. Hiring in the first quarter of the year usually exceed the next 3 quarters combined. If you are seeking a better opportunity, are concerned about your company’s long term viability, or just know it’s time to move on, then, it is time to get ready.
As you might expect, your skills in preparation will be a determining factor in your success or failure.
The first thing you need to consider is why you would consider making a change. Why? Because it is a question you will be asked universally. Next comes your resume. How does it read now? Are you telling others what you do, how you do it or how great you are doing it. If you are using your resume inside the industry you are in, assume that the readers know what you do just from the job title. How you do it is about the same unless you really do things differently. Telling them how good you are is what differentiates you and what gets the reader’s attention.
Who are the companies out there that will have an interest in what you do and how well you are doing it? Between Google and LinkedIn, you should be able to identify at least 80% of those companies. What or how do I approach the market? There are tons of job boards and job aggregators out there. Replying to their posts may keep you busy, but will probably not be how you meet your next employer. Posting your resume/availability on highly specialized job boards, like ours, can be very successful. Healthcare IT may be a fairly broad topic but in the general scheme of things, it’s minute. Lastly, is networking. Using networking and job boards like ours will increase your odds of finding what you want. Add a specialty recruiter to the mix and you should be a winner. That is if you have prepared yourself well.
In any interview process, it is in vogue for someone, usually HR, to screen you with a behavioral interview. “Tell me about a time …” I find it impossible to be objective about these. Firstly, they are totally subjective. Secondly scoring them is totally subjective. Because they are subjective but still considered meaningful, they have become part of many/most college curriculums. People who have taken these courses were trained in answering the questions. If you are 40 or older, those courses were probably not offered to you leaving you at a marked disadvantage. If you can find a course offering somewhere, take it. If not there are many, many sites on the internet that list the most common questions and how to answer them. Like a good Boy Scout, be prepared.
Because it is the “season” for new employment, you need to do some extensive planning, and you need to move quickly. LinkedIn is a great place to identify industry professional that you do not know and may have a need. Contacting previous business superiors or peers can be a great way of finding a need. Peers that do what you do usually know if their company has relevant openings.
Then there are job boards like ours or ours specifically. There are 2 types of people posting on our site. You, the job seeker and from the company side the candidate seeker (employer). Of the candidate seekers there are also 3 different methods they use our site. One is to post their openings. Second is the one who only wants access to our candidate data base and the third is the one totally committed and using both.
Lastly, almost any company that wants to speak with you is going to ask for your most up to date resume. If possible, find a copy of their job posting and craft a new resume that is created specifically for that job function. No fufu. Address what they want, don’t address what they don’t want and prove to them that you have the ability to perform the job function and have the skills they feel you need to do it. A quick note on cover letters. Some resume pundits say they are mandatory. Others say they are a total waste of time. There are courses and for charge professionals on the net who can teach you how to write them. All well and good, but in my 20+ years in recruiting I have never met a recruiter or hiring manager who actually reads them. You decide.
Iron your suits, sports jackets and dress shirts. Polish your shoes and get at it. It’s a short hiring season and the most important.
