But the Internet, and even the job boards, can be a valuable tool in your search. So the following are some practical tips:
- Over 50% of the Jobs Posted on the Boards are Posted Directly by the Company. Don’t submit a blind resume to some unknown HR or staffing person. Instead now that you know there is a position, make a couple of calls into the company and find out who the hiring manager is. They are the one with the “pain,” not the HR person.
- Use Online Sources like Hoover’s, D&B, and Harris. These are the ones top sales people use in developing a strategy for selling to firms. Hoovers provides you a free trial, as I am sure others do. And you can download information from Hoovers directly to a spreadsheet. In fact, they encourage it. And if you don’t want to pay for the subscription, these are all still available at the library for free.
- If the Hiring Manager is in an Executive Position or even one just below that, put their name into Google or one of the other search engines to gather information about them. Many times you can also discover professional affiliations or alma maters where you will know someone. This will lead you to someone who can network you into the individual.
- Look at Industry Trade Shows and Their List of Speakers. If the hiring person you think you need is not listed but someone else from that company is, call them and strike up a conversation. Then use them to network into the proper hiring authority.
- Subscribe to LinkedIn. The basic service is free. When you join, take a couple of hours and look at its functionality. They even have classes for new and existing users. Many good recruiters and other business executives use this site. It is a great way to network. And don’t forget to continue to use it after you find a job. It is a good way to make business connections and “do deals”.
- Post on Professional Organizations. If you are in a job that has a very developed, professional organization, such as project managers, engineers, and fundraisers, use their websites to post if they provide that service. The sites are very specialized, and focused and good recruiters and some hiring companies know it. Any niche board is a better bet than the “big boards”.
- Forget the Personal Website-Based Resumes, Videos, etc. That great Buckeye Woody Hayes once said, “Three things can happen when you pass, and two of those are bad.” The numbers around this vehicle are even more exponential. No hiring manager is going to take that much time.
- Do Research on Companies. This would seem like a duh, but many people forget it. With the world wide web, you can know even more about the company than the CEO and CFO combined. Most web news sites like Forbes and CNN, will allow you to subscribe for free to services that will send you any news articles they run on the company.
- Subscribe to AT&T Internet Service. If you are an AT&T Internet customer, you get a Yahoo account with it that allows you to check your AT&T account from anywhere. I’m not trying to promote AT&T, but because of their relationship with Yahoo, they might have the most ubiquitous and easiest to access service of any major ISP.
- Use Zaba Search. There are a lot of directory search engines, but there is one that most non-business people don’t know about. It is called Zaba Search. I have found it to be more inclusive and more accurate than any other directory search I have used.
My last tip is, “Don’t get bogged down by the Internet.” It is very easy to get lost 8, 10, or 12 hours a day on it. You still have to make a lot of calls, have a lot of networking meetings, and go on “real” interviews. So use it wisely.
About the Author
Bill Gaffney has 16 years of experience as an executive recruiter and as a career coach. Bill can be reached at 937-567-5267 or wmgaffney@prodigy.net. For questions, please e-mail askamaxa@yahoo.com. He would be happy to respond any questions submitted in the areas of careers or career search. For your weekly humor dose, click here.
