Why Being a Proactive Job Seeker is the Key to Your Next Career

Why Being a Proactive Job Seeker is the Key to Your Next CareerHave you ever thought about the way in which you conduct your job searchesor whether you are a reactive or proactive job seeker? You may have heard about being proactive versus reactive in your parenting style, such as when your kids make mistakesor in your workplace, being proactive about problem solving in advance, before issues can even arise. This principle also has a valuable place in how you conduct your job search.What is Reactive Job Searching?Being a reactive job seeker can mean that youre passively looking for a position, applying only when a position of interest crosses your field of vision. But, the more applicable meaning is that youre applying only to positions you see onlinemost likely on job boards or company websites youre reacting to (applying for) a position that is already posted.What is Proactive Job Searching?Being a proactive job seeker means that youre scouting out opportunities before they ever gr ace a job board or company website. This can be accomplished in many ways and is primarily referred to as accessing the hidden job market. Proactive job searching can include networking online or off, informational vorstellungsgesprching, cold calling, targeting employers, creating a direct mail campaign, utilizing a value aussage letter, or simply reaching out to employers about potential opportunities before they become public knowledge. The idea is that, by incorporating these methods, youre staying one step ahead of your competition.The Advantages of Being a Proactive Job Seeker The ultimate advantage of being a proactive job seeker is that you limit your competition. Youre finding roles before theyre ever public knowledgeso instead of competing against an entire army of job seekers you may be the only candidate being considered, or maybe one of only five versus 500. That puts the odds very much in your favor. Youre saving valuable time that you would have spent scouring job boa rdsand loads of frustration too. It can be stressful and overwhelming to see the perfect position online, to know youre the best candidate for the job, to apply and then never hear back. Unfortunately, searching job boards can feel like youre submitting applications into a black hole. You avoid the frustration. I hear from job seekers every day about the stress they experience when using job boards for their searches. That frustration inevitably turns into doubt and/or desperation as they start internalizing the lack of responses, and begin to believe that something must be wrong with them or their resumes. In reality, its typically elend an issue with the personits simply a numbers issue when youre one of 500 you tend to get lost in the crowd. No matter how much the well-meaning HR person on the other end of the applications means to choose the most-qualified individuals, after the 200th application, they can easily find themselves overwhelmed and inundated beyond their ability.Ho w Can I Become a Proactive Job Seeker?To become a proactive job seeker you need to scout out opportunities before they ever become public knowledge. Once the decision maker shares it with someone else in the office or HR it ceases to become a hidden job. So how can you find these hidden opportunities? Reach out to companies you admire and want to work for. You can do this several different ways connecting with current employees or decision makers on LinkedIn, finding out who you know that may already work there and asking for a referral, reaching out for an informational interview with someone who is in the role you would be interested in having some day and finding out how they got to where they are now. Or you could mail a copy of your resume and cover letter or value proposition letter to the company. Ask for information. Find someone you admire in a position you hope to have one day and ask to interview them for 5-15 minutes ask questions about how they became successful in thei r role, what got them to where they are, what advice would they have for someone like you who aspires to be in their shoes one day. fruchtwein people will take the time to talk if you make it brief and are considerate of their time. You can ask questions in-person over coffee if you know the person well, or in todays fast paced society you can try to arrange a 5-15 minute call or simply ask if you can send them three questions via e-mail. Write a value proposition letter. Value proposition letters have been proven in studies to have an 85% success rate securing employment in 90 days or less. If youve been job searching any length of time you know thats a phenomenal success rate. When done correctly a value proposition letter can open doors that networking and resumes may never be able to. Check out this information on value proposition letters to find out more and to see an example of what one looks like. Create a targeted direct-mail campaign in which you generate a list of all the companies within your area that youre interested in working for, put together a list of decision makers, and then mail them a copy of your resume and cover letter or value proposition letter. Ive heard some amazing success stories from top executives whove used this strategy and secured employment in less than three monthswhich is pretty hard to do when youre making $200K+ a year. There are fewer of those jobs than any other.Being a proactive job seeker means youre taking an active role in finding your next opportunity. Instead of sitting back and waiting for the perfect position to cross your path, youre going out to find it. Not only can this be a more empowering and less frustrating position to be in, it also produces more interviews and offers in less time. For more information on the Hidden Job Market, check out my article Kicking Down the Door to the Hidden Job Market.