As someone who has written up many job descriptions, what do you
think I’m looking for? I’m looking for the perfect candidate, just like
every other hiring manager and recruiter. The chances that I will find the
perfect candidate are always slim. As I talked with fellow unemployed
individuals, I discovered that many people read job descriptions and gave
up without any further action. They made no call to the recruiter or hiring
manager, and chose not to fill out applications for positions they were
actually qualified for. Mary LaFontaine, who works for the Maine Career
Center said, “Apply if you meet more than 50 percent of the job description.”
It is not an exact science or math equation. If you feel that you
meet enough of the criteria, then go for it. Even if the “requirements”
are not fully met, you should take a serious look at applying. I am realistic
enough to know that perfect candidates most likely don’t exist, but
qualified candidates do. The ones who take the most shots increase their
chances significantly. A colleague in the sales world used to say, “If one
in ten buy, and you are only asking/offering to one in fifty…it’s going to
take you a long time to get that ten who say yes.”

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby

Yes, employers want it both ways. They may advertise a position asking
for only three-to-five years of experience, but have a description
that looks impossible to do unless you have ten-to-fifteen years of this
experience. Some of the reasoning is to keep the compensation expense
reasonable. This makes good business sense, since there are more applicants
than jobs and competition is intense. With over twenty years of
experience in the financial industry, I started most of my conversations
with that fact, thinking that the tenure would elevate my status. I quickly
found out how careful I needed to be in communicating that information,
because I was aging myself—and potentially increasing my price
compared to the competition. I no longer wanted to lead with that fact.

Instead, I used a more targeted approach. As previously mentioned,
I averaged eighteen months a position for twenty-three years, so I used
language that made sense to the particular conversation. I batched some
jobs together to elongate the experience level. For example, “I was in
operations management for a total of five years.” Instead of singling out
each role separately where I had project management, risk management,
and compensation management experience, this method does the math
for the recruiter or hiring manager, instead of them having to add up all
of my experience in different positions. By no means did I misrepresent
myself, I just spoke the language and didn’t invest so much energy into
detailing how long I had certain responsibilities in each designated role.
I became better at explaining the overall impact I had when I was in the
role, which seemed to move me further into the conversation. The quality
of the meaningful work that I executed and delivered became the higher
priority—not the length of time spent doing that work.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby

During my job search, I set some goals with specific milestones and
deadlines. I said that after a month, if I didn’t see a definite lead
on the horizon, I would start to tap into recruiters and headhunters to
help with my job pursuit. I was fortunate enough to have a networking
session with an old colleague who provided me with a list of recruiters
he had used when he lost his job. I was excited to have this gift to get off
to a quick start. Although I had heard about headhunters, I’d never truly
understood what I was about to experience. My former colleague’s gift led
to my worst day in the entire job-seeking process.

I had mixed reactions when I sent out the original request to connect
with the list of recruiters. Some never responded. I later found out that
most recruiters are very specialized and target certain fields. This was good
information to know. Others set up meetings that they blew off with no
warning or communication. Others were downright rude via email and
even in conversations, by making it very clear that they didn’t want to
work with me. I have to be careful with such a broad statement, because
there were many that were helpful, polite, compassionate, and giving—
but not all of them. However, even the polite ones cut straight to the
chase. I found out quickly that I wasn’t networking anymore.

After being frustrated for a call or two, I soon realized that recruiters
and headhunters have a very specific job to do. If they were wasting time
on a call with me because they felt I wasn’t qualified for their particular
niche or job, then they weren’t making money. Once I genuinely understood
how the relationships would be established, I began to appreciate
both of our challenges and tried to step up my game by anticipating their
very specific questions, challenging myself for the next similar call by
doing more homework or better defining exactly what I was looking for.

I am very thankful for this frustrating piece of the process. When a recruiter
calls they typically ask three questions: salary range, location preferences,
and exact position in the exact field you’re looking for. I began to
take it as a compliment that I made their list to call. Knowing that they
get a slice of the salary of the person they hire from the hiring company,
and that they have a reputation to maintain in getting perfect hires for the
companies that contract them, it became more understandable how some
of the conversations went. As a job seeker, you’re not required to deal
with headhunters. Although I didn’t run into it, I have heard from my
career center friends, that there are situations when a recruiter is looking
for the unemployed person to pay them to assist in the job search. I will
caution you and say there are very few times you need to spend money on
a recruiter or headhunter to get hired. However, if you choose to go with
a legitimate recruiter, it is a choice you can make—just know the swarm
of bees you’re walking into… although bees are productive!

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success:  A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby

By averaging eighteen months per position for over twenty years, it
clearly makes me a generalist. Being a generalist was great for my old
company, but for many companies, getting hired happens when you’re a
specialist. I had several experiences in past roles where I had some expertise.
During the job-search process was not a time to be shy about that
expertise. There are few times in life where it is necessary to stand on the
rooftop saying, “Look at me,” and looking for a job is one of them.

There is a professional way to do this, however. You can give context
and examples, but if you are not comfortable talking about your accomplishments,
there are plenty of people out there who will have the advantage
because they have no problem singing their own praises. I teach a session
called, “It’s Not Bragging if It’s a Fact.” Without being braggadocios,
individuals can successfully talk about their accomplishments and bring
them to life off the pages of the résumé. It’s important to talk about how
you can resolve conflict and work in a team setting, but it’s also important
to talk about your individual contributions in driving a business forward.
You must talk about what made you a specialist and how that can set you
apart from the competition. Have it come to the forefront with specifics.
There’s no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in interview, so make the most
of it and learn to humbly—but confidently—speak about your accolades
as a specialist.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

Even the best-intentioned people make promises they can’t keep. If I stopped looking for a job each time I was promised something, I would be years away from where I want to be. During a discussion at a local career center, I was once asked the question, “What do you do while you’re waiting for the company to get back to you? They (the company) said it would be two or three months.” I hope my response wasn’t too sharp when I said, “I would call my next lead.” Between having positions cancelled or being led to believe that I was the top candidate for a job only
to find it had been given to someone else, I learned not to stop looking until I had an actual start date and a contract in hand.

One person in my network recommends having at least four serious leads. The definition of serious is not one that you hope will come to fruition, but one that you feel there is a real chance of landing. I agree for the most part, except I wouldn’t put a number on it. I take an interpretation of a serious lead, well, very seriously, but I can’t take it as an ironclad promise. My job looking for a job continued until I was 100 percent sure the job offer was made and accepted. Even on the day I received my most recent job offer, the HR person said they had to finalize a few things. I
continued my search until the actual offer was in writing in front of me. I’m a trusting, but realistic, person—I know things change or that there can be miscommunication.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com