The Write Solution » Job Search

How are you asking for help? – Part 2

Dawn — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:59:39 +0000

Yesterday, I shared an email from a job seeker and offered some suggestions how he (you) can improve on responses to requests for assistance. The job seeker’s questions and concerns are common, so I’m sharing what I told him with you.

Here’s his original email:

“I am currently unemployed and for the past few months I have been trying to present better ways to get my resume points of view across to recruiters. I have been trying to co-mingle value based information and actual job duties that I have done. When I do that it seems to create sort of a “laundry list” of my duties and I am trying to stay away from that, but I want to at least show some type of duties that i have. Could you please send me some pointers and advice. Thank You.”

And here’s how I responded: (Just so you know … I did address him by name. )

Dear Job Seeker:

Target. Focus. Differentiation is paramount in this market. A resume has morphed into a sales and marketing document telling an employer what they want to know about you; not what you want to tell them. Target your message to your audience. Focus on their needs and tell what differentiates you from why/how you’re better than “any” other person applying for the position. The “laundry list” feel comes from not knowing what to tell them. Without focus, you try and tell them everything. And, without focus they don’t know how they’ll benefit by employing you.

Photo by deanmeyersnet via Flickr

Think about it … If you’re shopping for shoes and I’m telling you about hot dogs, I won’t have your attention long. If you tell a potential employer about X skill set and they’re looking for Y … you won’t have their attention long.

A potential employer will not try and figure out how you fit into their organization. You have to tell them. You tell them, by researching job posting and identifying what your “buyer” is “buying”. What skills do they value? You then create a solid demonstration of those skills. Anything that doesn’t pertain to what they need is clutter.

Objective statements, stating what you “need” went the way of the dinosaur. It’s not about what you need (seek, want to secure ….) It’s about what you bring. In this market, the focus is on the employer. Employers really don’t care what you seek or want; their focus is on what you can do to impact their organization’s bottom line.

I do hope you’re networking, both virtually through social media and in-person though professional organizations, community events and volunteer work. And that you can be found online and your online presence is clean. If you are solely dependent on recruiter interactions, you should know only 3% of hiring is done through professional recruiters. They are a valuable tool in a job seekers tool belt, but it takes more than a hammer to build a house. It takes a variety of approaches to execute a successful job search.

I write a job search blog and I link to lots of other professionals through my site, as well as blog with an international group of writers every month. If you want to go it alone, there is plenty of GOOD teaching material and information linked from my website. (Blue Sky Resume has a fr*e downloadable tutorial.)

If you have the funds available to invest in your future, then engaging with a career professional is the best thing you can do for yourself. (Personally, I’d rather see job seekers spend the time networking, making connections and researching companies than learning about how to write a resume. The return on the investment, both monetarily and time wise is exponential!)

And one final thing, if you’ll indulge me … If you’re asking for assistance, personalizing the salutation and signing with your full name and contact information goes a long way in engaging someone and encouraging them to want to help you.

I wish you well in your search. If you’d like to work with me, I’d be happy to speak with you. If that’s not an option, I encourage you to take advantage of the information I provide on my website.

Best regards,
Dawn

This young man was a willing student. He replied back to my email, used my name, thanked me and signed with his full name and telephone number. YAY! Taking the time to say thank you was a nice touch too. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve crafted a thoughtful responses to requests like this and never hear from the “stranger emailer” again.

Bottom line, remember your manners. Please, thank you and a little flattery in between are powerful motivators. Use them with abandon – in job search AND in life.

How are you asking for help?

Dawn — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:30:00 +0000

I received the following via email a few Fridays ago:

“Good Afternoon,

I am currently unemployed and for the past few months I have been trying to present better ways to get my resume points of view across to recruiters. I have been trying to co-mingle value based information and actual job duties that I have done. When I do that it seems to create sort of a “laundry list” of my duties and I am trying to stay away from that, but I want to at least show some type of duties that i have. Could you please send me some pointers and advice. Thank You.”

It was from an email address I did not recognize. There was no signature; just that paragraph. To find out who was trying to engage me, I had to open the resume, sent along as an attachment.

This looked like a “spam” email. I could tell it probably had been copied, pasted and sent to many, many others.* I hovered over the delete button, but the customer service in my soul kicked in and I responded back to him. I’d venture to guess I was in a minority.

Let’s pretend for a moment I didn’t respond. What could have been done to improve his response rate and build his network the right way?

Address the email to me.

Nothing is as melodious to someone as the sound of their own name. This individual went to all the trouble to find me. Four more typed letters would have made a big difference in getting my attention. If he’d just added “Dawn” after his “Good Afternoon” salutation, I’d of been less skeptical and more willing to respond.

Tell me how he found me.

To this day I have no idea how this person found his way to my inbox. Sure. I’ll pop up in a Google search, but was that it? Does he follow me on Twitter? Did he find me on LinkedIn? Had he been to my website? Is there a mutual connection somewhere? A quick, “Here’s how I know/found you.” goes a long way in forming a connection early.

Tell me why he came to me.

Flattery only works on two types of people: men and women. Had he taken a moment to mention how he enjoyed my tweets, learned from blog, had respect for my credentials, anything “nice”, it would have upped my desire to help a complete stranger.

Tell me his name and phone number.

He didn’t sign his email. Granted, it was on the attached resume, BUT I was very hesitant to open the attachment. To this day, I’m not sure why I trusted it. He was asking for assistance and “made” me go through extra steps to find: his name, contact information, career history. Don’t ask for help and make it a chore for me to help you.

Tell me what he wants to do next in his career.

He’s given me no clue as to what he wants to do next. His work history was scattered with diverse jobs from widely varying industries. He did nothing to help me help him. It’s not up to me to figure out what he (a complete stranger) wants to do next with his life. It’s “his job” to tell me. Make helping easy for the giver.

As you can read in his email, his approach is very I-centric. I am, I have, I want, I do – in fact, “I” appears seven times in those four sentences. What have I said about a bajillion times time now? In this job market it’s “all about them – the hiring authority.” (I made the five bullet points “all about me” to illustrate that point.)

If he uses this tact and tone to engage potential employers, it’s no wonder his search is foundering. His message is not what he brings; the focus is on what he needs. That might work with mom, but asking complete strangers for help (or employment) without giving them a reason to want to engage will encourage them to ignore the request completely or move on to someone to else quickly.

Tomorrow, I’ll post my full response to him.

*At least he did one thing right. He sent the email to me and me alone. I’ve gotten request of this nature with a LONG string of other email address included in the “to” box. Didn’t I feel special? I’ve also received BCC emails – to and from the same person. Those individuals had the savvy to protect recipients contact info, but the approach still begs the “Didn’t I feel special?” question. If you’re asking for help, you want the person you’re asking to feel special. We’re human. We like the occasional warm-fuzzy.

Chuzzles, locks and roadblocks

Dawn — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:04:29 +0000

Ok. I admit it. I like to play Chuzzle. After a long day of ferreting out client information and formulating presentation strategies, I like mindless, no-thinking-involved entertainment. Chuzzle provides it.

Briefly, you match three (or more) of the same color fuzz balls by moving the columns up and down or left and right. They giggle, explode and accumulate points. New fuzz balls drop into place until you’ve exploded enough to move to the next level. I’m not sure if it’s the way the eyes move to follow the cursor as you play or if it’s the way they get all excited when they come close to another Chuzzle of the same color or if it’s anthropomorphism of my own dust bunny collection (five dogs, three indoor cats … I KNOW dust bunnies.), but I like to play.

Levels one and two lull you into a false sense of security – easy, no-thinking game. Suddenly, on the third level, a lock soars in from out of nowhere preventing any movement of the row. As the levels increase, so does the frequency of the locks. Freeing the poor, imprisoned Chuzzle requires matching it in groups of three (same as the unlocked one), but is more difficult since you can’t move the row.

When I first started playing and the locks came swooping in, I put all my energy into freeing that one Chuzzle, ignoring the rest of board. That led to more locks and eventually, the dreaded “no more moves” message. I never advanced past single digit levels. Ack. One night, I tried a different strategy. I kept focus on the entire board, paying attention to the lock, but not fixating on it. Know what? When I changed my focus to the big picture, the game changed. Moving a row on the other side of the board frequently exploded the lock with little effort. Wow. What a great lesson for job seekers … (Stop applauding. You know I always get to a job search point eventually.)

Frequently I see job seekers throwing up their own roadblocks. They’ve done phenomenal things for employers or the community yet they fixate on one (limiting) facet of their career history or the job search market and ignore the big picture.

* I’m too old.
* I don’t have a degree.
* I can’t job search in the summer; interns take all the jobs. (Heard that one last week!!)
* I can’t job search during the holidays; no one hires then.
* I’ve been with the same company for 20 years. That’s bad, right?
* I’ve had a string of short-term positions. That’s not good, right?
* I worked for my family’s business. (Work is work and skills are skills.)
* I have a gap in my work history.
* I’ve been a stay-at-home mom. I’m not marketable. (PUH-lease!!)

And on and on and on …

A few years ago, I worked with a man, who, partnered with his brother, started a manufacturing firm in the family garage. I spent 90+ minutes listening to his tale of taking a two-person, home-based operation and growing it into a multimillion dollar, multilocation business employing more than 100 people. He told of innovations and patents, exclusive product development and high profit margins. “WOW!” kept escaping from my lips …

For a multitude of reasons, he chose to leave the business and seek employment elsewhere. As we were wrapping up, he asked, almost timidly, “So. Am I marketable?” My jaw dropped. “Marketable??? Goodness. You’ve done such impressive things in your career, I’m ready to hire you and I don’t manufacture anything!” was my reply. He countered with, “Ya but, I only have a high school education. I never got a degree.” Ker-chung <–Sound of a Chuzzle lock flying in from nowhere. Rather than seeing the millions of dollars he earned, the hundreds of people he employed and the accomplishments he’d had during his career, he saw one limiting factor – his lack of a four-year degree.

That’s not to say his concern wasn’t valid. Lack of a degree can be an issue during a search, but putting time, energy and worry into addressing one short-comings and not focusing on value is a sure way to limit or lock down movement during a search. Rather than lament the lack, I convinced him to diminish it. “I may not have a bachelor’s degree from a formal institution, but as you can see by my sales figures, profit margins, patents and overall business success, I earned a doctorate-level education from the ‘School of Hard Knocks.’ I generated profit from my parent’s garage. Imagine what I can do for you.” Boom! <– The sound of the Chuzzle lock exploding. He got it.

If job seekers make a lack of “whatever” an issue, they’ve erected their own roadblock; slammed on their own locks. Being aware of, but not focused on “whatever” brings a much more effective big-picture approach, frequently exploding the locks and eliminating the roadblock all together … with little effort.

Now, try and get to level 13 on Chuzzle. I have. (TMI?)

The garden and the network

Dawn — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:16:49 +0000

I worked in the yard this past weekend. Truth be told, a well-manicured lawn and perfect landscaping hasn’t been a priority for many years. Combine five dogs and two growing businesses (up until 2009) with country living and no homeowners association to tell me weed whack and it got a little shaggy around the edges. I’ve learned; if you don’t’ get in control early in spring; forget it. The weeds win.

This year, I found a neighbor wanting to earn a little extra cash and willing to help get things under control. Looking at what he’s done, and what he’s inspired me to do, in the past six weeks, it appears the weeds may lose this year. (YAY!) Going through the process of trimming trees, cutting back overgrown gardens and weeding around neglected perennials made me think about how many times, when writing about networking, I say, “You have to nurture and cultivate your network.” Puttering about the yard brought to mind other career-long networking and gardening parallels.

Neglected doesn’t mean dead.
As we cut back weeds and thinned branches, I was struck by how many plants survived and even thrived on neglect. I was more amazed, how, after a little TLC, the previously neglected flora exploded into vigorous growth. These plants don’t need constant tending, but checking in occasionally will help them thrive.

While developing and expanding your personal and professional network, poke around. You’ll be surprised how many neglected relationships will spring back to life with a little attention. These relationships don’t need constant tending, but checking in occasionally will help them thrive. (Sound familiar?)

Forgotten doesn’t mean gone.
Digging around in a long-overgrown rose garden, my husband found our hippopotamus stepping stone. I’d forgotten about it. Horatio (doesn’t everyone name their stepping stones?) “lived” out in the field amongst the weeds forgotten, but still there. I was thrilled with our “find.” He now lives at the primary entrance to the house and makes me smile.

Digging around in old files, often uncovers past acquaintances; someone who might be wonderful support in your search or your career. Uncovering and reconnecting with forgotten pieces of your network is sure to make to you smile AND could be your stepping stone on the path to opportunity.

Sometimes gone is gone.
Surprised by what survived; I was still saddened by what I’d lost to neglect – antique irises, rosemary, rose bushes, a re-seeding bed of chives. They’re gone. I let them slip away. Best thing about a garden though, I can replant and start over how, when and if I choose.

The same holds true for networks. If you left network connections behind and attempts to revive are fruitless, know you can begin again with the next social media account, networking event or social gathering. Networks, like gardens change, grow, die down, come back with time. Cultivate accordingly.

Things change.
When my first husband and I moved here more than 20 years ago, getting up, gulping down a cup of coffee and spending weekends primping and pruning a huge yard (part of a 10-acre organic farm) was no big deal. This past weekend, after only a few hours of digging, weeding and hauling, I. thought. I. was. going. to. die. I adjusted my methodology, incorporated tools and accepted things change with time.

The tools available to job seekers and careerists today are different than they were a mere five years ago. Methodologies, markets and industry trends change. Assessing needs, adopting new technology and incorporating the old yields a deep and rich network. Successful gardeners and successful networkers adapt.

Now, pulling into a more cared for, nurtured yard is rewarding. It’s still a work in progress, but some input, some reconnecting, some attention is starting to transform things. Networking, when done correctly is a work in progress too. Add and cultivate network connections throughout your career. You never know who you can help or who can help you. In the end, the support and enjoyment far outweighs the effort. Oh, and don’t overlook the power of a partner in your quest.

Relax … networking, like gardening is really all about reconnecting with old friends.

Tips for times of transition: Part 4 – Practical tips for jobseekers

Dawn — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:11:38 +0000

Spring has sprung. Enjoy a change of scenery ... even it's only the front yard.

This post finalizes the series of tips for times of transition Bridget Haymond and I put together. Hopefully, you’ve been able to take a nugget or two and apply it your personal search for professional bliss. Understandably, a job search can be extremely stressful. When you get overwhelmed, it’s always a good idea to take approaches back to the basics. It never hurts to be reminded to breathe.

(Part one is here, two here and three here.)

Practical tips for jobseekers:

5. A change of scenery can bring a fresh perspective. It’s easy to feel trapped in the same four walls while you are between interviews or waiting for a call back. Go to a place that has free Wi-Fi and conduct your research and job search from a remote location.

Photo via Flickr by Geekadelphia

6. Take advantage of local library resources. Books, DVD’s and computers are all available for free. This is a great way to stay updated on current trends, engage in personal growth, and get motivational ideas or take advantage of the entertainment resources.

7. Allow yourself the freedom to simply have fun. Enjoy some funny movies, if you have a musical instrument play it, get together with some friends for an evening of a karaoke or a game night. Laughter is good for the soul so make room for some fun.

A long walk can do a world of wonders.

8. Get outside and get some fresh air. It doesn’t cost a thing to take your dog to the park, do some gardening or simply spend some time on the front porch sipping some lemonade. The vitamin D from the sun is great for lifting your spirits. The key is to get out and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation through nature.

9. Update your look. Try a new hairstyle. Try a new color. You don’t want to look dated during your search (yes, it matters), plus it’ll make you feel wonderful, confident and refreshed.

10. Find an accountability partner; someone who can help you maintain forward progress. Set weekly goals and have that individual gently, but firmly help you accomplish them.

Thanks for the opportunity Bridget and the great blog content too!

Tips for times of transition: Part 3 – Practical tips for job seekers

Dawn — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:01:13 +0000

Last week, we looked at career marketing strategies for job seekers. This week, we’ll look practical tips to help sustain focus during the search. Bridget Haymond put together most of the practical tips. I added a few and Voila! You’ve got great ideas to keep things moving forward.

This is part 3 of a 4 part series. (Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

Practical tips for job seekers

1. Keep busy and get as much physical exercise as possible. Keeping fit physically is good for your general health and is a great way to de-stress and clear you head. If you don’t belong to a gym, walking, bike riding, running and swimming are all great ways to keep physically fit.

2. Use your down time to tackle projects you had been putting off or didn’t have time to do before. Re-organize a closet, clean out the garage or clear out a storage unit. You can then have a garage sale or donate items to charity. Either way you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment.

3. Stay connected and don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Staying in touch with friends and family is important. If your close friends and family live out of state or out of the country, be sure to stay in touch by phone, e-mail or talk for free on your computer using a program called Skype.

4. Volunteer for one of your favorite charities or service organizations. Doing something for those who are less fortunate is a great way to keep a positive attitude and share your gifts and talents with others. This is also a great way to keep from being isolated.

Stay tuned for the final five tips later this week …

Tips for times of transition: Part 2 – Career marketing strategies for job seekers

Dawn — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:33:11 +0000

Bridget Haymond and I collaborated on this series to provide job seeking members of her church some basic job search information. She graciously allowed me to share what we created together here. If you missed part one, no worries. It’s right here.

Career marketing strategies for job seekers

6. Set up a LinkedIn account. Fill out the profile completely including a professional picture of you. A friend or family member can take the picture, but be sure you look like you’re ready for business. LinkedIn is not Facebook. Approach each venue appropriately. When you invite someone, customize the invitation. And if invited, take a moment to send back a quick note to your connection. Very few do that so it’s a great way to differential yourself immediately. I’m on LinkedIn: Now What? is a great resource to garner the full power of this site.

7. Once you’ve set up your LinkedIn account, join groups – LinkedIn allows up to 50. The more groups you join, the greater your reach. (This is part of the all-important networking.) Participate in the discussions (no arguments, please.) Offer your expertise. Be helpful and answer questions. If a group is set to “open”, that means your responses are searchable on the web – further building your online presence.

8. Volunteer. This expands your network, exposes you to people you might not have met and you’re giving back – all positives. Volunteer to head committees, organize events or help with fundraising. Tie the skills needed to do the volunteer position back to the skills needed to support or enhance your profession. This keeps your skills sharp. You might learn something new and it’s all information that can go on a resume. A skill is a skill whether you got paid while learning it or not.

9. Treat every day like a workday. If you are in transition, your job becomes landing your next job. Maintain a clean appearance. Wear business casual while out and about; you just never know whom you’ll meet. Remember, marketing isn’t just for businesses. You must become your own best sales representative. Uncomfortable? Yes, but do it enough and you’ll overcome the shyness. Employers need helpful, resourceful people. Getting your name, face and voice out there is the best way to get hired.

10. Invest in the things that help advance your career. Unsure about direction? Have someone administer and explain a Career Success Insights DISC assessment. This test gives valuable insight into some of the career choices fitting your personality profile. Greater insight allows you to explore diverse opportunities to market your services. Pursue additional training and certifications in your area of specialty to enhance your marketability. Be sure your computer skills are up to speed too. Financial assistance is often available so pursue all your options. If you need a coach, find one, paid or volunteer. No one has to go it alone.

Next week we’ll look at practical things job seekers can do to stay motivated during the search.

Tips for times of transition: Part 1 – Career marketing strategies for job seekers

Dawn — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:19:03 +0000

Recently, Twitter friend Bridget Haymond, of Truth for Life Coaching, approached me to collaborate on putting together handouts for job seeking members of the congregation at her church — Grace Covenant Church, in Charlotte, NC. I happily obliged.

With Bridget’s permission, I’ll also share the information we created together with my blog readers. Here’s the first in a series of four posts addressing: Tips for times of transition.

Career marketing strategies for job seekers:

1. First and foremost, understand the job search is “all about them”, the potential employer. The beginning of the search is yours – you decide when you start the search (sometimes with a bit of outside influence). The end of the search is yours – you decide which offer to accept. However, in between, every correspondence, every interaction, with everyone from the custodian to the CEO, must be done from a “this is what I can do for you and your organization” perspective. It is all about them.

2. Target, focus and differentiation are key in this market. “I’ll do anything” is not a job search strategy. It is the candidate’s job to focus on what the industry or hiring company values, target their presentation to demonstrate how they can solve the companies problems and differentiate themselves from the others (sometimes hundreds) applying for the same position. If you’re unsure how to do that, use the power of Google to learn or work with a professional.

3. Network. Network. Network. EIGHTY PER CENT (80%) of jobs are filled through effective networking. Someone knows someone knows someone who can help. Networking is NOT asking someone to find a job for you. That quickly wears thin. Networking is giving more than you take and requires long-term nurturing and cultivation. If you’re unsure what to do or how to do it, career professions write about networking frequently; Google it and start reading. If you don’t have a network; get started. If you’re uncomfortable networking; get over it.

4. Use the power of Social Media (Twitter especially) to your advantage. Search by topic for jobs in your industry. Follow leaders and like-minded people in your industry. ALWAYS behave professionally – if you wouldn’t want to see it on a billboard, in front of your parent’s house, it doesn’t belong on the Internet. Make sure all comments and photos are appropriate. Let prospective employers see you as someone who is knowledgeable and helpful. The Twitter Job Search Guide is a great resource. Remember social media posts frequently appear when someone searches Google for you (and if you’re in a job search, you will be Googled.)

5. Google yourself. You need to know what information will turn up in a search of your name. If you cannot be found on Google or if you have a common name, start commenting on blogs (in your industry) and participate in social media to move your name to the first page of a Google search. HINT: Read books in your industry or profession and write an Amazon.com book review. You can borrow it from the library. Amazon has tremendous Google power so a book review usually gets to the first page of a Google search quickly.

More to come …

As a side note and to reinforce the importance of networking, I met Bridget on Twitter through resume writing colleague and friend, Julie Walraven. Julie saw we both lived in NC (albeit opposite sides of the state) and thought we should “meet.” This casual introduction, months ago, netted Bridget help for her church’s seminar and I extended my reach to job seekers in Charlotte, NC. Chances of our ever meeting without our mutual network connection? Probably slim to none. See how powerful a deep and broad network can be? Two “strangers” mutually benefiting each other through the strength of a network. Win-win. Imagine what you can do for your network AND what your network can do for you. Cultivate it!

Focus doesn’t mean you can’t be multifaceted

Dawn — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:06:17 +0000

A resume client recently asked for some guidance in making a decision. He had several career paths he could travel. As with many job seekers I meet, he wanted to carry all his “luggage” down each path; placing equal weight on his entire skills set for each opportunity. I explained how an “I can do anything and everything” approach would not work in this market.

I told him his message had to be tailored to speak to a potential employer’s specific needs and his resume needed to tell the employer what they wanted to know about him; not what he wanted to tell them. This is the basic premise of sales and marketing. Find the buyer’s pain and offer solutions to suit their needs. He expressed concern that too much focus would mean he would be limiting his opportunities. Quite the contrary. I used the following example from my own life to help him understand:

“Focus doesn’t mean you can only have one direction. It means you have to have an understanding of the audience’s needs. For example, for more than seven years, I ran both a pet sitting and resume service. (Five of those years were spent also working 30-40 hrs/wk as an office manager in a veterinary hospital too.) I didn’t open a conversation regarding resume services extolling my pet sitting expertise (and vice versa). I told my audience what they wanted to know so they could make an informed decision based on the facts they sought. As the relationship grew I would share the other things I did. During my dual-business years, I wrote resumes for several pet sit clients. When they called about pet sitting, their focus was planning a trip out of town and reliable care for their animals. My focus had to match theirs to “sell” my skill set to them. When they called about my resume writing services, we might mention the fur-children, but quickly moved to the task at hand – their careers. That’s what I mean by focus.”

You can be as multifaceted as you want to be in your career and your life. But remember, telling everyone everything all at once overwhelms. Focus your message and watch understanding (and results) soar.

Shades of Gray

Dawn — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:44:50 +0000

Career Collective post: Once a month, a group of career professionals blog on a subject topical and timely for a job seeker. We’ll post our thoughts on our own blog and link to the post of our colleagues on the same topic.

This month’s topic: Job-hunting “Rules” to Break/ Outdated Job-Search Beliefs

Responses from others contributors linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #CareerCollective on Twitter.

Back “in the day” I used to don my clamp-on roller skates and do laps in the basement. One of my favorite skating songs was by the Monkees “Shades of Gray.” Funny. Now, YEARS later, the message from that song is the core of the most frequent response I give job seekers when asked a question about conducting a job search:

IT DEPENDS.

How do I contact this company?
How do I find out the interviewers name?
Should I drop off a resume?
Should I call? Should I email?
Is faxing OK?
My friend said this __________ (fill-in-the-blank) worked for them. Will it work for me?
What do I say in an interview?
What do I wear?
What does HR think about ____ ?

IT DEPENDS.

Too often I find job seekers thinking there’s only one right way to conduct a search. They scour the Internet looking for the “THE” answer – a black or white, yes or no, definitive method to use when managing their careers. They’re convinced there’s a magic bullet. They’re sure, once found, that one technique will end the search and land their dream job with little effort. They glom on to what worked for their friend or acquaintance. They read an article about how sandwich boards worked for one job seeker. They find another article about how mailing an empty coffee cup or one shoe with a promise to fill the cup or deliver the other shoe at interview worked for another. They talk to Great-Aunt Tilly, their neighbor, the stranger in line at the grocery store. They try anything and everything. They ask questions about what HR thinks as if HR is some huge entity in the sky with a single mind.

They do all this without any thought to the specific position or industry, their own personal comfort level or even the individual preferences of the hiring authority behind the desk. Too often, I find job seekers willing to do whatever they’re told, until they’re told to sit down, think about the specific situation and formulate a strategy that not only fits the industry, the position and the players, but also fits them.

The best thing you can do for your job search is stop looking for ONE answer. Cookie cutter approaches don’t work in job search. What excites one hiring authority could offend another. What works in one industry may have you ostracized in another. What worked for your friend may not be the right fit for you.

As Davy Jones and Peter Tork sing in “Shades of Gray”:
“Today there is no day or night. Today there is no dark or light Today there is no black or white … only shades of gray.”

Dump the myth of a one-size-fits-all job search. (It’s not true in clothing and it’s not true in job search either.) Customize your search to fit the specific needs of your audience. Differentiate yourself. Make the reader feel special. Speak to their pain; their needs. Apply an “It depends/Shades of Gray” approach to your search and start gaining traction. Who wants cookie cutter, when you can have hand-dropped?

(And yes. I still have my “Headquarters” album.)