Hiring Slump in the Holiday Season? Think Again.
When the Christmas trees hit the shelves in the local home improvement store and all the clothing outlet carries is winter woolies, we automatically think that the hiring season is over – bring on the turkey, ham, and extra helping of pie! In actuality, the Holiday Season is exactly the time to polish the resume, think about what companies you want to work for and get your information in front of the potential hiring managers within those companies through self-marketing. So, if you think a hiring slump in the holiday season a good reason to take a job-hunting break, think again.
Now is your time to get a jump on possible opportunities before budgets are approved in the first quarter!
No Job Posting?
Perfect! There probably won’t be and that’s just fine. You see; there’s three different ways to find a job:
- Online Job Applications
- Networking
- Self-Marketing
Out of the three methods – networking has been historically the most effective way to land a new opportunity. Online applications are the most commonly used, and least rewarding, method while Self-Marketing is the least utilized but just as effective as networking.
The Online Black-Hole
You probably already know that finding new job is almost as time consuming as having a full time job. You spend hours going through sites like Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn reviewing postings to shake out potential matches for your skill-set. It takes, on average, 45-90 minutes to apply for an online job posting. Also irritating is the minimal return on investment. You can spend countless hours on a computer and have what you think is the best resume ever and you never get an email or a phone call.
The online job application process is not about you getting a job!
It’s about being eliminated so HR doesn’t have to personally review more than a handful of resumes out of the hundreds they receive.
THERE’S A BETTER WAY
When the ‘hiring slump’ hits is when Self-Marketing becomes even more important than ever. You can take control of your future, decide who YOU want to work for, and leverage your value to grab the hiring manager’s attention NOW. Instead of spending hours looking for a pitiful few job postings in your field – spend that time researching what organizations are growing, on the cutting edge, or minimally impacted by the down economy. It is likely that those companies will be hiring in the near future… even if there’s no job posting available.
The Beauty of Self-Marketing
You have value to add and you solve organizational pain. Everyone does! We are pain relievers and problem solvers. Whether that is making sure that orders get placed correctly, processing paperwork, or making sure that a machines operate properly – it’s all problem solving. Your action plan is to find out what organizations can use your unique skills and communicating your ability to solve their potential pain. By understanding your value, doing your research (instead of spending hours looking online), defining your target market, and locating your potential hiring manager – you are now in the driver’s seat instead of hoping that you won’t become another victim of the online black-hole.
You don’t need to have an online job posting because, through Self-Marketing, you won’t need it!
Take Control of Your Future
Here’s how you take charge:
- Understand your Value
- Define your Target Market
- Locate Companies within that Market
- Understand their Potential Pain Points
- Market Yourself to Applicable Pain Points
- Tell Problem-Solving Stories
- … Directly to the Hiring Manager!
Understanding your value is the first leap forward that all of my client’s undertake in professional development coaching. This step is critical to fully understand what you have done over your career to positively impact the organizations you have worked for. Start with your most recent position and work your way back in your job history. List everything that you have done to solve problems, move the needle, make an impact, save money, reduce time, and create efficiencies … even if you think it was just part of the job. Begin with a simple bullet-pointed list and flesh it out later.
TIP: Money talks and spell out the zeros! None of this ‘45k’ business… $45,000 is how it’s written to grab attention. If you can’t speak in terms of money for whatever reason; use percentages. Percentage of new clients, clients retained, faster turnaround times, reduction in errors by X%, less time in executing XYZ process, and so on. Include any special projects you were on, awards and recognition.
Why it Matters
Now that you fully understand your value – you can add these bullet points as accomplishments under each of your job positions in your resume. These little gems are also great talking points during interviews (“Tell me about a time when…”) plus they will tell your problem-solving stories in the letters to your potential hiring managers. Most of us aren’t very good at understanding our value or communicating it. We feel like it’s ‘bragging’ or we cover it up as “just a part of the job”. This step is key to your empowerment!
But first, you have to know where to Focus.
Freeimages9 / Pixabay
Find Your Targets
By getting a grasp on exactly what value you have to offer, I bet you have a better idea how to market yourself and what companies might fit your unique skill set. These organizations will become your Target Market. Within your target market will be companies that can use your problem-solving skills. I encourage everyone to look up reviews (via Glass Door or similar) and latest news items about the organizations within your focus. By finding out latest news items, whether it be on their company website or in the local business section, you will have insights on some Potential Pain Points these companies might have and need your help in solving!
No Pain No Gain
For example, my friend is an interior architect. She works with property management companies and their clients to build out tenant space. When she sees a news item about a property management company signing a lease for new square footage, she will want to leverage this news item as a hypothetical pain point in the letter to her potential hiring manager within that company. It might sound something like this:
“Congratulations on signing on over 580,000 square feet of lease property in downtown Houston! I can imagine, with this new opportunity, your clients will require assistance in tent renovations which can add complexity to lease agreements and tenant satisfaction.”
Hook, Line and Sinker
I call this type of opening statement a ‘hook’ as it is addressed directly to the hiring manager – congratulating them on their new achievement. Everyone appreciates accolades and it grabs the readers attention. It is important that the news item be within the last six months or it may not be relevant and completely miss the mark. Now that you have them ‘hooked’: you address a potential pain point that the company might experience based on the news item.
But it doesn’t end there! Next comes the Problem-Solving Story based on a previous, similar pain, or problem-solving experience (which can be sourced from your accomplishments list).
For my friend, it could be like this:
“In my work as Guru Architects, I have assisted clients with over 10,000,000 square feet in tenant renovations and architectural services with an outstanding 98% satisfaction rating as well as numerous recommendations by the clients I work with.”
Nappiness / Pixabay
Close the Deal
To wrap up the letter to the potential hiring manager within your target company, you will want to close with a brief call to action statement. Avoid additional self-praise or you might sound overly promotional. To reduce confusion and ensure clean reading, stick to one potential pain point without illuminating all the other great things you are good at – they will read those in your resume!
A close can be as follows:
“If you are interested in ensuring that your clients’ needs rest in capable, experienced, hands – I look forward to discussing this with you in more detail.”
Send Direct!
Forget email – everyone gets too much in their inbox, including your potential hiring manager. Don’t be eliminated! Locate your hiring manager’s name (LinkedIn Advanced Search works best) and the address via Google or the company’s webpage. Send a plan white 8×11” envelope with your personalized letter stapled to your resume in the mail directly to your potential hiring manager.
TIP: Keep a job tracking spreadsheet and log every company you have submitted an application to, by what method (online, networking, self-marketing), when, to whom, the address (it matters), and when you followed up or heard back. Also keep a file (electronic or otherwise) on every job description you have applied for with matching resume. This keeps you from forgetting what the job posting was a month later when you get the phone call! Trust me – it happens all the time and it’s an awful feeling!
That’s a Wrap
Now that you are sitting in the driver’s seat of your career bus, choosing where you want to go – you are empowered to follow up on your Marketing Letters to hiring managers. Don’t bother with a following up on an online application. But, following up is perfect if you have sent a letter personally addressed and crafted to your hiring manager. If you don’t hear back within a week, feel free to send another Marketing package in the mail, just like the first with only a change in the date. If you are feeling perky – give your hiring manager a call and have a conversation with them. Your chances of being hired are significantly greater than if you (1) applied online, (2) hope you have a colleague or friend that can help out, (3) wait until there’s a position open, or (4) do nothing because it’s the Holidays and just eat more pie.
Why it Works
No one gets ‘personal’ attention anymore. What was once commonplace has now become scarce. When we call for customer service, we get an automated voice and it’s insanely difficult to talk to a real person. The online job application process is a broken, faulty, horrible thing that even most HR people don’t like. The person that is most qualified for the job typically doesn’t get the job – it’s the person that wasn’t eliminated and somehow made it through the screening process and interviewed the best. Hiring managers don’t get the personal attention they would like and nothing says I CARE louder than taking the time to do research about a company and sending a PERSONAL letter.
If you want to ensure you get the right job for you, all it takes is a little prep work and you are in control of your career! NOW IS THE TIME during the Holidays to get in front of your potential hiring managers before budgets are approved and job positions are posted.
When you reach out to a target company, they have your information and they’ve already made that connection with you (who obviously cares about their company enough to send a personalized letter in the mail) they won’t need to post that job online.
Questions about Self-Marketing, writing the perfect problem-solving letter, or how to reach hiring managers?
Click here to send an email!
