BlogBoomerBlog

Job Seekers: How to Find the Hidden Jobs

Another article I received recently from Kathleen Conners.  I attended her recent job seeker seminar in Denver.  The techniques she teaches for finding jobs are very different than the traditional approach that includes networking, informational interviews, job boards, etc.  If you are in sales or business development, you can also use her techniques when trying to find the right decision maker I've posted two other articles she wrote on this blog under jobs and careers.

Everyone’s advice to job candidates is “find the hidden jobs”.  Realistically, hidden jobs cannot be found until hidden companies are discovered!  In a difficult job market such as the one being experienced today, hidden companies are those companies that are “making things happen”.  Perhaps the company is experiencing high growth due to the introduction of a new product or service.  Or a company can also be accelerating due to the elimination of its competition. Some companies are winning industry awards.  Still other companies develop in order to comply with new laws, regulations, and tax codes. And companies that are receiving funding also create new jobs. Even in difficult economic times there are movers and shakers.

The logical approach becomes to first uncover hidden companies which have the hidden jobs. To discover these hidden companies requires creative research. Most of these types of companies will be in the private sector and not listed in published databases.  The majority of these companies will also be small businesses as it is small business that creates 7 out of 10 jobs in the US.   Once job candidates find these small private businesses that “make things happen” they can present themselves to these companies.  Thus job candidates succeed in finding the hidden jobs!

During the last recession of early 1990, PeopleHirePeople studied companies that were “making things happen” for the times. Without the Internet, the most recent periodicals at the library were studied as well as contacting associations and organizations for current lists. Today the research techniques are simplified by using the Internet creatively.

The Internet makes finding hidden small businesses exceptionally easy. Recent industry articles are easily accessible.  Using search engineers these types of articles can be found. Study each article for the companies mentioned and find each company website. Review latest lists of companies that have received industry awards.  Find companies that have received funding.

One example used in lecturing by PeopleHirePeople is to follow the money trail.  In earlier lectures at MBA programs, the consensus of the majority of the students was to work at a Fortune 500 company and many for those Fortune 500 companies on Wall Street.  However times have changed.  The major corporations are not hiring and instead are handing out pink slips. PeopleHirePeople demonstrates that many of the Fortune 500 companies had funding from the Small Business Administration (SBA) at one time in their history. To name a few: Intel, Apple, Outback, FedEx, Nike, Callaway, and Amgen.  To MBA students, PeopleHirePeople’s advice has been to find a small private company and help it grow into one of the Fortune 500.  Job candidates can uncover companies currently receiving some type of SBA funding for potential employment.

Approaching hidden companies must be done through personal contact.  Start by using the phone.  Mention that the recent article or latest list as to how the company was discovered.  Do not rely on an email as an introduction. Too many emails get deleted, filter out by companies firewalls, etc. It is by engaging in conversation with one or more company employees that firsthand information on hiring is gained. 

85% of jobs are never advertised!  So to discover the hidden jobs start by uncovering hidden companies. Remember these hidden jobs often do not even appear on the company website. Consequently hidden jobs are truly discovered by directly contacting people in hidden companies.

 
Kathleen Conners developed PeopleHirePeople hunt& contact strategies for job search.  She is a full time recruiter and a guest lecturer to MBA programs at major universities.  Kathleen is the author of The Thrill of the Hunt: Get Real in Your Job Search.  For more information go to her website at www.peoplehirepeople.com. 

Eleven Ways To Use LinkedIn To Find A Job

This is a great articleby Guy Kawasaki that I am reposting after obtaining his permission. Just today I received requests from people I know that wanted me to introduce them to two of my 4,800 direct connections on LinkedIn. Both are job seekers and the LinkedIn contacts were happy to speak with them. There seems to be two opposite views on using LinkedIn: the open networker that accepts all invites and the ones that limit their network to people they know personally. I'm an open networker that believes in paying it forward and trying to connect people. I truly believe it always comes back. After you read tip 11, perhaps you will agree. Please post any other suggestions!

Searching for a job can be hard if you constrain yourself to the typical tools such as online jobs boards, trade publications, CraigsList, and networking with only your close friends. In these kinds of times, you need to use all the weapons that you can, and one that many people don’t—or at least don’t use to the fullest extent, is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past. Talk about a target-rich environment, and the service is free.

Here are eleven tips to help use LinkedIn to find a job. If you know someone who’s looking for a job, forward them these tips along with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections

1. Get the word out.Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position because a job search these days requires the “law of big numbers” There is no stigma that you’re looking right now, so the more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Recently, LinkedIn added “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your newly emancipated status.

2. Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. This is especially helpful if you were recently laid off, and there is no better time to ask for this than when your manager is feeling bad because she laid you off. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities.

3. Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills. For example, if you’re a web developer in Seattle, search profiles in your zip code using keywords with your skills (for example, JavaScript, XHTML, Ruby on Rails) to see which companies employ people like you.

4. Find out where people at a company came from.LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. For example, Microsoft employees worked at Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

5. Find out where people from a company go next.LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as well as employees of other companies in your sector. (You could make the case that this feature also enables to figure out which companies to avoid, but I digress.)

6. Check if a company is still hiring.Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. If you have real chutzpah, you can ask these new hires how they got their new job. At the very least you can examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer.

7. Get to the hiring manager. LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for any kind of job you want. However, when you view the results, pay close attention to the ones that you’re no more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows the person that posted the job—it can’t get much better than that. (Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers. I never help friends of friends of friends.) Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.

8. Get to the right HR person.The best case is getting to the hiring manager via someone who knows him, but if that isn’t possible you can still use LinkedIn to find someone inside the company to walk your resume to the hiring manager or HR department. When someone receives a resume from a coworker even if she doesn’t know the coworker, she almost always pays attention to it.

9. Find out the secret job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

10. Find startups to join.Maybe this recession is God telling you it’s time to try a startup. But great startups are hard to find. Play around with LinkedIn’s advanced search engine using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword or company field. You can also narrow by industry (for example, startups in the Web 2.0, wireless, or biotech sectors). If large companies can’t offer “job security,” open up your search to include startups.

11. Build your network before you need it.As a last tip, no matter how the economy or your career is doing, having a strong network is a good form of job security. Don’t wait until times are tough to nurture your network. The key to networking (or “schmozing”), however, is filled with counter-intuitiveness. First, it’s not who you know—it’s who knows of you. Second, Great schmoozers are not thinking “What can this person do for me?” To the contrary, they are thinking, “What can I do for this person?” For more on schmoozing, read “The Art of Schmoozing.”

Guy also suggested the following websites that may be helpful to job seekers: http://linkedin.alltop.com/, http://jobs.alltop.com/ and http://alltop.com/?keywords=careers.

Invite me connect to you on LInkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joguerra and please use jojewel at gmail.com at my email.

7 Things You Should Do To Protect Yourself If Your Identity Is Stolen

The following is posted with permission from Ken Ramirez. How do you prevent identity theft and what to do if you suspect it? I have had my "secure" information downloaded from the college I graduated from and Ameritrade. Luckily, nothing has happened but I did use and continue to use these suggestions because they were included in the notification sent by Ameritrade and my college. One more to add to this list, put a google alert on your name. And I purchased a notification alert from one of the credit recording agencies for half the price because I was a target for possible ID theft. My computer and luggage was stolen in Paris quite a few years ago. Luckily the hotel paid for most of the theft. At that time I also had insurance on my laptop - something I haven't had since. So the insurance company required a police report and I had filed one in Paris.

Ken's blog is at: http://blog.axsystechgroup.com. If you would like to repost it, please contact Ken.

Recently, I was sent this email from a friend that I network with. This person happens to work with many lawyers and was sent this information. He shared it with the rest of our lead group and now I want to share it with you.

Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, write: PHOTO ID REQUIRED.

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(S) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA
credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find
them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all:
(I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your let, if it has been stolen:

1. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2. Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3. Trans Union: 1-800-680 7289

4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

Job Search Outside of the Box

A few weeks ago I ran into Chris at a job seeker networking seminar. He spoke about how easy it was to find a job after attending a job seeker seminar conducted by Kathleen Conners, author of The Thrill of the Hunt. Here is an article she sent that I am publishing with her permission. She uses these techniques daily as a job recruiter. Her techniques are also great in finding the right decision maker for sales and business development people. With the current US economy, stepping outside of your comfort zone can pay off in finding the perfect job. Read a previous article by her I published recently.

Please share this article with other job candidates needing additional “hunt” tools in their job search.

Creative Research Plus Calls

Job candidate, Jeff, recently emailed me that once again he was in a layoff.  Having known Jeff for years and looking back at his resume, Jeff has been in four layoffs since entering the workforce in 1999 as an industrial engineer.  His layoffs were from both small and large companies.  He has since earned a MBA. His email stated:  “I went online today and perused some executive level resumes.  I am looking for some feedback on this version.  I am always looking for feedback but unfortunately everybody that is willing to provide feedback wants $$$ for their opinion.”

Jeff has been schooled in PeopleHirePeople strategies having previously attended a seminar and studied the book.  I immediately emailed him the a couple of PeopleHirePeople action articles and this one liner: “It is the personal contact not the resume that gets you in the door. Resume is fine.” My one liner was emailed shortly after the noon hour that day.

At three fifteen that same day, his next email to me was:

Hi Kathleen,
You're right.  I think I go thru this every time I get laid off.  I just spoke with the CEO of ABC Company in Lakewood. He was interested and since I live so close, thought I could come in at some point.  One call, one interested party.  Anyway, back to the phones.
Jeff

How did Jeff find company, ABC? He went on-line using a search engineer to find solar companies in Colorado.  He came across a job board for the solar industry.  Jeff reviewed the jobs posted on the website.  However he noticed an advertisement for the company, ABC which was in Colorado. Next Jeff went to the ABC company website.  ABC did not have any advertised jobs on this job board! It was the company advertisement on the job board website that peaked interest. After reviewing ABC website, he found the name of the CEO and called him directly.

The next day, I phoned Jeff to see how his hunt was going.  Again he had been researching solar companies in Colorado.  Spending about ten to fifteen minutes per company on research and then phoning.  In a three hour period that morning he had made eight calls.  Jeff left four voice messages and actually spoke with two individuals. The first conversation was with the Vice President of Business Development of a small company.  The VP was quite receptive but very busy so Jeff will follow up.  In the follow up he will also email a resume.

The second conversation was with a corporate recruiter for a solar company. He informed Jeff that his company had just received a government grant to set up a field office in Jeff’s geographic location.  This corporate recruiter had been posting jobs on the company website. The response was good and the recruiter requested a copy of Jeff’s resume. These are real jobs needing to be filled quickly.

Creative research involves using search engines in order to hunt companies. Jeff also used key words such as photovoltaic, solar thermal and renewable energy in his search engine always putting in his state name. 

PeopleHirePeople recommends using the “state” name versus the “city” name of residence when limiting the geographical research. If job candidates use search words of a single city it is too limiting.  Job candidates miss the surrounding smaller cities often suburbs of a major city and might be a reasonable commute.

If Jeff had merely emailed his resume to the company websites which he had researched, there most likely would be no response to his inquiry. Investigating specific individuals on each company web site and then phoning those individuals, he made several good connections in only a few hours.  Compare this time to the many days spent by job candidates applying to job postings online, never even getting a response of any kind.

A good reminder is that it is always a human being that hires another human being.  This is accomplished by human contact!

Kathleen Conners developed PeopleHirePeople hunt, find, & contact strategies for job search.  She is a full time recruiter and a guest lecturer for MBA students at major universities.  Kathleen creates Starter Action Strategies (SAS) for individual job candidates and has written the book, The Thrill of the Hunt: Get Real in Your Job Search.   www.peoplehirepeople.com   Copyright 9/14/09. Visit her website at www.peoplehirepeople.com. Email her at kathleen@peoplehirepeople.com.