You know your job is on the line. You’ve either been told directly or you can read the telltale signs. There have been cutbacks on expenses over the past year: limited travel, a freeze on pay, no outside labor on projects, top managers are spending more and more time together. Now your manager isn’t talking to you as much. And, when she does, it’s short and very business-like. Maybe there’s just not much to be said now, and nobody is interested in chatting about the weekend when the business is in this state. You don’t want to be seen as not having their nose to the grindstone.
So, you decide to start looking. No sense in waiting any longer. If other employees in your department are released, you will just be competing with them in the job market. Don’t get left standing at the curb! Besides, why stay? The best case scenario is that you won’t lose your job. Other companies are making profit, growing, even expanding. Why should you just sit idly by?
Now… you are spending the wee hours at night at the PC, surfing the web, browsing the job boards, and submitting your resume to open positions. You threw yourself at this task with a vengeance. You have applied to dozens of positions and have received… zero direct responses from a real live person. You’ve received the obligatory, “Thanks for your application” emails and even a letter from one company. But, not one person has called or emailed in response to your job submissions. You even called a some of the organizations and got nowhere or talked to someone that told you the company has received a lot of responses to its ad, and that someone will contact you if there is a match.
This really sucks. You’re tired. No, not tired; exhausted. You are not getting enough rest. You’re no fun any more, certainly not at your best. If it is this obvious (and how could it not?) you are just making yourself an easy target. Maybe you are aiming too high. There would surely seem to be more openings if you just lowered your sites a little. Maybe you should be willing to relocate. Or you could sign up for one of those traveling consultant positions.
So, within another week, you are at it again. You are a job application assembly line, submitting your resume to almost any position that sounds like anything you’ve either done or thought about doing in the future. You’re willing to completely sell out at this point. You have no self esteem left. You are avoiding your friends (your successfully employed friends). You look at people you meet in public differently, and wonder if you could do their job better. Wondering if you could successfully hold down an additional job in order to make ends meet. You would be spending less time working than you are working now between your day job and your job search. And you wouldn’t have the anxiety.
Stop! What’s wrong here? Why can’t you get a reply to your applications? This is ridiculous. You might have overestimated your own market value previously, but not this much. Just a few months ago you felt secure and confident in your future. You were making a significant contribution to your department, to the firm as a whole. Customers sent you accolades thanking you and your team. You got an excellent performance review last year; you’ve always received great reviews. You’re still the same person, aren’t you? So, what’s different? Why do you feel like you are just throwing your resume out the window?
Well, here’s the problem. The market has changed significantly since your last job search, so you must change your job search. The Internet has made positions so much more available than ever before. Just look at how many positions you’ve applied to. A position that might have received several dozen applicants five years ago now receives 500 or 1,000, depending on the position, the location, and how widely they advertise. Every organization has software now that manages their job applicants. Applications are presented on a computer screen to a screener or the hiring manager before even being printed, and only the best (or most interesting) ever get more than 5-8 seconds of the right person’s attention.
It makes little difference if you are the most qualified candidate for a position. Well, of course it matters, but if your resume doesn’t get read you won’t get a response. And if you don’t get a response, you won’t get an interview. And if you don’t get an interview… you won’t get the job.
What really matters is your cover letter! If you have 5-8 seconds to catch someone’s attention, it’s going to be with your cover letter. You probably have a stock cover letter that you’ve massaged here and there for specific opportunities, but for the most part, you’ve probably been sending out the same average, don’t-pay-any-attention-to-me cover letter with every job application.
A great cover letter has a specific structure and each element has a purpose. If you’re missing the right structure and one of the key components, your cover letter and resume will miss the mark, and you are not going to get the results you are looking for. All you want is a chance to talk to someone, to explain the value you can bring. You may still not be the best candidate for every opening you apply to (there is a lot of good talent out there), but you can improve your odds to 1 out of 2 or 3, instead of 1 out of 100 (or more).
The next step is yours… keep doing what you are doing, or try a different approach. Do you know the definition of insanity?
Check out our website for proven tools and tips on writing an effective cover letter.
MyExecutiveCompass is an employment portal dedicated to helping candidates differentiate themselves in today’s difficult market. Job seekers can find advice on how to deal with many job search challenges as well as cover letter templates and resume software to make the job search process more effective.