Written by: Richard Gunderson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In his book “Lose the Resume Land the Job” author Gary Burnison said “In my thirty-five years of professional life, including the last decade as CEO of a public company, I have been continuously shocked by the naivete of people when it comes to their career. From the supposed most sophisticated to the least experienced, from Fortune 500 board members and seasoned executives to college seniors, people are confounded by how to find their next gig.”
I reference that quote because I believe it to be true based on my career in business combined with the last five years of training and coaching professionals at all levels in how to secure that next job. The job market is complicated and corporate hiring policies continue to evolve. It has been my pleasure to help professionals by unlocking the secrets to securing that next job and then seeing them go forward to land a job that is the right fit, with the right culture, and the right work environment.
In this article, I’ll highlight six examples of false beliefs that are often held by professionals that are unemployed or they’re still employed but looking to make a career change. Frustration often sets in as they experience a job market that appears to be overly complicated. I’ll identify the nature of each false belief and what professionals need to know in moving forward with their job search.
False Belief about “Skills”: My skills are impressive and all I need to get an interview.
Professionals often think highly of their skills and don’t understand why they fail to get invited for job interviews. This is particularly true for people skilled in positions that require hard skills like electronics, software, project management, cybersecurity, foreign language, and search engine optimization.
The skills listed above are referred to as “hard skills,” also known as learned skills.
They are uniquely different from soft skills. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts in his or her relationship with others.
It’s often said that hard skills will get you the interview. Soft skills will get you the job.
In studying the employer’s job description, or job posting, a job searcher will find both the hard and soft skills the employer is looking for. If a candidate fails to communicate both the required hard and soft skills on the resume, they’re unlikely to get invited for an interview.
Employers often put more emphasis on a person’s soft skills because they are not easily learned and they are highly desired in the business world where communication, teamwork and collaboration are critical.
Job searchers have reason to value their hard skills, however, they’ll find more success in their job search by communicating both their hard skills and soft skills.
False Belief About “Experience”: What I’ve done and how I did it are valuable.
Professionals often make a mistake in failing to describe their experience in terms that will be valued by a potential employer. The number of years of experience is relevant. But it’s not important what you did or how you did it. Most important is what was accomplished that contributed to the success/growth of the organization. And to demonstrate the relevance of the experience, metrics will help to prove the point.
Experience is only relevant if it directly or indirectly contributed to the growth of the organization.
Completing a project on-time or within-budget is valuable only if a person can explain their role, their contribution to the project, and provide metrics that demonstrate the impact on the organization.
What was the mission of a past employer and how did you contribute to the accomplishment of that mission? That’s what a potential employer will want to know.
False Belief About “The Right Fit”: I can be happy regardless of the job fit.
Unemployment and depleting personal finances during unemployment can distort the perspective of the job seeker. If job fit wasn’t a focus prior to being hired, it’s very possible the manager’s management style, the company culture, and the work environment may become a concern that leads to dissatisfaction. The employee and the employer will both benefit if they address job fit, job culture, and work environment before an employment offer is made and accepted. Failure to do so hurts the employer and the employee.
A 2021 Indeed article indicates that job seekers need to pay more attention to job fit.
A Bridge report states that “Offering career training and development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their current position.”
A 2021 Lexington Law article stated that “Nearly 60% of Americans would take a job they love over a job they hate, even if the preferred position paid half the amount of salary they would earn at the job they dislike.”
Job fit needs more attention from both the job seekers and hiring managers.
If the new hire turns out to be the wrong fit for the job, that was a bad hiring decision for both parties.
False Belief About Your “Resume”: I’ll update my resume and I’ll be ready for an interview.
Professionals often have a high regard for their skills and in many cases that is warranted. However, in today’s job market a successful job search involves a process, a job transition process. The resume is only one step in a ten-step process. Failure to address the other steps in the process is not likely to result in a job offer.
As a job transition trainer and coach, I’ve often met professionals that recently lost their job. They haven’t yet gone through any job transition training. They inform me they have an interview that afternoon and they want me to review their resume two hours prior to the interview. I have never learned of a situation like that where the professional had a successful interview.
A well-written resume takes a considerable time to write. You need to:
a. Research the company so you can demonstrate an understanding of their business and how you can support the growth of that business.
b. Demonstrate that the skills the employer is looking to acquire match up with the skills that you bring to the organization.
c. Communicate accomplishments achieved in previous positions and how those accomplishments are relevant to this potential employer.
Every resume that you submit to a potential employer must be customized to demonstrate how you are the ideal candidate to address the problems the employer is looking to solve.
If you can’t capture the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager in the top half of the first page of your resume, they’re not likely to read the rest.
False Belief About “Employee Referrals”: Finding and securing a job…No problem.
The truth is that most jobs are not advertised. As a job searcher, you wouldn’t know about a job opening without somebody on the inside of the organization functioning as an advocate for you. Organizations that don’t post jobs online often rely heavily on referrals from an existing employee within the organization. That referral functions as a pre-due-diligence screen that reduces the risk for the hiring manager.
According to a 2021 report, 70% of people found jobs through personal connections inside the business.
Most job openings are not advertised.
Your chance of getting one of those unadvertised jobs increases dramatically if you have somebody on the inside that will represent you and speak favorably about you to decision makers in that organization.
False Belief About “The Interview”: I’ve done all I can do when the interview is over.
Regardless of your interest level for a particular position, it is appropriate to send a follow-up email in response to the interview. Thank the interviewer(s) for taking the time to meet with you and for their answers to your questions.
If you are not interested in the job you interviewed for, the employer may request that you consider an alternative position.
If you receive a letter informing you that the job was offered to “a more qualified candidate”, follow that up with another thank you email expressing continued interest in the company. There’s a 20% chance the candidate offered the position will decline the offer and that means you may still be in the running for the job.
Final Thoughts
Professionals have what is needed in today’s job market. With an understanding of the total job transition process (from unemployment to employment), insight in how to tell your story, and knowledge about an employer’s primary concerns, you should be able to land that next job in the shortest possible time.
For articles and training on how to conduct a successful job search, go to https://careerjobtransition.com .or email me at richard@mynextjob.coach
Richard Gunderson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Richard has a bachelor's degree in physics and a second in electrical engineering.
Early in his career, he was a designer of electronic products and systems. He was promoted into an Engineering Manager position before a realignment in the business resulted in his accepting a move into Manufacturing Operations. In that position, he facilitated the development of a Test Engineering group, a production test group, system assembly, and returned goods.
He founded Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the American Society of Test Engineers and served as its President for three years. He later founded Altra Technologies, Inc a startup business developing high tech vehicle safety systems for heavy-duty trucks.
In the most recent four years, he has trained over 1,000 white-collar professionals in how to land that next job. He has also provided one-on-one coaching to over 125 professionals. He feels strongly about this role because of his own experience having his employment terminated at age 50. This has become his passion. He says there is no better business experience than to see the relief and joy in an unemployed professional that has secured their dream job.
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