We’re a society that knows how to apply for a job. The challenge for employment seekers today is to become proficient at finding work. That’s a much more complicated process than applying for a job. Anyone missing this skill will be unemployed for a long time.
They’re looking in the wrong places.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll find employment in today’s workplace by attending a job fair, looking at a newspaper, looking at Internet job sites, or sending out unsolicited resumes/CV’s to employers. The majority of employment opportunities are never advertised and employment seekers must learn how to sniff them out and how to approach employers in a strategically effective way.
They’re using the wrong tools.
Most employment seekers use one tool only: a resume/CV. They must learn how to create a variety of tools that are marketing oriented and focused on the needs of the employer. The approach used by most employment seekers is the same as it has been for most of the 20th century – and it doesn’t work.
They’re making it hard to get hired.
If the only option you give an employer is to offer you a permanent full-time position, you’re making it hard for them to hire you. This is especially true for small businesses, where most of the action can be found. Being willing to accept part-time, temporary and contract work – without reservations – is essential.
They’re ignorant about Social Media.
The personal branding guru, Dan Schawbell says “Your first impression isn’t a handshake anymore. It’s your online presence that will decide the fate of your career.” Managing your online presence is as important as managing your credit rating. 70 percent of recruiters in the U.S. report that they have rejected candidates because of information they found out about them online. Getting hired today is as much a function of being found online as it is about applying to employers.
Their governments are failing them.
Governments are stuck in the 20th century. They keep trying to solve 21st century problems with 20th century solutions. For the past few years, they have poured billions of dollars, euros and pounds down the drain trying to stimulate the economy and propping up dying and inefficient industries. At the same time, small businesses that have been creating most of the new jobs for years have been virtually ignored by governments. The countries that will succeed in the coming decade are the ones that will give small businesses the support and resources they need to expand and that also encourage and support graduates to create their own jobs. For an increasing number of workers, the era of the traditional job and all the stability that came with it is over. We need to accept that, adjust to it, and move on.
Ron McGowan is the author of the international best seller “How to Find WORK in the 21st Century”, currently in use at over 400 colleges and universities worldwide and used extensively by career/employment counselors.
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