Gene Nokes
"Tips from the Career Coach"
Gene Nokes is a Career Coach and Business Development executive with a 3o year record of achievement in high-tech markets. Gene has also ministered to the unemployed and underemployed a St. Raymond's Catholic Church, in Dublin, CA since 1995. His specialty is coaching individuals in the high-tech industries of Northern California. He is also very interested in assisting mature workers find meaningful and rewarding work. He offers private career coaching as a lay minister to Christian Churches throughout Northern California.
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Targets: What Are They?
February 08, 2011 by Gene Nokes
I host a group at my local Church for job seekers. It is pro bono volunteer position that I do for my fellow parishioners. I usually have a question to begin discussion and focus the group on one of the key aspects of a job search. I asked the question, “What is your job search strategy for Q1?”
As I went around the room to each person, one fellow said that he had been searching on-line for openings and working with recruiters. This answer is a red flag for me, because this kind of passive job search really depends on the luck of finding an appropriate posting or is dependent on recruiters to do the work. It is a very passive method for doing a job search.
I asked him what are his targets for Q1? And he responded, “What are targets?”
Targets result from researching jobs in companies you like
I will use his response as a teaching tool by explaining that targets are job positions in companies where you would like to work. Having targets mean that the job seeker has done the hard work of researching the kind of work that he or she would find worthwhile and the kinds of organizations that have this job position.
Having targets means that the job seeker has taken command of the process of finding a job and is not depending on someone posting the job on a job board or relying on a recruiter to find the job. Not having targets is a leadership issue, a personal leadership issue. It is a reactive approach as opposed to a proactive approach. A job seeker with targets is in command of his or her job search and not dependent on finding a lucky posting on the internet or waiting for the recruiter to call (and they don’t call).
80% of job openings are filled via internal and external networking
The job search process from the hiring company perspective goes somewhat like this. An opening is discussed internally and circulated amongst employees. Many times the hiring manager will contact his/her own personal network to see if colleagues can suggest someone who would be qualified. Many, many times, some say 80%, of the vacancies are filled in this manner. If the job seeker is not targeting companies, they will never know of the vacancy.
When a job has been posted on a job board or given to a recruiter, it means that the above process has failed. This is not true in every case. Some jobs positions must be publicly posted by company policy or for legal requirements. But, for the sake of this article, it means that only 20% of job openings are visible on job boards.
I hope it is starting to sink in that it is very important to target the organizations where you would want to work and know which job position you would find fulfilling and rewarding. The “old school” method of posting on the internet and relying on recruiters is very ineffective in what is being called “The Great Recession.”
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