Finding Job Leads

Job Boards Are Only Part of the Story...

I got an e-mail today from one of our users, requesting an enhancement to bring in RSS feeds from job boards like CareerBuilder and Monster. It’s a good idea, and one that was on our development list, but which just moved up to a top slot (because a user requested it – feel free to request additional functions and features at our forum http://www.PerfectJobSoftware.com/forum).

That request got me thinking about the challenge of finding job leads. Every time I start a search, and even when I am not searching, I look at the job boards. Why? Because there are a lot of jobs there, and it’s easy. I have also found some of my previous jobs through job ads, so it has been a successful strategy for me.

But, all of the statistics show that job boards are a low-return way of finding a job. Unless you have a skill set that is in high demand, and one that can be easily described by keywords, finding a good match on a job board will be a challenge. Most people have to send out a lot of inquiries. Each inquiry requires follow-up to be effective, few result in any feedback, and it is a challenging job search approach.

I believe that job boards have a role in your job search strategy, but those roles should be limited (unless you are one of the lucky few with an easily-described, highly desirable skill set – at the time that I write this, Flash developers are in that category, at least in Chicago). As a job candidate, you need to focus on results and progress, rather than on activity for its own sake. The challenge of job boards is they can mask a lack of progress by providing lots of opportunity for non-productive work.

How I use job boards:

1. Warm-up: I am not a morning person, and some days I am not ready to tackle tough phone calls or letters first. But reviewing and responding to ads is pretty straightforward, and I can do that while I have my coffee in the morning. My trick: set a time limit to the activity. When I am fully into my search, I generally try to get through all listings and send applications within an hour. If there is an opportunity that requires more research or work to best position myself (e.g. if I need to create a significantly different targeted resume or cover e-mail), I will set up an Activity or set of Activities in PerfectJob to finish those later in the day.
2. Jump-start: Getting a job search started is always hard for me. By using job ads I can start my search, learn what has changed since the last time I looked for work, and have a focused reason to get my documents completed and clean.
3. Barometer: By getting a daily feed of opportunities, even while I am working, I get a feel for how strong the market is, and see what specific opportunities and skills are needed. The general understanding I get from this feed helps me position my search better.
4. Research: Job boards are wonderful to see whether companies I am targeting are hiring now, and who they want to hire. Job listings provide specific wording, and especially keywords, that help position my resumes and cover letters so that they get through initial screenings.
5. Good luck: I can’t imagine doing a full job search without looking at job ads. Maybe it’s my personal tradition, but by looking at them I feel that I am trying every avenue I can to find a new job. That makes me feel better about the search.

So use job boards, but be mindful of the work that they require for each opportunity that comes from them. A listing is not an opportunity until someone expresses an active interest in you. If you periodically check the number of opportunities arising from your job board efforts, and appropriately manage the time that you spend working on job boards, you can keep them a positive resource for your search.