As I read Financial Samurai’s article today discussing his five years of unemployment, it got me thinking about my own periods of unemployment and how I successfully found new employment opportunities in the past.
It’s been about 18 months since my last full-time employment role ended. During that time, I have applied for more than 50 positions most of which I never heard anything back.
One of the reasons for the poor response is that I was applying for many of the positions through LinkedIn. While sites such as LinkedIn have made applying for jobs incredibly easy, it’s also reduced the chances of actually finding a position through the site.
The problem is the vast number of responses any job posting on these sites receives. Because it’s so easy to apply, hiring managers wind up with more resumes than they can thoroughly review. And as such, they tend to limit their search to the ones that appear near-perfect matches for the role.
So if you haven’t been in an identical role in the same industry, your chances are pretty low to get called back for further consideration.
But just because your chances of getting hired through an online search are low shouldn’t be a deterrent to finding a new job. In my experience, the best way to find a new job isn’t through an unsolicited online application.
Throughout my career, I’ve been hired for a number of different roles. And in none of those roles did I get hired through a website or other unsolicited application. Every one of my prior roles came through a networking connection.
In my comment on Financial Samurai, I shared how I got hired for my last full-time employment role. At the time, I was working on a startup and approached my friend who had previously worked for me and now was the COO of a small company.
He told me they weren’t interested in the startup product but did have a need for someone to come in and run the business. Shortly thereafter, I was hired.
And as I said in my comment, I do believe that starting a business is a great approach to take in this situation. If you’re successful getting an idea off the ground, obviously that would be a win. But similar to my prior situation, even if the startup doesn’t take off, the process of starting a business gets you in front of people and you never know where that will lead you.
Readers, do you have any suggestions on how to find new employment opportunities?
O e if the best ways is to leverage your network and be open for change.
I got the job with the biggest impact on my personal development and salary by talking to a co worker. We had a great relationship. The company where his wife worked was hiring… My CV got on the right desk with a trustworthy recommendation. That got me a first interview.
That’s a great point – being open to change.
I’m a big believer that you work hard and put yourself into situations where good things can happen. Providence takes over.