Are you Mixing it up? Mixing what up you may be asking? I talking about your career search marketing mix! Growing up in the neighborhood if an outsider tried to get into a conversation I was having with my friends, you may have heard us say that "He or She is trying to be all in our Mix!" in other words, that person was trying to be in your business. Let me be the first of many professionals to tell you that if you are remotely involved in today's economic landscape and tight job search market that you definitely need to be in the mix of as many people as you can to make your career search work for you.
You may have heard in the newly released government unemployment numbers for February 2010 that the unemployment rate held steady from January at 9.76% that's almost 10% of the entire population of the United States. Additionally, Andrea Koncz and Mimi Collins writers for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) website reported in their February article that the 2010 bachelor degree graduates are in for a an overall 2% decrease in salary offerings. Now I realize that these numbers looks bleak and unsettling. However, you may not know this about me but I'm a natural born optimist so I always choose to look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. So, although 10% of the our population is out of work at the moment, the other 90% are employed and by many standards our nation is still thriving head and shoulders above many others. With that said let me 'spread a little more love in your heart' as it relates to current statistics. Steve Ginsberg of the New Mexico Business Weekly reports that construction jobs in Albuquerque, New Mexico are on the rise, which is an increase from 2009. More exciting news is that Brian Reisinger of the Nashville Business Journal reported that the Nashville Entrepreneurs’Organization, states that 75% of it's members plan to hire in 2010. Additionally, Intuit Inc., which provides online payroll services to small businesses, says that small firms added 40,000 jobs in February and nearly 150,000 jobs since last June.
So what does all of this mean for you and your career search? It means that by "many means necessary" you need to up your career search mix. Here are few suggestions on how you can mix it up and increase the chances of success for your career search. Be sure to have all the following in your mix:
Company Websites
Checking company websites is an obvious item to add in your marketing mix. Companies are still posting opportunities on their websites. The company website is also a great tool to use as you prepare for an interview to make sure that you are clear about the company's vision and goals. Conversely, it is a great chance for you to make sure that the company lines up with your goals before you apply with them. This helps to eliminate some of the surprises about the company that may arise on your end once you are in the interview or offered the job.
Job Search Engines
Another very popular and useful tool to be sure to have in your job search mix are job engines. Today there are hundreds of job search engines that can have very broad or very focused listings. There are search engines for degreed to non-degreed positions, national to global positions and almost every imaginable career field there is. In fact. we recently presented a job search engine tool to one of our clients which listed over 20 job search engines specific to her several career interests. The success it garnered for her could not have been possible had we only given her a few select engines. So, take advantage of all the information that is available for you on the world wide web. If you use it effectively it's like striking gold.
Select Part two to read the conclusion of this blog
Web sources/ Bibliography
(New Mexico Business Weekly - by Steve Ginsberg Special to NMBW, 1/8/2010)
(What's your hiring outlook for 2010; columbus.bizjournals.com 12/11/09)
(Nashville Business Journal - by Brian Reisinger Staff Writer, 3/5/2010)
(Early Report Shows Lower Average Salary for College, www.naceweb.com, Andrea Koncz, or Mimi Collins, February 04, 2010)
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