Job Search – Wildcards

Am I writing this for me or am I writing it for you?  Flip a coin?

So many finger-tip resources available from your keyboard!  Hints, tips, advice, case studies – a veritable treasure chest of information at your job-hunting feet!  Or is it?

• Clean up your resume!
• Target your resume!
• Plug in those keywords!
• Video your resume!
• Newly graduated?
• Over 40?  Over-qualified? Under-qualified?
• Let us review your resume for free!
• Been looking too long, well read this!

Being a huge research fan, I believe in reading everything I can get my hands on to improve/analyze/restructure whatever my focus,  but not at the expense of  time management -or sanity, for that matter.  When you’re dedicated to finding the right position, even if you’ve been downsized, you still have a job -only now your career is Looking for a Job.  Remember to keep that in the forefront of your task list at all times.

I’ve shared a few obviously weird postings, made a couple of  reading suggestions, and now I’m going to share a real-life experience of my own.  Take from it what you will.

Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and play a wildcard. One of the suggestions I’ve read?  Make a phone call.  Check any communication from the posting recruiter, and if you find a connection, a name, a phone number, and no mention of “NO PHONE CALLS,”  pick up the phone and make a call.

An Interview with Me, by Me, about My Wildcard Call

What led you to an interest in this particular Internet posting in the first place?

“Search tools on CareerBuilder, actually. As I was setting myself up to work from home searching for the right position via Job Boards, I decided to play crazy with the tools for a bit.  I have this weird attraction to the logic behind search tools – something of a hangover from my last position.  I entered a position description and keywords for one of my most confident skills, then decided to look for something within 10 miles of my zip code.  Since I am in the Northern ‘burbs of Atlanta, that was a Wildcard.  There’s not much up this way.  But what the heck?”

And you found?

“Perfection on a page!  Eight minutes from my house!  Office management, wholesale consumer goods industry, channel marketing, web content development, excellent customer service skills, experienced,educated,  mature, flexible, able to leap multi-tasking in a single bound – so me!  Oh – and the applicant had to agree that they lived within an easy commute of the office location!  Snap!”

So what did you do next?

I carefully updated my resume, including the keywords as found in the post.  I was honest, I did not over-state my qualifications.  Then I crafted a short, concise cover letter, highlighting my commute qualifications, of which I was pretty darned proud at the moment.  Spell check, proofread for clarity, submit!  Tah- Dah!

And then?

Well, I must admit, I started at the wrong end.  I researched AFTER I submitted my resume.  Fortunately this time it turned out OK, for a while.

Why OK?

I checked the URL ownership records, the Alexa history, the owner’s name (and yes, I had enough information to track him on numerous sites).  Everything added up to what was posted in the description.

Why OK  “only for a while”?

The physical drive to test the commute on a Sunday revealed:

• The office location was close
• It was a very small office, in a very small office park – so if you import and sell over the Internet, where is your warehouse?  There isn’t a warehouse within 10 miles of that location.  Hmm…
• It looked like the owner was working on Sunday.  A nice Infinity was the only car in the parking lot – right in front of the office door.   Clues, clues, clues! And some curiousity.

So I justified my questions in my head:

• He’s so busy he has to work on Sunday.  He needs me!
• Maybe he dropships from a central warehouse, and keeps his main office close to home?  Family friendly!
• That little office must be really nice inside.  How clever to keep your main site close and low cost but comfortable – good strategy.
• So his locations in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, as listed on his website (complete with toll-free numbers), may be field reps.  Great idea!
• So what if his LinkedIn profile indicates his first job was in cardboard boxes – we all make leaps of faith in our careers, and sometimes they work out!

Weren’t you over-justifying?

Of course I was.  But remember, it was early in this process. I was playing a wildcard – and oh how I wanted it to work out! Also, by the time I’d “test-commuted” back home, I had a whole nest of virtual tests to take – I’d cleared the first hurdle!  Over-justification out the window, I eagerly took the tests.  What fun!  MS Office – no sweat.  Personality profile questions – click, click, click those radio buttons – agree, neutral, disagree.  Oh, I see the re-questions coming up now.   So clever these peeps!  Whoops! Roadblock – my favorite profile question – “Employees always take something of value from their employers.”  Well of course they do – experience, new skills, new strategies, good friends. Wait!  Are they talking about pencils?  Neutral.  Momentary panic – does that make me look like a thief? Oh the conundrums.

And then what?

Within a few minutes after taking the tests, I received a very cordial thank you email (read”auto-responder”) from the Company Owner, complete with name, number plus extension, and address.  How transparent can you get?  I liked that!  Kind of made me feel like we were already on a nice road to chatting in person.

So did you?

Yes, but I made the call.  After waiting a polite three business days, I picked up the phone.  Professional auto-answering program picked up, nicely done, punched in the extension at the appropriate time, and Hello!  “I am Laura 2.0, an applicant for your open position as advertised on CareerBuilder.  I submitted my resume and cover letter, took the tests, and was wondering if you had any more questions about my qualifications?  I know I may be catching you at a bad time, so if you would prefer I call again, please let me know what is convenient for you.”

Whew, couldn’t believe I sounded so sane over the roar of butterflies in my stomach.

And the response?

It was highly evident that I caught him off guard.  He stuttered and “umm-ed” a bit, made like he was looking for my paper, then recovered and said, “Yes, I want to talk now.  Let me tell you what I’m looking for…”

Well that was lucky, right?

Kind of.  He proceeded to tell me things I already knew from my research, but I listened patiently – thirteen years in the business, used to sell promotional gadgets, now imports and sells wholesale, has several divisions, looking for an Executive with Sales Management Experience to take over operations of one of his divisions.”

Excuse me?

Yep, nothing like what was stated in the online job post.  Even better, once he finished his spiel, he wanted to know why I was interested in the position, and he was rather blunt about it.

So what did you tell him?

In a nutshell, the truth.  Downsized from the same type of online industry he was in (but not promotional materials), looking for the next great position, found his ad, met his qualifications, and was excited about the dream commute plus my proven talents and abilities that could help his company grow!

How did he take that?

I’m quoting here:  “Industries will usually stretch their resources in order to keep talented employees, even in a economic slowdown.  So why did they toss you?”

Um…were you ready for that?

Um, no. I did not have my elevator pitch ready.  I was not about to get into the business model of my former company (none of his business), the fiduciary reasons they were restructuring (absolutely none of his business), and – while I was quickly arranging some kind of tasteful response to his question – I began to hear toddlers in the background.  He was working from home – on a Tuesday, at 10 am. Not a deal-killer, of course.  Working from home can be great.  But before I answered he announced “Listen, I have people in my office waiting to talk to me.  Can I call you back?”

So what did you learn from this?

Lots.

Number one – This guy was a jerk.  He spent the bucks to advertise for a position that did not exist.  He had no tact or diplomacy.  He may have been close by, but he was also rude.  So I learned that I did not want to work for him.

Number two – Develop and memorize the elevator pitch first, always.

Number three deserves a drumroll – if it looks too good to be true, then it is.  Thanks Mom!

Moral of this story? Go ahead – pitch out an occasional wildcard while looking for your next great position.  Note your mistakes candidly, don’t take them personally – this is business, after all. Then move on.  It’s out there, somewhere.  Your job is to find it!

Happy hunting!