Every week,
Many of the questions in this week’s “Ask the Coach” call revolved around the frustrations that result from engaging in the “posted position” job search game. It can’t be helped ... too few postings (and fewer that are “real”) and far too many candidates (qualified and unqualified) for every position.
I believe there also is a big difference in search strategy. When candidates are applying to posted openings, it requires the candidate to be what the job wants. One gentleman said he had 39 versions of his resume. To me, that is indicative of striving to be what a company wants ... not necessarily who the candidate is. I think that can also be a recipe for dissatisfaction and unhappiness in that next position.
One way to visualize the posted position game is to use a football analogy. In any football game you have 100 yards of playing field and two end zones, and of course, two teams. If you dressed both teams in the same uniform and put all of them in one 10-yard end zone, it would be very crowded and all of them would look pretty much alike. You couldn’t tell one team from another, defensive players from offensive, special teams, or the kick-off unit. The only people you could see well would depend on where you were sitting.
When there are hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes coming through the door - even stellar resumes - being seen requires a lot of luck.
Conversely, in the course of joining groups on LinkedIn, one of my clients came across a recruiter job posting that appeared as if it was written for him. In fact, upon sending his resume the recruiter immediately contacted him asking if he had modified his profile and resume to the position. He hadn’t. He was clear about his strengths, marketable value proposition, and target market. He is currently in the running as one of three finalists for that CFO position.
When a candidate has identified his strengths, core values, and uniqueness (personal brand) together with his marketable value proposition and target market it fosters authenticity, cultural fit, and effectiveness. In essence, it allows you to move into a role that fits naturally with who you are.
Being authentic in your brand is critically important. Inauthenticity is exhausting when it causes you to be constantly “on” around people rather than naturally playing to your strengths, values, and personality.
I stumbled across this on the Internet recently and thought it aptly captured the dilemma of branding inauthenticity. “The inauthentic man faces a difficult balancing act, for he is not only avoiding the truth, he has forgotten where he put the truth.”
Being effective in a job search requires a balanced and multi-faceted strategy, not a single and ineffective focus. A slightly modified cliche says, “if it looks too easy to be true, it probably isn’t.”
