Seven job-hunting skills you should have

Every job has a description — a statement of what the skills the jobholder must have and tasks an individual performs. Looking for work is a job. Therefore, it too must have a job description. Here are the seven skills every job hunter must have:

1. Thinking: What are the tasks you must perform to be successful in your search: Read newspapers, business magazines and trade publications. Surf the web for company, industry and profession information. These sources will prove helpful in knowing where to look for a job, but also in preparing for interviews. PRnewswire.com provides searchable information on public companies. Catalog data for easy reference; with “Evernote” you can save and catalog web information. You can’t subscribe to every publication, so learn your way

Jim Pawlak around the library. Be sure to take change for the photocopier.

If you want to relocate, get a mail order or online subscription to the newspaper in the locale you’ve targeted. Check out Chamber of Commerce websites, too. They have information about schools, housing costs, taxes, cultural activities, etc.

Read job postings closely. Don’t waste time applying for jobs that don’t match. Take note of the firms that are hiring. Maybe they don’t require someone with your background right now; they may next week, so make them a research target.

2. Connecting: Networking referrals account for more than 60 percent of new hires. Yet, most people don’t think about networking until they’re looking for a job. It takes time to build a network.

Contact sources include family, friends, neighbors, former bosses and co-workers, sports leagues, church groups, your stockbroker, your insurance agent, your hair stylist, etc. Never use the “I’m unemployed” lead-in. Instead use “I’m looking for information about…” approach.

To meet others in your field, join a professional or trade association. Join LinkedIn groups to find out what’s going on with the industries and companies you’ve targeted, their trends and their people.

Relative to networking, set a goal relative to the number of contacts you’ll make each week. Revisit your contacts every 60 days. Don’t forget about the people you’re using as references on your résumé. Keep them apprised of your progress and ask for their input — and access to their contacts.

3. Writing: Make sure your cover letters, résumé and thank you notes create interest in the value you can add to a prospective employer. Be brief. No flowery words. No jargon. No errors. Just make your point. Before you send them out ask: “Are they written for the reader?”

4. Organization: Take notes on what you’ve read, whom you’ve contacted and your interviews. Determine your priorities on a weekly basis. Map your schedule; contact management software is particularly useful because you can auto-schedule future calls and make notes to plan conversations and recap results.

5. Selling: You are the product; you are its salesperson. Learning to sell, particularly how to cold call, is essential. Create a 30-second “brag byte” telling how your skills will be useful to the employer. Product knowledge isn’t enough. You must be confident to be convincing. Treat every interaction as an interview. Just because you can’t be seen doesn’t mean the caller isn’t developing a mental picture of you based upon voice tone and inflection. Face-to-face, you must also be able to read people and think on your feet. How you come across on the phone is important, too.

6. Patience: It will take time to find the right opportunity. Chances are you’ll encounter failures (i.e. don’t get interviews, get interviews but no job offers) during your job search. You have to bounce back and use these as learning experiences. If you get discouraged, your search is doomed.

7. Objectivity: Evaluate your game plan every few weeks. Be a self-critic. What’s working? What isn’t? Input from networking contacts is helpful, too.

Hone the skills, perform the tasks diligently and your job search will be successful.

Organization: Take notes on what you’ve read, whom you’ve contacted and your interviews. Determine your priorities on a weekly basis. Map your schedule.