Job Hunter or Farmer?
By Kevin Donlin
We humans have been farming for about 12,000 years, which
accounts for only 0.5% of our time on earth as a species, according
to an article on the University of Reading web site.
That means, for most of our ancestors -- 99.5% of them --
hunting and gathering was how they got food.
Now. Wouldn’t you agree that farming is a more reliable
way to feed your family than hunting, especially if the latter
involves trying to bag a mastodon?
All of which has something very important to do with your
career.
It’s this: Almost everyone looking for work thinks of
themselves as a job hunter. (You, too?)
Most people hunt for employers and gather job leads, day in
and day out. That’s all they know. That’s how
they’ve always done it. Maybe for 99.5% of their working
history.
But wouldn’t it be an evolutionary leap forward to
become a job farmer instead? Especially when looking at your career
from a long-term perspective?
With that in mind, here are four questions to help you think
like a job farmer and cultivate new employment
opportunities as reliably as new crops of corn or oats
…
1) Could you start or participate in a blog that gets
noticed by employers?
According to an article by LaTina Emerson on RedOrbit.com, one
way that today’s recruiters are filling positions is by
searching industry-specific blogs for intelligent, informed
candidates.
Why not be among the lucky few who get found -- and
hired?
If you write a high-quality blog, or post thoughtful comments
on somebody else’s, you greatly increase your chances of
getting called by recruiters with job opportunities.
2) Could you join a professional association,
like Toastmasters or the Chamber of Commerce, that lets you
showcase your expertise among movers and shakers?
Beyond simply joining a local work-related organization, you
should stand out and get noticed.
How? Offer to help with a committee, give a lunch-and-learn
presentation on your area of expertise, or take on some other
leadership role.
Why? Because almost every professional organization in every
city is in need of new leaders. And employers almost always prefer
to hire leaders over followers.
To find lists of associations near you, Google the phrase:
"professional associations YOUR CITY" or "professional
organizations YOUR CITY."
3) Could you get found by employers and recruiters on
social networking sites?
Whether you’re a member of LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace
-- or all three -- you can make it easier for hiring managers to
find you by including the right words in your online profile.
Here’s why: You may think of yourself as an Account
Executive and define yourself that way in your LinkedIn profile,
for example, but a recruiter searching for a Sales Rep might never
find you, even though you’re a perfect match for the
job.
Solution? Embed all relevant job titles and skills in your
profile.
If you can't find a way to do it naturally, simply include a
sentence like this: “Similar job titles to what I've done
include Sale Rep, Sales Representative, Account Executive, and
Marketing Coordinator.”
As long as you're accurate in your descriptions and don't go
overboard, this tactic can get you found by recruiters searching
LinkedIn or other social networking sites.
4) Could you join a community service organization and
meet local leaders in a setting that lets your altruistic side
shine through?
This is different from joining professional associations, in
that community service organizations are not likely to be connected
with business. But that doesn’t mean you can't turn your
volunteer efforts into networking contacts that lead to a new
job.
Many of the most influential people in any community volunteer
for soup kitchens, church boards of directors, youth mentoring
programs, and the like. Why not join one and work alongside the
kind of people you need to meet for long-term career success?
To find lists of possible groups to join, Google the phrase:
"volunteer opportunities YOUR CITY" or "community organizations
YOUR CITY."
Now, go out, get found and get hired!
