The Game of Job Hunting, not for the faint-hearted

When networking experts Dick Lam and Gaurav Wadekar held a Meetup last night in the Metropolitan Hotel in Sydney’s O’Connell St, the energy was high along with the urgent need for answers. As I often have more questions than answers, I fitted in perfectly to the event which had already started with an ice-breaker before I trudged my way up the four flights of stairs to the room on the second level.

It wasn’t long before Lam (right) launched into his presentation, ‘How to Get a Job in 2018’ with a question that plagues every job seeker.

“What does it really mean when a recruiter says you missed out on the job because there was a ‘better candidate’?”

 According to Lam, addressing an audience of around 30 career hopefuls dominated by immigrants with high technical skills but who are often low on communication, it can mean this: “…you have all the technical skills we need to do the job but your communication skills are so poor that I couldn’t put you in front of a client”.

Or, for the mature (read over 50 years) members of the group who often hear, “you are overqualified”, the truth is harsher Lam explained. In reality, they have decided you probably won’t get along with your supervisor who is ten years younger or, you are too set in your ways.

But what was more staggering in Lam’s presentation, was the claim that there is only a 4% chance of success when applying for a job on site such as Seek or LinkedIn. This means that an applicant would need to make between 250-1,000 attempts to be successful. (Sounds like an Olympic sport to me).

As you could hear the sighs extinguishing throughout the room, Lam added that, “most people give up at between 25-100 applications”.

So, as it seems this calls for more than a cursory glance at a job search app during the day if you are serious about planning your career, Lam handed the mic to co-host Gaurav Wadekar (right). Landing a gig within a week of arriving in Australia and author of the book, ‘An Immigrant’s Guide to Integration’ Wadeker has devised a Four-Point Strategy to job hunting success that anyone can use.

“If you want to get a job then you have to change your attitude. If what you are doing isn’t working then try something different,” he advised before claiming that anyone who uses his plan will succeed.

Gaurav Wadekar’s Four-Point Success Strategy

1. Have a plan: do research on what types of jobs are available that match your skillset; get out and meet with people who are doing the type of job you want to do and try to do something ‘extra’ every day.
2. Build your profile: update your resume regularly; refresh and build an online profile; what is your unique selling proposition? Keep a record of the number of calls you are getting for the number of jobs you are applying to.
3. Marketing: what are you doing to market yourself? Think of yourself like a small business, not a job hunter; physically take your resume to a company you are interested working for and, don’t be afraid to knock on doors.
4. Get the job: what your script when you receive call? Do you have a customised script for recruiters and human resources managers? How are you converting these calls into interviews?

Both Lam and Wadekar crammed as much intelligence, motivation and reality-checking into their 90-minute presentation as possible. As both men had Asian heritage, the empathy with their audience was authentic and palpable.

Although I didn’t fit into that particular demographic, I felt that if I was to apply Wadekar’s Four-Point plan I would have a good chance of success. You can’t expect more than that.

Claire Moffat is the owner of www.themicrocelebriti.com.au .

“My hypothesis is that young people are asked to function today in what amounts to a celebrity economy. In this economy, all they have to rely on is their own “brand” and name. Their celebrity-hood is micro, because it doesn’t transpire on the big screen or in larger-than-life proportions, but in the capillaries of social media, reality tv, and Twitter,” Pamela Haag.

I’m a LinkedIn and Twitter specialist and business mentor. I help you create a brilliant and enduring online presence. [email protected]