???? What happens when you view the job search like a sales motion?
Occasionally, I like to run experiments to see if I can take some process we all know is broken and figure out a potential solution to make it better. I’m currently running one as a job seeker (the ultimate broken process!) and thought I’d share an overview & update:
The lede: Creating a 1-pager on myself helped me see that the typical job search is missing a step or two.
According to my recent job search experiment, recruiters and job seekers would benefit from engaging in more robust pre-apply conversations, anchored by something other than the job description/résumé pairing.
The situation: Customizing résumés is always intense, often overwhelming, and sometimes impossible
After learning recently that I would be laid off, I immediately ran into a familiar challenge: with upwards of 250 applicants per open job (on average), rising to the top of any candidate list requires significant customization of to my résumé, as well as a custom cover letter—and an aligned LinkedIn profile.
This scenario presents multiple problems. First, that candidate volume means recruiters turn job ads off quickly, leaving me without adequate time to make those résumé customizations... or forcing hard choices about where to devote my time. On the one hand, I could research a company enough to do the extensive customization needed to get noticed may be the correct answer on paper (and I do agree with you, Jackie Clayton ), but given each opportunity's 0.04% chance of success, that feels incredibly risky. Alternatively, I could do just enough customization across multiple opportunities, but what I gain in reach I give up in matching, so that's no better. And in either case, I have a major headache when it comes to what to do with my LinkedIn profile, which somehow has to be aligned with all of those résumés I've customized.
And this LinkedIn profile question is significant, as even applying to two very similar jobs can create problems: if one of those companies is looking for someone with cross-functional team management skills and the other wants cross-functional team leadership skills, I need to burn two skill slots (out of 50) to showcase my ability in this one area.
Now think of all the ways companies ask for strategic thinking, collaboration, innovation, software know-how (are you adept at MS Office or MS Excel?), and other skills, and you can see how a job seeker is going to run out of room to customize very quickly. The challenge becomes exponentially more complicated if, like me, you're considering leadership roles in different types of companies.
AI can help, for sure. (This week AI helped me discover that a common ATS was mistaking my teaching experience for my education, for instance... and was also completely missing my human capital software experience... grrr.) Fixing these things certainly help, but doesn't change the fundamental problem. It's simply not possible for me to maintain 32 different flavors of myself at the same time via a single document.
Fortunately, in addition to working in Talent Acquisition, I also co-own a boutique brand & communications agency with my partner and wife, (hi, Lisa Arroyo Seiden (Cervenka) ). Our “pillow talk” includes a mix of HR, TA, integrated marketing, and communications, and led to an idea of how to change the game.
The insight: The job search is a sales motion with too few steps to be effective
I applied a marketing perspective to the job search, positioning myself—the job seeker—as the product. My insight from doing this was that a job search is basically the same thing as a sales motion that has been reduced down to just RFPs (job descriptions) and spec sheets (résumés). Even my LinkedIn profile, which is a content hub most of the time, becomes a glorified résumé/spec sheet during a job search!
Yet in a real sales motion, I’d be reaching out and sharing information with prospects to build awareness, learn about their needs, and spark interest & consideration long before engaging with either a spec sheet or an RFP.
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The shift: Add what's missing
I developed a 1-sheet and video for myself and started engaging with prospective employers literally as if my job search were a sales motion. The 1-sheet includes a reference quote, skills (listed by categories), a 1-liner about what I do, preferred job titles, and highlights from my background. The interview includes me answering questions about what I do and what kind of company I’d like to work for. I posted these assets as a LinkedIn article to drive awareness.
The impact: Success! (Mostly)
Because I post regularly (at least 1x week) and have a consistent baseline for my LinkedIn metrics going back years, I was able to assess the impact of this approach beyond the anecdotal. Within 7 days:
Why I’m sharing this:
I know most people don’t think like me. Even when they do, since a job search stops after the first “sale,” there’s rarely enough data from experiments like this to assess impact. Plus, if their professional focus isn't in Talent & TA, are they going to take the time to report out? It would be off brand! So when I saw some value here, I wanted to share with my tribe (that's you).
The upshot:
If you are—or are close to—a job seeker, consider copying what I’m doing, it may help! (And what’s really nice is that it doesn’t require “going viral” to be effective at raising your profile with people who you really want to court.)
If you're a TA leader or HCM product owner focused on TA, maybe this will help spark some creative thinking about ways to invite more effective engagement from candidates, test alternative hiring approaches, validate product-market-fit, or develop relevant dashboards.
Or, you know, maybe it’s just fun to get a peek into someone else’s life, I dunno.
Whichever it is for you, I hope you enjoy. ;)
That's all I've got, see you tomorrow!
#thebrilliancewithin #recruiting #aiinta #morejoy
Life-long Student Nurturing a Community of TA Leaders
9 个月I really like the idea. Love to see you do a video on "The 1-sheet includes a reference quote, skills (listed by categories), a 1-liner about what I do, preferred job titles, and highlights from my background.?" I would promote that