Best and Worst Ways to Find a Job
from Richard Bolles's "What Color Is Your Parachute?“
If you limit yourself to only one job-hunting method, you'll likely stay out of work. Go for at least two to three of the best, and limit the worst.
BEST - Networking
1. Ask for job leads from family members, friends, people in the community, and staff at career centers. Ask them this one simple question: Do you know of any jobs in my field? That method has a 33% success rate.
2. Knock on the doors of any employers, factories, or offices that interest you, whether or not they have vacancies. That method has a 47% success rate.
3. Use the Yellow Pages to identify areas that interest you in or near the town or city where you live and then call the employers in that field to find out whether they are hiring for the position that you can do -- and do well. A 69% success rate.
4. In a group with other job hunters, implement method #3 (above). That method has an 84% success rate.
5. Do thorough homework on yourself and organizations. Know your best skills, in order of priority. Know the fields in which you want to use those skills. Talk to people who have those kinds of jobs. Find out whether they're happy, and how they found their jobs. Then choose the places where you want to work, rather than just those places that have advertised job openings. Thoroughly research these organizations before approaching them.
1. Ask for job leads from family members, friends, people in the community, and staff at career centers. Ask them this one simple question: Do you know of any jobs in my field? That method has a 33% success rate.
2. Knock on the doors of any employers, factories, or offices that interest you, whether or not they have vacancies. That method has a 47% success rate.
3. Use the Yellow Pages to identify areas that interest you in or near the town or city where you live and then call the employers in that field to find out whether they are hiring for the position that you can do -- and do well. A 69% success rate.
4. In a group with other job hunters, implement method #3 (above). That method has an 84% success rate.
5. Do thorough homework on yourself and organizations. Know your best skills, in order of priority. Know the fields in which you want to use those skills. Talk to people who have those kinds of jobs. Find out whether they're happy, and how they found their jobs. Then choose the places where you want to work, rather than just those places that have advertised job openings. Thoroughly research these organizations before approaching them.
WORST - Applying to Ads
1. Randomly email out résumés to employers. That method has a 7% success rate. (One study revealed that there is one job offer for every 1,470 résumés floating around out there. Another study puts the figure even higher -- one job offer for every 1,700 résumés.)
2. Answer ads in professional or trade journals appropriate to your field. That method also has only a 7% success rate.
3. Answer ads in newspapers in other parts of the state or country. That method has a 10% success rate.
4. Answer ads in local newspapers. That method has a 5% to 24% success rate. (The higher the salary, the smaller the chance of finding a job using that method.)
5. Go to private employment agencies for help. This method also has a 5% to 24% success rate, again, depending on the salary you want. (In a recent study, 27.8% of female job hunters found jobs within two months by going to private employment agencies. Question: what kind of jobs did they get?) Check out www.jobhuntersbible.com - the official online job search resource hosted By Dick Bolles, author of "What Color is Your Parachute?" This is an invaluable and FREE tool!
1. Randomly email out résumés to employers. That method has a 7% success rate. (One study revealed that there is one job offer for every 1,470 résumés floating around out there. Another study puts the figure even higher -- one job offer for every 1,700 résumés.)
2. Answer ads in professional or trade journals appropriate to your field. That method also has only a 7% success rate.
3. Answer ads in newspapers in other parts of the state or country. That method has a 10% success rate.
4. Answer ads in local newspapers. That method has a 5% to 24% success rate. (The higher the salary, the smaller the chance of finding a job using that method.)
5. Go to private employment agencies for help. This method also has a 5% to 24% success rate, again, depending on the salary you want. (In a recent study, 27.8% of female job hunters found jobs within two months by going to private employment agencies. Question: what kind of jobs did they get?) Check out www.jobhuntersbible.com - the official online job search resource hosted By Dick Bolles, author of "What Color is Your Parachute?" This is an invaluable and FREE tool!