Bad economy, good economy, the way professionals and executives in corporate North America search for jobs has changed. Following these eight rules will help you cope the 21st century job search. In case you missed last week, the first four rules are:

1. Don’t lead with your resume;
2. Don’t place too much reliance on recruiters;
3. Network hardest with the people you don’t know; and
4. The tighter your objective, the shorter your search.

With apologies to college hoops fans, let’s move on to the final four.

Rule 5: Think Small

Big corporations don’t want you. Smaller companies need you.

According to Dun & Bradstreet, there are five times as many companies in the U.S. with revenues under $500 million as there are above that figure. Smaller companies tend to care less about the age, job-hopping and the eclectic background issues senior executives face than larger companies do. In fact, smaller companies value fresh ideas and seasoned perspectives. So they tend to be more open to hiring mature, experienced persons with varied backgrounds.

Rule 6: Skills Are Less Important than Talents

Skills may get you the interview; but talent gets you the job. Skills aren’t unique. There are other persons in the functional area you perform—occupational health and safety—that possess the same learning and experiences as you do. Talent is what distinguishes you from peers. Although you may all have similar backgrounds, skills and experience, you don’t all have similar talents.

Example: Strategic planning is a skill. Consistently making the strategic moves in the right direction is a talent. John Akers at IBM did not. JackWelch at GE did. Mentoring, taking big risks without fear of failure, inspiring management teams, identifying market opportunities others miss and solving tough challenges others avoid are other examples of special talents.

Rule 7: Filling Need Is More important Than Filling Job Specs

Arguably, the biggest mistake job seekers make in interviews is “telling more than selling.” Any great salesperson will tell you that you can’t sell until you first know what the person needs. Unfortunately, in many cases the company or hiring authority’s real need for you is not spelled out in the job specification. It is often hidden underneath all the fine print. If the company is seeking an EHS coordinator, for example, their “hidden” need may be for a confident, smooth individual with great presence and an impeccable background who will appeal to and help reassure nervous supervisors and upper management officials.

Filling a position’s job specs merely puts you on the same playing field with other deserving candidates. The real payoff is to ask insightful questions during interviews to uncover the critical — but often hidden — needs that drive the hiring decision. Then, once you identify those needs, you can proceed to the “selling” and explain how you can fulfill those needs.

Rule 8: Best Prepared Usually Beats Best Qualified

Executive talent coaches Tucker Mays and Bob Sloane say that hiring professionals report that at least 50% of the time candidates who have thoroughly prepared for interviews and network meetings get jobs ahead of those who are more qualified but less prepared.

Preparation means learning absolutely everything you can about the target company and its key managers – especially the person who will hire you. Books have been written about the wisdom in poring over annual reports, public financial statements and articles about companies. Still, very few executives and managers in transition take the necessary time to conduct this depth of research.

We all know that first impressions are critical in job search meetings. Recruiters believe that most interviewers make up their minds about a candidate within the first two minutes. This means that the interviewee must learn as much as possible about the interviewer’s style, character, likes/dislikes, background and interests. College, the military, sports, associations, mutual friends and acquaintances, hobbies and heritage are all areas where mutual experience and interests can be explored to establish a commonality of interests that can form a solid foundation and distinguish you from competing candidates. Most of this information, both formal and anecdotal, can be gained from the Internet and networking contacts that are familiar with target companies and hiring executives.

Conclusion

To limit your search and avoid the crushing costs of delay, you must understand and accept the tough realities of today’s job market, and then develop a search plan based on the new rules. You must adjust your search strategy, relying far less on recruiters, warm contacts, larger companies, skills only and your résumé, and concentrate more on smaller firms, cold call networking and your unique talents. Doing these things will put you in a far stronger position to find your next job of choice in a reasonable amount of time.

Wishing you career success,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

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