Getting Your Foot in the Door
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Jumpstarting your search and becoming actively resourceful in a tight labor market is survival in the job market these days. At one time, “Getting your foot in the door” meant beginning in the mailroom and working up over a period of years to the executive suite. But now, the same phrase means creativity in finding career opportunities that match your skills, motivators, values, and achievements. Then, it becomes a matter of research, targeting and developing action plans that will lead you to decision makers. Bob Tank, Executive Vice President and Senior Consultant of Lee Hecht Harrison, an international outplacement organization with offices in Boca Raton advises, “that the targeting exercise is one of the most powerful job search techniques available to management and senior executives”. He recalls recently working with two candidates who landed excellent positions several weeks ago by using that technique. Tank also said “it is important to first have a list of pre-determined criteria. Then look for matches as you research companies by the established criteria. It often includes such things as size, culture, industry, and geographical preferences.”
Getting your foot in the right door is as important component as finding the position. Gayle Landen, Executive Director of Communities in Schools in West Palm Beach, assessed her career path as an organizational development consultant who travel led continuously throughout the United States. Landen explained, “I wanted to give up the arduous travel I was required to do, wanted to give back to the community which has become my home, and from where I received so much pleasure from volunteer involvement. That meant I had to make a career change.” After assessing her strengths and skills, Landen redefined herself and targeted the not for profit sector. “I spent hours doing research and talking to people who had knowledge in the field,” she said. “That led to being told of an opening for then Executive Director oft Communities in Schools. “I did more research on the agency and its mission, and contacted former board members for their insights and experiences with CIS. When I was selected for an interview, I continued my research. Not only did I have information about CIS, but I also had a list of questions that related to their needs and future plans.” Landen was selected for the position from a field of more than 100 applicants, many of whom had more experience in the not for profit sector, but none who had researched the target as well as she had.
Kate Wendelton, author of Targeting the Job You Want, Third and Founder of the Five O’clock Club in New York City advises, “After you have done preliminary research on the Internet and read the relevant data, talk to people at the highest level you can reach in the company. Explain you are seeking information. Define a problem and provide the solution.” Bob Tank agrees that a letter to the right person in the company, even though they have no announced vacancies, can be the key to success. “Share your unique achievements that will be of interest and will generate ideas”, he said. “That will make you the leader of the pack of qualified candidates in the job market.” Career Coaches agree, that once you have selected the target companies, begin an all out campaign. Focusing on a prioritized list of companies and spending a major portion of each day in activities related to your goals pays off. Looking for a job is a job.
Kate Wendelton, also advises her clients to make use of associations where the people from your target area are members. “Having access to this list can get you valuable information and advice. Since research involves the Internet, click onto home pages of companies in your target list. They often have links to career opportunities, or information about career paths, potential growth or expansion of the company and other links that are of value.”
Good communication skills are critical when contacting the people on your target list. Experts in the career development field tell candidates that effective résumés focuses on the needs of the industry, the company target, and spells out quantifiable achievements that benefit the company. Knowing the company’s mission, its plans for expansion, it products, and services is a sure fire way to get an interview as well as to impress the people with whom you will be meeting.
Cover letters should be original. Recruiters and human resources professionals, alike,. can determine when a cover letter comes straight from a book. They look for something in the first sentence that “hook's" the attention of the reader. TTG Consultants, a Lincolnshire International Affiliate, in their Opening New Doors Job Search Manual advises that you “begin letters with an achievement that can solve a problem or add to the company’s bottom line. A current event affecting the industry grabs attention and often provokes the curiosity of the person you are trying to reach. This is where creativity and knowledge of the company through research, pays off.”
Getting your foot in the door is a matter of targeting where you will be a good fit, doing
your homework through research, and intense preparation for a face-to-face meeting.
Traditional job-search approaches just don’t work anymore. Resourceful job searchers
Know they must continuously create new ways to get their foot in the door.
They also know they must practice aiming for the target until they hit their mark.
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