On April Fool’s Day anyone could be planning to fool you but when it comes to your job search who is fooling who? Is it possible that you are fully responsible for fooling yourself?
You have just won $1,000! Not really, April Fools! Just wanted to get this out of the way in the name of tradition on a day filled with good hearted pranks and a hearty laugh when the effort to get others to believe in falsehoods is a success.
One day of being fooled will not likely have a dramatic impact on your future but the following falsehoods are key points that could seriously impair your job search and you could be fooling yourself:
…if you believe an HR professional or recruiter is going to read your entire resume. The average time spent perusing a resume is less than 30 seconds. With this in mind, do you think you should submit a 4 or 5 page resume?
…if you are expecting to land a job solely by submitting your resume through online job boards. Online job boards represent a small percentage of available jobs and a success rate as low as 3%.
…if you are sitting at home by the phone thinking the recruiters are going to call you back. Recruiters work to fill available positions and they do not assume the responsibility of finding anyone a job.
…if you have allocated three to six months to successfully obtain a job. It is more likely to take twelve months to secure an executive position. An old rule of thumb is to assume one month per each $10,000 in salary.
…if you believe social media is not for you and you have decided against establishing a Linkedin profile. Most studies show up to 80% of recruiters and HR professionals are using Linkedin to find and verify potential candidates.
…if you are not actively networking with EVERYONE; friends, colleagues, relatives, professionals and attending social events and professional networking events. The most successful job search tool available is networking, surpassing all other job search strategies COMBINED.
…if you accept a job offer and choose not to maintain your network because you don’t need them anymore. Networking is all about reciprocation so be prepared to give back especially if you are not planning to retire in the next five years, which is the average job tenure.
Finally, you are fooling yourself if you send a resume out and expect to be contacted if you have not included any contact details! Unless of course it is April Fool’s Day and you have intentionally submitted a cleverly drafted resume that profiles a perfect candidate for a high profile position to a recruiter who has been trying to fill it.
Be sure to include your contact details when you send your resume to Elite Resumes for a free resume critique and receive a phone call from Martin Buckland, Certified Professional Resume Writer.
Enjoy this April Fool’s Day and be sure to check out the following professional job search advice from the Career Collective!
10 Ways to Tell if Your Job Search is a Joke, @careerealism
If It’s Not You and It’s Not True, You’re Fooling Yourself, @GayleHoward
Don’t Kid Yourself! (The Person You See in the Mirror is a Good Hire), @chandlee
Avoiding the Most Common Blunder, @jobhuntorg
Are you fooling yourself? Bored at work? Is it your own fault?, @keppie_careers
Hey, Job Seeker — Don’t Be a Fool!, @resumeservice
Job Search Is No Joking Matter, @careersherpa
Is Your #Career in Recovery or Retreat? (All Joking Aside), @KCCareerCoach
9 Ways You Might Be Fooling Yourself About Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman
Don’t get tricked by these 3 job search blunders, @LaurieBerenson
Trying to hard to be nobody’s fool?, @WorkWithIllness
It’s not all about you, @DawnBugni
Mirror ‘their’ needs, not ‘your’ wants in #jobsearch, @ValueIntoWords
Stop Fooling Yourself about your Job Hunt: Things you may be doing to sabotage yourself, @erinkennedycprw
Same as it ever was, @walterakana
Don’t be fooled. Avoid these, @kat_hansen
Job Seekers: You Are Fooling Yourself If, @barbarasafani
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