Apples and Oranges in a Job Search (Or, Apples and Spoiled Fruit)

Below is a description of the common job search process. Most people have been conditioned to follow this process with minor variations. We thought it might be beneficial to provide a comparison to the mindset of the common practices and what we offer in the Skill-Based Job Search Training – Opportunity Acquisition Training System – (O.A.T.S.).

Traditional job search practice starting in the 1960’s has been:
· Transmit a resume to a prospective employer (I use the word transmit, because it may have been delivered by hand, snail mail, or where we email the information with today’s technology)
· Wait
· Follow Up
· Wait
· Transmit more resumes to more prospective employers
· Repeat the process
This scenario applies to ads, job postings, and even those who compile a list of companies and send a cover letter and resume.

If someone was lucky, they got an interview. They waited after the interview, followed up and waited, etc. Hopefully, they received an offer that was acceptable and accepted the position.

Sure there is networking; especially if you know someone. Maybe the person with whom you networked wanted your resume to give to someone. You waited, followed up, and maybe waited some more. Hopefully, they did give the resume to the person they said they would. Hopefully, that person is a hiring manager. Hopefully, they saw your resume as a potential solution to their problem (given that they need a qualified person for a particular position). There is a lot of hope in this process. Hope is a beautiful resource but not one that an effective process is built and dependent upon.

Over the years especially as technology has raced ahead and provided more tools than ever before, the delivery has gotten quicker. Fundamentally, not much has changed in the actual practices. Speed has not improved output but it does allow for faster screening out of your resume with scanners and software,

Because there has been little change in the basic practices, everyone accepts the process and see it as the norm. However, they may not be comfortable or optimistic with the potential outcome. I have heard it over and over again, the disappointment when no response or negative responses are all too frequently received. The weight of the collection, rejection, and silence is crushing for some.

Doug Beabout and I looked at each other one day and at the same time said, “We can help change this situation.” Our success as talent acquisition consultants is dependent upon helping companies that are not able to find the right person for a position. A clarification should be made here. Most companies are not good at attracting qualified people for many of their positions. Human resources professionals and hiring managers are very busy with other continuing responsibilities to master an effective recruiting process that needed on occasion.

Doug paints a very accurate and vivid picture of what it is like for most job seekers and employers trying to find each other. His description is, “it is like putting two people in a room, placing hoods over their heads, turning the lights off, closing the door and having them try to find each other.” We see it every day. Neither party is particularly gifted at finding the other. It is not the fault of either the applicant or the employer. The process is:
· A great deal of effort though most of it is unproductive
· A lot of searching with little strategic direction
· Hope upon hope something good will happen
· Frustration when effort yields little results
· Greater effort expended doing the same thing hoping for different results (and we all know what the genius, Albert Einstein said about that process)

Because what we do on a daily basis works every time, we knew it would work for others who were taught the right skills. Doug and I have successfully trained and taught others individually, in groups and in various types of environments. We chose the webinar format in order to reach as many people as possible while keeping it live and interactive.

Our process completely changes the dynamics of the traditional practices. Yeah, we pretty much need to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. It also changes Doug’s description.

Now the scene and process can look like this. Two people are in a room and only one person has a hood on (the prospective employer). The other does not have a hood (the job seeker). The lights are turned on in the room. Now the one with no hood (the job seeker) can take the hood off the other (the prospective employer). Now they can easily see each other as a result of your efforts. Therefore, the conversation becomes enlightening for both and a positive conclusion is the end result. The process now provides:
· The ability to take productive action
· The ability to choose (take the hood off or not)
· To know where you are going; straight to the employer
· You have control of your actions knowing what the potential results are
· You can open a dialogue
· You are helping someone who knows they have a problem, but does not know where to find the answer to the problem.
· You can influence the results of the encounter
· If you do not like the results, you can choose to move away and look for someone else with a hood you can remove
· You feel productive and in charge
· Then, if you want to change the outcome, you know how to change your actions to achieve it.

Which is more productive in resolving the problem? Which gives you real power in taking charge of your destiny? Which has little wasted effort with productive results, even if those results are to not choose that employer because they are not right for you?

Our O.A.T.S. training is envisioned best by the second illustration. However, many people can only see the first illustration. They may want the second but, do not know that it is possible. If they feel it is possible, they do not know how to make that happen.

We have taken years of practice and put it in a teachable format step by step, so you can take your hood off and see your opportunity. You can confidently know how to find an opportunity. You now know why it should be your opportunity. You can uncover what is inside it, and know how to approach the employer to get the results you want.

Isn’t that what everyone really wants to create with their job search process? Isn’t the first illustration what most have been conditioned to see as the normal process?

It is not a matter of changing any rules. It is seeing reality for what it is and taking effective steps to benefit by acting upon that reality. The process most have been conditioned to follow does not work well. The effective steps are:
· Knowing the hiring environment
· Doing the proper research
· Learning what you need to learn about specific companies and people
· Presenting your credentials in a manner that makes it obvious you are qualified
· Knowing how to interview effectively
· Proper follow up
· The right techniques for negotiating your offer and acceptance

I hope this illustrates what most job seekers have been conditioned to see as the normal course with poor results that have been around for decades. I hope it also reveals that there is training available right now that will allow you to change your focus. Finally, I hope it provides an avenue for everyone to find the success they want in an expeditious and effective way.

Both Doug and I know the process works from the combined 50 years of experience in prosecuting it on a daily basis.

Lastly, most people have invested heavily in their education to whatever level they have attained. They have either invested in further training at work, outside work, by their employer, or on their own. It was helpful and has made each person better at what they do. This training is no different, except it will allow you to take advantage of the other investments you have already made in yourself.

How VALUABLE is that for your FUTURE?