3 Thoughts on Getting a Job Fast: Can You Be Successful Doing a Quick Job Search?

This week, while talking with my Web marketing expert, I wondered “what do job seekers I work with really want?” She looked at the search terms job seekers and others are using to find my Web site, and told me “job seekers want to find work quickly.” In fact, she said, job seekers are searching for information on “how to find a job in 10 days.” They apply for positions and want to get job interviews right away.

Job seekers have told me they need to find a job now. They want a way to “easily apply” for jobs. No one pays me, or anyone else, to tell them “it can’t be done.” Nonetheless, I offer some of the following insights and suggestions to job seekers that need a job right away:

1. Superstars land jobs quickly,
2.  Candidates referred into jobs are hired more rapidly than others, and
3. You need a job search strategy to “easily apply” with online applications.

Job seekers that must find an opportunity within days or weeks for economic reasons can develop a strategy that may work. An approach I taught at a program serving long-term unemployed professionals in New York was to seek a “day job” while looking for their “dream job.” I’ve had a number of co-workers and clients that worked in entry-level jobs, or jobs outside their fields while they continued seeking jobs on their career track.

Take a “survival job” when you need one. You could be very unhappy though if you take a job that conflicts with your personal values or does not match your skills.

Superstars land jobs quickly.

There seem to be people in every profession and business that always have great jobs with high status and substantial salaries. It’s a phenomena that is not limited to football and basketball stars.

We have all encountered people that get great jobs through sheer luck. They are in the right place at the right time. Most often, I have found, the person has outstanding credentials and experience the vast majority of workers do not match.  For example, a “superstar” client I worked with last year had some 20 years of experience as a state-level lobbyist with notable legislative “wins,” multiple bar admissions, including the US Supreme Court Bar, and schooling at Oxford University. She spent one afternoon using her new resume to apply for jobs, got several interviews, and was offered a dream job.

The majority of us are solid “journeyman-level” professionals, and not superstars. We are often the people that do the day-to-day work for superstar leaders, so unlike World-renown experts and leaders, our job searches will require effort. We’ll have to do some marketing that will motivate employers to learn more about us. That takes time.

Candidates referred into jobs get hired faster.

You will not find a “magic bullet” (or resume bullet-point) that will guarantee you will “get a job in 10 days,” or some other arbitrary timeframe. It does not matter to employers how badly you need a job. Employers hire to meet their needs, and not your needs.

Companies of all sizes, I’ve been told many times, seek new employees through referrals from current employees. They are especially keen to hire employees that excellent performers refer to them. Presumably, employees refer friends and acquaintances that are top performers like they are.

Your goal should be to identify and get to know the great performers in companies where you want to work. My Dad called that process “finding a rabbi.” A more modern term for the process is “finding a mentor.” Steve Dalton, in his book, The 2-Hour Job Search refers to identifying and cultivating contacts that can help you as “finding boosters.” Regardless of what you call the process, or precisely how you go about this search, it will take time. This effort is still likely to be faster, and lead to a job that better matches your skills and values, than random online applications.

Some years ago, a friend I worked with at a previous job invited me to his new office. I found several former co-workers in his cube-farm. It turned out that one of the group was hired first. She referred her former team members for job interviews.

The hiring process may be faster than average when you are referred into the job. You will still have to provide the usual resume and cover letter for hiring managers that do not know you and for the HR department. Click here to discuss ways you can improve your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile to make certain your marketing materials are ready.

You need a job search strategy to “easily apply.”

Certain job search sites have a link for you to “easily apply” for posted jobs. It’s only easy, though, if you are ready. For example, some sites now allow or even encourage you to apply with your LinkedIn profile so you do not need a traditional resume. That means your LinkedIn profile must be ready. Other sites may offer to build a resume for you as part of their “easy apply” process. You will still need accomplishment-based content to do this.

Some sites do not take cover letters. They may offer a dialogue box where you can enter “anything else you want us to know.” This is an opportunity to provide cover letter narrative. The old expression—“there’s no such thing as a free lunch” applies to job search. We cannot offer you free lunches either, but you can click here for our complimentary consultation.