COLD CALLING

I mentioned in an earlier blog that 1/3 of all new employees find jobs because of someone they knew. Also mentioned was a statistic that about 80% of job openings are not advertised in a newspaper. So...how do you find these "hidden jobs"?

Depending upon what book/reference you read, cold calling is how somewhere between 64% - 85% people find their jobs.

What is cold calling?

Cold calling is either (1) going into a place of business to seek a job or (2) calling a business to see if they are hiring.

Since money is tight, let's focus on calling a business on the phone to see if it is hiring.

Most people will call without researching the company to find out what the company provides/does or the company's organizational structure. When I conduct my class, I ask participants what they would say if the called a company to see if it was hiring. Most people tell me they will either ask "are you hiring" or "are you taking applications"?

Two mistakes just happened. The first is, the caller did not determine who the decision maker was - they either asked the receptionist/switchboard operator or they asked for Human Resources.

To increase the probability of being successful, you need to determine who is the person you would be reporting to - a supervisor, an owner, etc. This is the person you want to speak to. There are times when the decision maker knows (s)he will be hiring or is thinking about it, and may have not informed HR.

After you determine who the decision maker is, you might be tempted to ask if (s)he is hiring, however that puts you in a "needy" position (I know you need a job, however you are employed to solve an employer's problems; to make him/her money or to save him/her money - not the other way around with you asking him/her to solve your problems).

This said, you have about 30 seconds to catch the decision maker's attention - (s)he is a busy person and does not have time to waste (remember time is money).

Successful people will (1) ask if the person has about a minute of time and will (2) introduce themselves giving their name and job title followed by (3) a very brief statement of what knowledge, skills or abilities can be offered to any employer. They then ask the question (4) Do you have a need for my services? Do you need my help at this time?

There are only two answers to this question: 'yes' means can you meet with the person or send a resume and 'no' is an opportunity to (a) thank the person for his/her time and to (b) ask 'who are two people who might need my help?' (Do NOT ask, do you know someone I could call? The answer is most likely "no" followed by hanging up). Most of the time, if you ask, who might need my help, you will most likely hang up with at least one person you can now call.

When you call the person whose name was provided, tell the prospective employer who provided his/her name and repeat the dialogue from above.

Every call should be followed up with a short 'thank you' enclosing either a mini resume business card or a resume. Why? Maybe today the "big cheese" is not hiring, but tomorrow someone may quit, be fired, or whatever. You want to keep your name in front of prospective employers. Also, my personal bias - "we" have lost a great deal of our civility and writing a "thank you" night is something which "makes my day" - it's a lost art that is still valued by those people who receive the note.

Job Search Sites

http://www.oklahomajoblink.com/

http://www.monster.com/

http://www.flipdog.com/

http://www.thingamajob.com/

http://www.careerbuilder.com/

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/

http://www.ajb.com/

http://www.employment911.com/

http://www.constructionjobs.com/

http://www.everytruckjob.com/

http://www.indeed.com/

http://www.beyond.com/

http://www.nationajobs.com/

Networking

Most people do not realize that approximately 20% of job openings are advertised leaving 80% of the openings unadvertised.

References will state slightly different statistics, but about one-third of the new hires found their new job from somebody they knew. This means, you need to be "yacking it up" to everybody you know! And, get yourself some business cards that are designed like a mini-resume (this blog site has a hyperlink to a place where you can get FREE business cards).

Telling everyone you need to find a job and what kind of job you are looking for is called networking. In addition to your friends, family and neighbors, have you told:

• Your mail carrier (about 2/3 of the jobs are small operations and your mail carrier may deliver to businesses as well as business owners)
• Your doctor(s), dentist, CPA, attorney (these professionals know you, have accepted your money and have a vested interest in you getting a job). Let your doctor/dentist know you are looking and give him/her a business card.
• Your Bank Manager/President is also a good source for finding a job. These professionals attend Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc. clubs, attend Chamber of Commerce meetings, socialize with other professionals and are always trying to persuade businesses to start banking at their establishment. Many times Bank Managers/Presidents know of job openings.
• Hair dresser/barbers also have a wealth of information. Let your barber/hair dresser know you are looking for a job and give them a couple of business cards to pass to their associates.
• If you go to a church, synagogue, temple or mosque, let your religious leader and members know you are looking for a job, what kind of job and give out business cards.
• Do you belong to a community organization? Let the other members know you are looking for work and give them some of your business cards.

The bottom line is...if you are dealing with someone for any reason, let them know you are looking for work. Remember, about 1/3 of the workers found their jobs through someone they knew.

Sample Mini Resume Business Card

You need to be prepared to sell yourself at all times. Many job hunting books suggest you keep your resume with you at all times. However...my resumes did not include basset hound foot prints! Think about it, if you keep some resumes with you in the car/truck, you will either spill a drink on them, have the kids throw them on the floor or like me, have a pet give them a personalized look which despite her best efforts, was not the appropriate look for a prospective employer to see.



SOLUTION: Create a mini resume business card by visiting: http://vistaprint.com/
A mini resume business card includes:

• your name


• phone number with area code


• email (if you check it daily)


• job title


• and three to five bulleted phrases about your knowledge, skills, abilities, or strengths.

Here's a sample:

John Smith, S.P.H.R.

Human Resources Manager

(AC) 123-4567

Email address

• Over fifteen years experience in both the manufacturing and service industries.


• Over five years in recruitment and four years in labor relations and negotiation.


• Seven years experience in corporate training which includes executive training, safety training and management and .

To Do within the first month

So you lost your job...did you like it? Were you happy to go to work every day? Are you having aches and pains in body parts you never knew you had? If you had a fairy godmother, and could do any job you wanted to do, what would you do?

A job loss can be a great opportunity to think about what you really want to do for the rest of your life. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you got there? This said, in today's world, there are many jobs you never heard about when you were in school.

A resource, available to most people, is a Career Counselor. Career Counselors are typically found at vocational schools, colleges, universities, technological schools. Check to see if your local two year college or votech has a Career Counselor and make an appointment to take some assessments. Typically these assessments are a no cost or very little cost when you work with your local schools - after all, how can you possibly enroll in a training program if you don't know what you want to do?

The assessments will hone in on your innate interests and abilities and will also pick up on your life experiences. There is no "pass" or "fail' in these assessments because the results are based on you and you are not a failure.

The Career Counselor will visit with you and direct you to sources where you can read more about these potential careers and will also direct you to local sources of (re)training. Additionally, (s)he should direct you to a Financial Aid Counselor because you will most likely need help funding any training. Please keep in mind that monies available are not necessarily in the form of loans - there are many sources of funding which do not require repayment (but will most likely require successful completion of courses or programs).

One of the places I visit to read about potential jobs is my favorite Internet site ONet Center which is hyperlinked in the blog however the URL is: http://online.onetcenter.org

This site not only gives information on the typical tasks performed but also the knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools used in this profession and provides information on salary ranges.

Together with the Career Counselor, you can Plan Your Work (retraining) and then it is up to you to WORK YOUR PLAN.

And for you Baby Boomers....old dogs do learn new tricks. As a Baby Boomer who returned to school for a Master's degree 20 years after completing my Bachelor's degree, I found we learned faster than the younger pups. You have real world knowledge that means a great deal - you actually have an advantage over the younger pups because of this.

Week 1, STEP 3

By now, you should have completed a BUDGET and a PERSONAL DATA (CHEAT) SHEET.

STEP 3

PLAN YOUR WORK...WORK YOUR PLAN!!!!

This is a critical step to being successful in your job search. Research shows that 95% of successful people set goals and write them down! So...if you want success, copy the steps successful people take .... after all, why fix it if it ain't broken?

Earlier I mentioned that when you lose a job, you no longer have a job description nor do you have a routine. Your job now is composed of three parts: (1) find a new job, (2) continue with your home and family responsibilities and (3) have some fun - after all, you lost a job, not your life. You didn't do anything wrong, so why punish yourself?

There are a number of ways to come up with a new routine...what I did was divide my bathroom mirror into seven imaginary columns, one for each day of the week. I then used tiny Post It notes for each task needed to be completed that day AND I included my fun stuff as tasks.

Since I cannot set this up in seven columns, lets give you a couple of ideas of what needs to be done and when....regardless of where you live and how you are looking.

SUN -

1. Check out the classified ads in your newspaper
2. Work on resume and cover letter (or whatever paperwork is requested from the classified ad).

MON -

• Morning -

1. Call employers with ads you are answering before you mail or deliver your resume and cover letter..
2. Ask how you can get a copy of the Job Description.
3. Ask to speak to the person who would be your prospective supervisor.
4. Fine tune cover letter and/or resume based on information seen in the job description or gleaned from the prospective supervisor.
5. Mail paperwork

• Afternoon -

1. Cold Call prospective employers
2. Check for new Internet job postings
3. Make a minor change to any online resumes (aka: e-resumes; electronic resumes)

TUE -

• Morning -

1. Cold Call prospective employers

• Afternoon

WED -

• Morning -

1. Cold Call prospective employers

• Afternoon

1. follow-up with employers visited this morning
2. IF Wednesday is a big ad day in your local newspaper, check out the classified ads for new job postings, otherwise the big ad days are usually Tuesday or Thursday which is the day you want to check for new postings.

THUR -

• Morning -

1. Call on classified ads from last night/afternoon and ask for a copy of the job description and to speak to your prospective supervisor as you did on Monday.
2. Fine tune your cover letter and/or resume based on new information from the job description and prospective supervisor.
3. Mail paperwork
4. Pickup applications

• Afternoon -

1. If you were able to bring the apps home, start filling them out

FRI -

• Morning -

1. Pickup applications

• Afternoon

1. Check for new Internet job postings

SAT -
Fill in applications

Week 2, STEP 2

Part of the job hunting process involves filling out applications and writing resumes. To help you make these tasks easier, you need to gather some things together.

STEP 2

1. You will need a personal data sheet (personal means for your eyes only) that has all the information needed to fill out an application or the create a resume. I call it my cheat sheet because it is what I refer to when filling in applications and writing resumes because I have to cheat/sneak a peek at it once in awhile because I can't possibly remember all the details requested on some applications.
2. Find a box about 13" long, 9" wide and about 6" tall. This is where you will stash certain documents that may be useful during an interview and are most certainly helpful when filling out your cheat sheet.

Items to stash in your job hunting box.

• Job descriptions (if you did not save these, save them from today on)
• Performance reviews/annual reviews (when you have your yearly evaluation, you need to make sure you mention accomplishments and positive events which occurred during your evaluation time period. After you note your achievements, sign and date the evaluation and immediately ask for a copy. If you don't get a copy at that time, ask for it every week until you get a copy. You are entitled to a copy of performance reviews).
• Awards. Please say any awards you receive, especially if given to you by your employer. Employment attorneys are directed Human Resource Managers to NOT save any employee awards in your personnel files because should they want to fire you, and you challenge it in court, the employer is not in the most favorable situation if the courts find employee awards in your files. This means, you save them.
• Training certificates, transcripts, continuing education documentation. Save these documents even if there is an expiration date. All your training counts for something - it tells an employer you have certain knowledge, skills and/or abilities - maybe you have some that nobody else has. This makes you more valuable to an employer.
• Addresses & phone numbers. You need to collect the names, mailing addresses and phone numbers for every one of your employers and every school attended, including elementary and junior high school information. This may sound silly to you, however many applications are beginning to ask for your elementary and junior high school information in addition to high school and post high school institutions. If you leave off a requested address or phone number from an application - you lose - HR will perceive you as unprepared.
• Military records/paperwork. You need to gather these documents and keep them in one place. Some employers may need some of the information contained in these documents.
• Social Security Card/Work Visas/Birth Certificates/Passports. You need to know where these documents are since you will need to provide them at the time you are hired, however I recommend you keep them in a fireproof box in a safe place.

Week 1, Step 1

Okay, when you had a job, you had a routine. The alarm clock sounded off, you hit the snooze button. Eventually you get out of (fall to the floor) bed. Next (nobody ever wants to admit this) but you stumble to the bathroom tripping over the dog.

Then your daily routine starts. Some of us start the coffee, some of us wake up family members, some of us hit the shower, and so forth. You finish your routine and hop into the car/truck and somehow you find yourself at work with absolutely no recall how you arrived (either the caffeine hasn't gotten to your brain or the vehicle has an autopilot function you did not know about.

You hop out of your vehicle, spilling coffee down the front of you and dropping your purse or briefcase as a gust of wind blows your stuff across the parking lot. You enter the workplace through the employee entrance and start working - hey you don't need the boss hanging over you to tell you what to do - you know what to do.

But, one day, the routine changes....Human Resources tells you that you are being laid off...your routine was just screwed up!

The next day, the alarm goes off, you hit snooze, you hit snooze, you hit snooze then rip the cord off the phone hurling it across the room. You couldn't sleep last night. You want to stay in bed - hey you don't have to go into the office! You finally get up but don't want to eat. You don't want to shower. You don't want to get dressed. You don't want to visit anyone.

Hmmmm....what do you do when you don't have a job to go to? I know I sat around the house looking for stuff to do and finally called my mom to ask her "what did you exactly do" when you were a stay-at-home mom? After receiving "thanks allot" and "you gotta be kidding me!" statements my mom delivered a litany about the things she did.

Well...I don't know about you, but I am not going to start sewing....not going to start baking bread or making spectacular dinners....not going to start ironing (hey what's an iron) the pillowcases and sheets....not going to start going to start going to PTA because my dogs are not enrolled in school.

This may not be your scenario, however you most likely are in zombie land so, you need PLAN YOUR WORK & WORK YOUR PLAN!

Where to begin?????


STEP ONE

Contact the credit card companies to get your credit report. You need to review what's in each FREE credit report (there are three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union - links listed on this blog site and all allow you a free report or you can visit Annual Credit Report dot com). Check the following information.

1. Your personal information - is your name, address, phone, birthday, etc. correct. 80% of the credit reports have errors (now a 20% accuracy rate is something worth getting fired for - go figure!.
2. Check who the reports indicate are your lenders. If you don't recognize an account, you need to address this. Check to see the payments are correctly noted. Your creditors information should reflect the past 7 years of dealings - nothing more. If more than the past 7 years are showing, you need to have this corrected.
3. Only information pertaining to your finances/money should be listed - no arrest records, nothing except money related information.
4. Check to see who has accessed your credit reports. If you try to open a charge card, take out a loan, etc., that information will be noted on your credit report (hard inquiries). However the people mailing junk mail to you may have accessed your credit history and/or bought your name from the credit bureau. This too will be reflected in your credit history and often negatively impacts your credit score. If this is happening, you may want to contact the credit bureau(s) to have a security lock placed on your report thus preventing solicitors from accessing your history and impacting your scores.

I just lost my job....now what?

I just lost my job - it doesn't feel real - am I just imagining this happened to me or is it a bad nightmare?

The day I was fired, I felt a wave of relief, however I was also numb - how did this happen to me? I am a good employee. I have good attendance. My safety record is awesome. My performance reviews are always way above "satisfactory". What do I do and what comes first?


STEP ONE

If YOU had any of these feelings, one of the first things you should do, while everything is fresh in your mind, is to sit down and write down everything you can remember from the meeting where you were told you were fired or laid off. This information may become necessary should your former employer fight you on receiving unemployment benefits. You may need to provide details from your last meeting, or from previous meetings, to the people at your local employment/unemployment office.

When trying to remember the details, try to include:

• people present in the meeting
• date and time of the meeting
• what each person said
• what your responses were
• what documentation was present for you to review
• what you did or did not sign
• if you were forced or pressured to resign (example: "you can either resign or be fired, however if we fire you, your reputation will be damaged").

When writing, proofread the documentation several times. Ask someone you trust to proofread your notes too, asking them to not only find mistakes, but to provide feedback as to whether or not he/she understands what you are trying to say.

STEP TWO

File for unemployment benefits even if you were fired. The agency handling unemployment benefits in your state will investigate the situation and determine whether or not you can and will receive benefits. However....you can't receive benefits if you don't file for unemployment.

STEP THREE- Create a BUDGET

You need to determine exactly how much money is going out of the household as well as how much will be coming in (alimony, child support, unemployment insurance, etc). To help you, you need a budget. If you do not have "a handle" on your expenses and income, you will (1) not know how long you can last as an unemployed person, (2) not know how to effectively negotiate for a new salary and (3) will add unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation.

There are many forms "out there" you can use, however your family budget doesn't have to be fancy. Take a piece of paper and have two sections: one for outgoing expenses and one for any monies coming into your household.

In the column for outgoing expenses, some expenses might include:

• mortgage/rent
• homeowners/renters insurance
• electric
• gas/propane/coal/oil
• water
• sewage
• garbage
• vehicle payments
• vehicle insurance
• estimated fuel expenses
• food
• prescriptions
• medical insurance
• life insurance
• credit card expenses
• student loan(s)

For the income column, some funding sources might include:

• alimony
• child support
• retirement
• severance
• savings
• unemployment

STEP FOUR

After you finish roughing out a budget, you may need to call the companies with which you are dealing to see if they will lower your monthly payments and/or lower (better to see if they will do both) your interest rates. If you have been a good customer and especially if you have a good credit record, companies will tend to want to work with you and keep you as a valued customer.