One might expect that Guy A. of northern Connecticut would have a tough time finding a job, as his last permanent job was 11 years ago. Since then, Guy has freelanced for over a decade, turned 56 and was diagnosed this year with Type II Diabetes.
No need to worry, however—Guy is doing great! Last March he finished an assignment at a large investment bank as a contract project manager. In the six month period between April and October of last year, he had more job or contract interviews than he had in his entire life – roughly 40. That was encouraging and discouraging – encouraging in that there seemed to be a lot of genuine interest in him and his background, and discouraging that one could have so many interviews and still not land an offer. This past November, however, he began work, full time, as a contractor for another large bank and he, like the three other people in his group, has been offered a permanent position. Oh, and his employer isn’t bothered by his new medical condition because Guy has used his diagnosis as an opportunity to change his lifestyle.
Guy accomplished these successes by recognizing that he needed to be aggressive, as he was “competing with a small army of people” also searching for jobs. Keeping this in mind, he combined an aggressive mindset with “a really strong work ethic” during his seven month job search process. He sat down at his computer at the same time, each and every day, to search Indeed.com and Dice.com for job postings. He treated finding a job as full-time work. No sleeping late or late-night movies for him!
Each resume he submitted was modified to include specifics tied to the particular job ad to which he was responding, recognizing that employers want resumes that match up with the job specifications. Although Guy recognized the need for tailoring the resumes he submitted, he also made certain that the base resume loaded on job boards was broad enough to be noticed by as many recruiters as possible.
In the end, his new job came through a recruiter whom Guy met several years ago while applying for a job on Indeed.com. Although his original application was not successful, Guy maintained his relationship with the recruiter. Years later his subsequent application to the large bank was successful, partially because he had continued to foster his network.
Bottom line? Don’t give up. Stay focused. Be persistent. Maintain your network. You too can be that next hire.