You ask yourself, ‘What do they know that I don’t that I must know to succeed?’ There are no ‘secrets’ to the process of job search. The word ‘secret’ implies something known only to the marketer. These are psychological operations (psyops) marketing words used to coerce and scare you into buying their services.

The job-hunting procedure is generally the same between the 20^th and the 21^st Century. Because many job seekers are ‘amateurs,’ they may not know the protocols – no one should be a professional career hunter. In the 21^st Century, job applications and resumé submissions are mostly completed online.

You create a marketing tool – your resumé. You develop a plan – answering help-wanted ads, uploading resumés online, and/or attending job fairs. You answer questions in a telephonic interview and perhaps are lucky to get an invite for a face-to-face interview with a hiring manager. Recruiters compare candidates and determine which offers the most ‘bang for the buck’ for the budgeted salary range. The following steps are the basics.

Ensure your resumé is word-processed in digital form. Be prepared to deliver it electronically from your phone, upload it from your computer to an online recruiting site, or email directly to recruiters. If you are a poor writer, get a professional to write or grammar-check the text. It is no longer critical to keep the resumé to two pages or less in the 21^st Century (maximum of four pages), because they are stored online. Alternatively, don’t go overboard and write 10 or 20 pages, either.

Dress for success. Dressing in droopy pants, torn jeans, and a tee-shirt to hand-deliver a resumé is just plain stupid. That young lady behind the register might be the owner’s daughter, who will relay to Mama you aren’t fit to be in the store shopping, much less applying for a job. Or you may pass the hiring manager leaving as you walk into the establishment. They will remember someone dressed sharply and ready to do business with their business clientele.

Follow up in 2-3 days and politely ask about any decisions to interview. In many companies, the recruiter may not answer the phone because they are physically overwhelmed with reviewing hundreds of resumés. Don’t take it personally if you don’t get a call – recruiters and hiring managers simply don’t have time. Do have your prepared script ready: “I brought in my resumé and completed an application on (name the day), and I am interested in when you start the interviewing process?”  Don’t beg or tell your hard-life story. Be cognizant of the recruiters or company reps available time.

During the interview, think carefully about the question before answering. It is okay to take a few seconds, but don’t take too long. Answer in complete sentences. Use the ‘Queen’s English.’ Let the interviewer finish their questions and then pull out your list of questions about the position, company, and what problem the hiring manager is trying to resolve by hiring you. Ask if they would like samples of your work or a list of references. 

Obtain business cards of everyone you spoke with while interviewing at the company (or take a small notebook to write their names in). Immediately after the interview, hand-write brief thank you notes addressed to each individual you encountered – the HR representative, hiring manager, or interviewer – and place them in a mailbox that day. 

Wait a week before communicating with the company if they haven’t called you back immediately. Interviews for qualified candidates may be staggered across a few weeks. When you call, politely ask if any decisions have been made. If you can’t get a real person, leave a message but keep it brief and cheerful. 

If you receive the message another candidate was chosen, don’t ask what you did wrong. Companies decline to answer those questions for fear of litigation (e.g., EEOC related issues). Don’t waste your and their time. If you do reach a real person, ask them if the company would be open to considering you for any another position. This diplomatic action informs recruiters you have no hard feelings and are open to further employment consideration.

Shopping for a new job is tedious. The process for today’s job searches is time-consuming and frustrating. Modern-day job-hunting is predominantly digital and online but prepare for ‘old-fashioned’ knocking on doors and making phone calls to folks you know in your network of friends, family, and business acquaintances.

Bio: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., manages and operates a consulting firm in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Roads, Colonial Beach (Dahlgren), Richmond, and Gloucester, VA. Her background is 25+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry. She is the author of 1,040+ books and textbooks on business, human resources research, career search practice, women’s studies, genealogy lineages, and adult coloring books. Her books are listed on Amazon.com under her author’s page for Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.   Reach her at Dawn.Boyer@DBoyerConsulting.com or http://dboyerconsulting.com.