If you’ve read “‘Headhunter’ Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever! or any of the hundreds of articles and blogs I’ve written over the last several years, you already know that I strongly caution against making online job hunting the major focus of your job hunting efforts and activities. Rather, online job hunting should comprise just a part, albeit an integral part, of an overall, intelligent “mix” of online and offline activities. But, when you do go online, don’t go it alone. Don’t blindly fire off résumé after résumé to hundreds of posted positions. Get some professional help! And an important part of the professional help I recommend is SimplyHired! (www.simplyhired.com)
Getting some help
SimplyHired is one of the strongest, most user-friendly tools you can use in your online (and offline!) job search activities. It can literally turbocharge you job search. Here’s why. The site aggregates and indexes job openings from the major job boards (such as Monster and CareerBuilder), as well as from most of the smaller job boards and the vast majority of corporate websites, and features them in one convenient location, i.e., on SimplyHired. That means you can conduct one online job search rather than having to go to each individual job board. Let me “walk” you through a typical online experience using SimplyHired.
Getting started
Obviously, the first thing you need to do in order to use SimplyHired is to sign up for the service, which is free. Simply go to www.simplyhired.com. At this time, of course, you will set up your username and password. After that is accomplished, sign in to the site.
Once you sign in to SimplyHired, below is the top part of the first screen you will see:
This is where you begin your job search, by entering job title, skills or company information in the “Keywords” box. Then, you enter the desired job location, i.e., city, state or zip.
For example, let’s search for a “chemical engineer” position in Houston, TX. After clicking on the “Search All Jobs” button, here is the type of information that will be returned:
Notice at the right side of the screen that you are given the option of also signing in to your LinkedIn (and Facebook) account, in order to reveal any connections you might have to any of the positions returned by your SimplyHired search.
When I entered “chemical engineer” and “Houston” into my SimplyHired account, a “Marketing Manager, Oilfield & Mining Chemicals” position with BASF in Houston was returned. And, when I signed in to my LinkedIn account, I not only got the name of a BASF person I am already connected to on LinkedIn within BASF, I also got another link that allowed me to “See all 1,541 connections” that I have who are connected to BASF.
For a “headhunter” this is unprecedented power and flexibility, literally at my fingertips! If I have a candidate who is a chemical engineer with marketing experience, and is either already in Houston or is willing to move there, I will start networking with my 1,541 LinkedIn connections, looking for a way to brand my candidate and get his or her information into the hands of persons of influence at BASF. By using the power inherent in SimplyHired, rather than using a “shotgun” on my “target,” I can now use a “rifle” and significantly focus my efforts. I can cut through a tremendous amount of “clutter” and eliminate time-wasting, superfluous activities. As a job hunter so can you!
Here is how to get started, how to turbocharge your job hunt using SimplyHired:
- Sign up for a FREE SimplyHired account today. (www.simplyhired.com)
- Sign up for a FREE LinkedIn account, if you don’t already have one. (www.linkedin.com)
- Link in with me. (www.linkedin.com/in/skipfreeman) (I have over 20 million connections
in my LinkedIn network, so this will quickly and substantially help you build your database of connections!) - Now connect your SimplyHired account to your LinkedIn account, as described previously in this blog.
- Experiment with SimplyHired’s “Advance Search” function, in order to quickly and precisely refine your job searches.
- Once the positions being returned are appropriate for you, set up your search agent so that new opportunities are automatically delivered to your email in-box every day.
- Now, study the positions that SimplyHired provided you and brand yourself as someone who can do the job. (“One size fits all” cover letters and résumés do NOT work!)
- Once you’ve properly branded yourself, apply online to the position through the SimplyHired link.
- Then, see who is in that company (or associated with it) from among your LinkedIn connections and begin networking with these professionals through LinkedIn. Also make it a point to join some of the same groups to which these professionals belong.
- Attempt to identify possible hiring managers at companies in which you are targeting and now apply offline by sending them a direct mail letter via U. S. Certified Mail. (Here is an example letter from “‘Headhunter’ Hiring Secrets” that got our candidate placed. This is just one “hiring secret” we use as headhunters every day: http://www.headhunterhiringsecrets.com/Direct_Mail_Campaign_via_USPS_Certified_Mail_-_Example_1.doc ). The dual approach of applying both online and offline (i.e., the certified letter campaign) significantly increases your probability of success.
- Follow up your letter campaign with an appropriately branded voice mail and email.
Distinct advantages
Job hunting in today’s job market is never easy, of course. Not only are there 14 million currently unemployed people in the market, there are also nearly 56 million currently employed people who say they are so fed up with their current employers that they, too, are seeking to land a new job. That’s potentially 70 million people going after a finite number of jobs! So, any advantage that you can capitalize upon will definitely be to your benefit, correct? Well, one of the distinct advantages available to you is SimplyHired. Make sure you take full advantage of it!
Author:
Skip Freeman is the author of “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever! and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The HTW Group (Hire to Win), an Atlanta, GA, Metropolitan Area Executive Search Firm. Specializing in the placement of sales, engineering, manufacturing and R&D professionals, he has developed powerful techniques that help companies hire the best and help the best get hired.
