Making the most of the job posting process.
Many job seekers find the job posting boards enticing because they appear to be an effective method of search and the opportunities posted seem plentiful. But the reality is that a meager 3-5% of candidates in search find their positions through the posting boards. While I don't recommend spending countless hours online scanning the boards, I do recommend leveraging the information you gain from the postings to create a more efficient and strategic search plan. Here are a few ways to accomplish just that. 1)Only post your resume for the positions with a real match. Don't expect "I'm a fast learner" to work when you're competing against a large applicant pool. 2) If you find a good match on a posting board, don't just zap your resume out into cyberspace and hope for the best. Go directly to the company's website to see if you can post there as well. Review all open positions to see if you can identify growth trends or other changes within the company. 3) Review job postings to gain perspective on the compensation for particular positions. Validate the information you gather by comparing it to information from recruiters and colleagues. Having this knowledge will make you a more effective negotiator when it is time to discuss the compensation associated with a job offer.