Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Myth Busters: Job Search Edition

I have been in the employment industry for several years, and over the years I have come to realize that there is a vast difference between what most people believe works in a job search and reality.

When looking for a job, one should always use a combination of “What Works.” Obviously positions are found on the Internet and in newspapers as well as publications whose focus is on employment (I call these “published openings”). Further, employment agencies and head hunters are extremely viable in the job search process and should be utilized as fully as practical for the individual. And to ignore the “hidden job market” would indeed be a foolish thing to do.

Using a combination of these ideas and others one can, at least statistically, ensure their effectiveness in the job search process, a process that is made even more complicated in today’s economy.

Let’s look at the most common Job Search Myths.

Sponsored
Sponsored

MYTH #1 - Employers will hire an agency (employment agency, head hunter) when they need employees.

Looking at the employment industry, one needs to understand where each of these categories focuses their efforts. Employment agencies usually focus on staff level (and sometimes entry level) positions, such as word processors, receptionists, secretarial, administrative assistants, etc. Some employment agencies charge fees to employers, and some charge the applicant.

Head hunters (Also called “executive search firms”) focus their efforts on the upper echelons of employment, or difficult-to-fill positions. Their fees are paid by the employer (usually 20% to 30% of the first year’s salary). Their challenge is finding an employer willing to pay that kind of money for someone.

Head hunters typically work with people making $75,000 or higher; some Head Hunters work at much higher salary levels. They are usually interested in highly experienced, educated professionals. Their interest is frequently in people already working in a company – that they recruit for another company – thus the name “head hunter.”

MYTH #2 -- I can find a new job quickly.

The rule of thumb here is that for every $10,000 you make in salary allow one month in your job search... in good times, and these are not good times. For example, if you are in the $40,000 salary range, you should allow four months for your job search, at least.

MYTH #3 - I can get a job by sending a letter and a copy of my résumé to the company’s personnel or human resources department.

Recent studies have shown that about five percent of the available positions are found through this method. It is likely that the more experienced and educated you are, the less – LESS – likely you are to find a position in this manner.

MYTH #4 -- There is no such thing as the hidden job market.

Quite the contrary, statistics and studies have shown that fully 60% of the positions available are found in this manner. Also, it is very likely that the more experienced and educated you are, the more likely you are to find your position through the hidden job market.

The hidden job market is simply an employer wanting to promote from within (always your greatest competition), hire someone he/she already knows, hire someone that is referred to him and is personally known by someone else in the company. The better paying jobs, the ones offering the greatest satisfaction, are more likely to be found through the hidden job market.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Next Article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”

I have been in the employment industry for several years, and over the years I have come to realize that there is a vast difference between what most people believe works in a job search and reality.

When looking for a job, one should always use a combination of “What Works.” Obviously positions are found on the Internet and in newspapers as well as publications whose focus is on employment (I call these “published openings”). Further, employment agencies and head hunters are extremely viable in the job search process and should be utilized as fully as practical for the individual. And to ignore the “hidden job market” would indeed be a foolish thing to do.

Using a combination of these ideas and others one can, at least statistically, ensure their effectiveness in the job search process, a process that is made even more complicated in today’s economy.

Let’s look at the most common Job Search Myths.

Sponsored
Sponsored

MYTH #1 - Employers will hire an agency (employment agency, head hunter) when they need employees.

Looking at the employment industry, one needs to understand where each of these categories focuses their efforts. Employment agencies usually focus on staff level (and sometimes entry level) positions, such as word processors, receptionists, secretarial, administrative assistants, etc. Some employment agencies charge fees to employers, and some charge the applicant.

Head hunters (Also called “executive search firms”) focus their efforts on the upper echelons of employment, or difficult-to-fill positions. Their fees are paid by the employer (usually 20% to 30% of the first year’s salary). Their challenge is finding an employer willing to pay that kind of money for someone.

Head hunters typically work with people making $75,000 or higher; some Head Hunters work at much higher salary levels. They are usually interested in highly experienced, educated professionals. Their interest is frequently in people already working in a company – that they recruit for another company – thus the name “head hunter.”

MYTH #2 -- I can find a new job quickly.

The rule of thumb here is that for every $10,000 you make in salary allow one month in your job search... in good times, and these are not good times. For example, if you are in the $40,000 salary range, you should allow four months for your job search, at least.

MYTH #3 - I can get a job by sending a letter and a copy of my résumé to the company’s personnel or human resources department.

Recent studies have shown that about five percent of the available positions are found through this method. It is likely that the more experienced and educated you are, the less – LESS – likely you are to find a position in this manner.

MYTH #4 -- There is no such thing as the hidden job market.

Quite the contrary, statistics and studies have shown that fully 60% of the positions available are found in this manner. Also, it is very likely that the more experienced and educated you are, the more likely you are to find your position through the hidden job market.

The hidden job market is simply an employer wanting to promote from within (always your greatest competition), hire someone he/she already knows, hire someone that is referred to him and is personally known by someone else in the company. The better paying jobs, the ones offering the greatest satisfaction, are more likely to be found through the hidden job market.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader