15 Myths and Misconceptions About Job-Hunting

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

How much of a job-hunting expert are you? Read over these 15 myths and misconceptions about job-hunting and see how many of them you believed in and how many you knew were incorrect. Once you know the truths about job-hunting, you should have more job search success -- and less stress.

Myth 1: Registering at Several Internet Job Boards Will Result in Multiple Job Offers
One of the most prevalent misconceptions in job-hunting is that job-hunting on the Web is some magic elixir that will result in employers lining up to interview you. While job-hunting on the Web should be one component of a job search for most job-seekers, it should not be viewed as having any higher success rates than applying to help-wanted ads in the newspaper or trade magazines. Only about 5 percent of job-seekers obtain jobs through ads. 



Myth 2: Want Ads and Other Job Postings Represent the Majority of Jobs Available
At the very most -- and some say this number is too high -- only about 15-20 percent of all available jobs are ever publicly advertised in any medium. The vast majority of job openings are part of the "hidden" or "closed" job market. And the higher the position and salary, the less likely the position will be advertised at all. How can job-seekers discover these jobs? Through networking. Networking is by far the most effective job search tool you can use. Networking is all about building relationships with people who can help you in your job search; it doesn't mean that you need to ask everyone you know if they have a job for you. 

Myth 3: Job-Seekers Who Change Jobs Often are Frowned Upon by Employers
The notion of "job-hoppers," those job-seekers who had multiple jobs with short stays listed on their resumes, has been disappearing for years. Ever since the great "downsizing" and "rightsizing" of companies during the 1980s and 1990s, employers have recognized that there rarely is any logical progression -- or corporate ladder -- within any one company anymore. To get ahead and gain new skill sets, job-seekers often need to make multiple moves. Avoid really short stints -- under a year -- but otherwise don't be too concerned with moving around. And if you are concerned, focus on your transferable skills with a functional rather than chronological resume. 


Myth 4: A Cover Letter is Not as Important as Other Job-Hunting Materials
Every time you apply for a job, you should send a cover letter written specifically for the position and company you are applying to. The only exception to this rule is when the employer explicitly states that it does not want a cover letter. A cover letter, also known as a letter of introduction or letter of application, must be an integral part of your job-search strategy. A resume is useless to an employer if s/he doesn't know what kind of job you are seeking. A cover letter tells the employer exactly what job you are seeking -- and how you are uniquely qualified for that position. 


Myth 5: A Resume Must Show a Logical Progression of Jobs and Increased Responsibility
The most important part of a resume is showing that you have the skills, education (or training), and experience that the employer seeks. Most employers will spend less than 20 seconds reviewing your resume, which means you need to focus on the key components of your resume that will result in getting a job interview.

Myth 6: As Long as You're Sending out Cover Letters and Resumes, You'll Get Interviews. Maybe in the tightest of job markets, or maybe if you are only applying to specific positions for which you are perfectly qualified, will this kind of passive job-search strategy produce any job interviews. Job-seekers must be proactive in your job search. You must follow-up every job lead. Call employers and request an interview. If you are under-qualified for a position or changing careers, request an interview anyway. You may not be qualified for that specific position, but the employer may have other openings (or know of other openings).

Myth 7: Lowering Your Salary Demands Will Make You a More Attractive Job Candidate Job-seekers should never lower reasonable salary demands because doing so will just make you appear desperate for the job -- and will likely result in your not getting the job offer. And even if you got the offer and accepted it, you would most likely never be happy in your job or with your employer because you would feel you were cheated out of the salary you deserved. As long as your salary demands are within acceptable range for the job you're seeking as well as the industry and location of the employer, stick to them. And never be the first to bring up salary; let the employer raise the issue. 


Myth 8: If You Can't Schedule Job Interviews Between 9 am and 5 pm You're Out of Luck While it's certainly true that a majority of job interviews are conducted during traditional business hours, employers will certainly find time during "off-hours" to interview desirable job-seekers. And it's often better to interview during these times because there are fewer distractions. 
Myth 9: The Most Qualified Job-Seekers Get the Best Jobs
Probably the biggest misconception about interviewing, it is not always the best qualified person who gets the job, but the job-seeker with the best mix of qualifications, interviewing skills, and rapport with his or her interviewer(s). So, don't be too cocky if you feel you are the most qualified person for the job - and don't be too discouraged if you don't feel you exactly match up with the job. If you get a job interview, it's because the employer thinks there is a strong enough match of your skills, education, and experience to do the job -- and at the interview, you need to prove why you are the best person to fill the job. 


Myth 10: Headhunters and Executive Recruiters Have Your Best Interests at Heart
Headhunters and executive recruiters get paid by the companies that hire them to fill their open positions, so where exactly is their loyalty? With their client companies, of course. Recruiters will not market job-seekers to companies; instead, they try to fit job-seekers into well-defined positions with the companies that employ their services.


Myth 11: Changing Careers is Nearly Impossible. As the workplace continues to change and evolve, more and more people will change careers in their lifetimes -- and many will change careers multiple times. As long as you have a plan and do your best to stick with it, you should be able to switch careers. That said, switching careers is not easy. It takes much effort to switch careers and may involve getting more education (or training), getting experience in the new career field, and focusing on how the skills you currently possess transfer to the new career field.

Myth 12: Job-Seekers Should Not Have to Sell Themselves to Employers
For better or worse, job-hunting is all about marketing yourself to employers -- which often means using some key selling skills to close the deal and get the job offer. You are the product, and you need to show the employer why you are the best product for the job. In today's job-hunting environment, the most successful job-seekers are those who understand the value of marketing and apply to themselves those principles that companies have used for years to successfully sell their products.

Myth 13: If You're Over 50, You Will Have a Hard Time Finding a Job
The baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are completely redefining the meaning of age and older works, and thus older workers should theoretically have a lot fewer problems finding new jobs than in the past. The critical issues are whether you have the skills, education, and experience that the employer seeks -- and whether all those are current. You also have to have the proper attitude -- that you are a team player, not a seasoned professional who knows all the answers and is unwilling to change. And, of course, if you are employed in an industry that focuses more on youth, then it may still be harder for you to find a new job. 


Myth 14: It Takes One Month of Job Searching for Every $10,000 of Current Salary
No one seems to know where this calculation comes from -- and no one has ever substantiated it. The fact is that every job search is different. And external factors such as the economy and demand for your particular set of skills and experiences will impact your search time. Noted career expert Richard Bolles (of What Color is Your Parachute?) states in a Q&A we conducted with him: "I think people adopt unrealistic guesstimates about how long their job hunt is going to take. We should expect that our job-hunt may take months, but if we persevere, we will find a job."

Myth 15: When Times are Tough, Take the First Job Offer You Get
In all my years of experience, the one truth is that job-hunting is streaky. You'll have weeks where you interview for positions and you are sure you'll get an offer and no offer ever comes, and then there will be weeks when you get multiple interviews and perhaps multiple offers. Should you take the first job offer that comes along? Only if you are sure that the job and the compensation represent the right career move. If not, a better offer will come along -- and as long as you are not about to lose your house or suffer other financial or emotional consequences, you should hold out for the job offer that best fits the direction you want to move in.

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Decisions Executive MBA Students Face

The decision to enroll in an Executive MBA program is one rife with difficult questions, the answers to which may well determine the extent of your success as a future executive. Most people entering Executive MBA programs are young professionals aspiring to reach greater heights in their field; they want the education to temper their passion for leading a business in the right direction, but it’s not easy choosing the best program or teaching style. Business schools around the country design Executive MBA programs in any possible format: online education, classes that emphasize peer involvement, mentorships from industry professionals—the list goes on. I wish all MBA students could take the outstanding classes offered at various Executive MBA programs, but that’s hardly a realistic aspiration.

Let’s address some of the biggest decisions a student has to make when you look through potential Executive MBA programs.

Classes taught online or in person?

The difference between online and in person education is one of the biggest issues concerning graduate business degrees in general. There are strong arguments to be had on both sides, but I think the decision really hinges on whatever works for your unique lifestyle. If you’re simultaneously interning at another business or even running your own small enterprise on the side, you might see great appeal in taking an online Executive MBA program that offers a relatively freer schedule. You might be the lone wolf student who thrives on the challenge of completing coursework on your own, relying on your own philosophy of leadership to guide them through lessons and hypothetical management scenarios.

On the other hand, you might thrive in an environment where you’re among your peers, bouncing ideas and strategies off one another. The idea of working alongside a professor with real world experience leading a business and a team of trained professionals might appeal to you if you’ve never worked with someone like that before. If you’re looking for greater involvement and interaction from your faculty and classmates, taking your MBA classes in person is obvious the right choice for you.

Fulltime or balanced with work?

Once you’ve decided on the atmosphere of your Executive MBA program, it’s time to decide the extent to which you want to involve yourself in classwork. Some students prefer to get their degree out of the way as quickly as possible so they can enter the working world immediately. These ambitious students usually cram as many classes as they can per semester, trying to graduate in record time. You might prefer the lightning round MBA path, but there are more steadily paced options.

Though it’s tempting to choose the quickest path to your Executive MBA, not every student has the luxury of dropping everything in their life to go back to school. It takes a serious time commitment to complete an MBA, and you might not have the option of sacrificing your day job for it. If that’s the case, then I highly recommend completing your Executive MBA over a number of semesters, giving yourself only as much classwork as you can handle. There’s no use overloading yourself if you have obligations outside of class.

Where to find the best connections

And finally, you want to be careful about choosing the Executive MBA program that has the right connections for you to advance your business career. This isn’t as simple as choosing a business school with the most famous faculty; it’s a matter of researching business schools with professors and lecturers with experience and knowledge that’s relevant to your field of interests. If you have ambitions to found a startup tech company, you want to look at schools with faculty that have successfully founded small business venture in that field. Applying anywhere else would be to miss the most important aspect of graduate education in business: meeting the right people, absorbing their industry advice, and applying it to your own venture.

Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.

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Three Tips to Create Effective Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are on the rise and can be more productive than in-person teams, but it isn’t enough to just equip employees with the technology. Make sure you take these factors into account first.

In today’s virtual environment, airplanes, hotel rooms, coffee shops and practically anywhere along the way can instantly transform into a mobile office — making us more connected, more engaged and better able to collaborate and execute on the fly.

Virtual teams are on the rise, and in some cases can be even more productive than in-person teams, according to research by the American Productivity & Quality Center, a professional consulting organization. As a result, increasing numbers of companies are either migrating to these new types of teams, or creating a hybrid workforce augmenting on-site teams with virtual workers.

Some are tapping into familiar technology such as video conferencing and virtual document sharing, while others are leveraging more complex communication systems, such as online discussion groups and social media. But while technology plays a huge part in closing the distance between virtual teams, these tools alone are not enough to achieve collaboration.

While there are advantages to having virtual teams, talent managers must be aware of certain pitfalls when building and managing virtual teams. Here are the top three, along with ways to avoid them.

Don’t employ a one-size-fits-all approach. Hiring strategies for virtual team members are vastly different than for in-office positions. A virtual workplace requires far more self-reliance and self-motivation than needed for in-office employees. That’s why it’s important to identify the right individuals who demonstrate necessary skills — such as the ability to think independently, make clear decisions and take decisive action when called for, often without direction from higher-ups.

But a talent manager’s work isn’t done once the hire is made. Even if the employee possesses all the skills needed to be successful, additional training may be required to ensure communication across team members is happening, which can vary depending on the individual and the project.

Don’t assume collaboration will happen automatically. More than 60 percent of respondents in a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey on virtual teams reported that no specific training for online collaboration was provided — undoubtedly a hamper on team productivity.

Investing a small amount of time upfront ironing out strategies for proper communication and collaboration in a virtual setting as well as having regular check-ins on how these processes are working will pay big dividends down the road. Regularly setting measurable goals and deliverables, providing timely feedback and creating clear accountability for both virtual and on-site team members are essential building blocks for successful virtual teams.

Don’t think advanced tools will spell success. Many companies make the mistake of assuming the latest, most complex technology will foster the highest level of collaboration and productivity. While online technologies can make working together virtually as effective, or even more effective, than collaborating in-person, complex tools are not always the right ones for the job.

Take transactive memory systems (TMS), for instance, which offer a window into the technical, cultural and tactical knowledge of each team member to help employees solve complex problems by identifying who on the team has the expertise for a particular issue, or who can refer you to the appropriate resource. While they can be immensely helpful, building a TMS requires a significant investment of time and money and may not be the best answer for a company’s needs. In some cases, a simple instant messaging system or Skype call could get you to the same place faster, with far less expense and training and better results.

Working in virtual teams is not without challenges, but can reap significant business benefit when correctly executed. With thoughtful planning, effective communication and an open mind, companies can take their teams to the next level.

Susan E. Cates is president and associate dean of executive development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and executive director of MBA@UNC. She can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com.

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