Everywhere you turn, someone is offering you advice. A magazine article, website, fellow professionals – they all claim to have the secret sauce. So, let’s separate fact from fiction and debunk some major job search myths.
Myth: Networking is the most effective way to find a new job.
Networking on your own is not efficient. Simply put, networking is much more likely to yield a job a year or two down the road, not today.
Moreover, many people find networking awkward and uncomfortable. 20/20 Foresight makes networking less daunting: We make the introductions for you to hundreds of potential employers in your industry.
Myth: The best resumes are “spruced up” with hyperbolic language.
This is 100% false! Injecting hyperbole into your resume is one of the worst mistakes you can make.
Organizations want substance and specifics about your experience. 20/20 works with you to draft a resume that conveys your actual skills and professional history. This will make you well-positioned for the roles you want.
Myth: Sending your resume to hundreds of potential employers is a waste of time. You should target a small number of companies you want to pursue.
Searching for an executive-level role is a volume game. It requires you to connect with as many relevant opportunities as possible.
This does mean you spam every employer out there. 20/20 begins with our extensive database of contacts and curates lists of firms based on your specific skills and career goals. We contact 200-300 companies a week, and 300-500 recruiters on your behalf. In our experience, this method yields job offers in the shortest period of time. You become aware of opportunities that you would never have known existed without an expansive search.
Myth: Email is not effective.
Email works! In fact, there is no substitute for being at the top of a hiring manager’s inbox with a professional, relevant resume.
20/20 Foresight ensures that your communications check both of these boxes. Searching for a job requires touching as many potential employers as possible, and there’s no better way to do that than through email.
Myth: You need to become adept at avoiding certain “tricky” interview questions.
Side-stepping an interviewer’s questions is not a good idea. In order to be effective in an interview, you need to be liked. In order to be liked, you need to be credible. And in order to be credible, you need to provide substantive, detailed answers to all of the interviewer’s questions.
Through intensive coaching, 20/20 Foresight teaches you how to bestaddress every interview question. We have a unique insider’s understanding of the interview process which informs our interview coaching methods.
Myth: You only need one well-written resume, and it should be brief.
Resumes are not one-size-fits-all. Different roles require different, customized resumes. 20/20 Foresight creates multiple versions of your resume to market you for different positions and industries. And if it takes more than three pages to accurately convey your experience, that’s okay!
Myth: LinkedIn is the best place to look for a job.
LinkedIn is not the best place to find real job opportunities at the executive-level. In the rare instances where executive positions are posted, your uploaded resume will join hundreds of others. It’s not likely to ever reach the right hands. 20/20 Foresight’s methods bypass the black hole of LinkedIn applications and source real job opportunities through real hiring executives.