When I was researching my master’s thesis on personal branding, I came across a surprising statistic – 70-80% of jobs are not advertised. What’s even more surprising than that number is the fact that it has remained pretty much the same for just about a decade. This means that for the last 10+ years, the vast majority of jobs haven’t ever made it to a job-search site, such as Indeed or ZipRecruiter.
When they hear this statistic, most people have one of two reactions: they write off the job search and decide to settle or they start posting their resume online – every single place they can post it online. Indeed, ZipRecuriter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest – these people wouldn’t be opposed to posting their resume as a comment on New York Times article that’s getting a lot of traction!
By now, you’ve probably guessed what I’m going to tell you: neither of these is a good idea. Here’s why:
- As I always explain when I teach my classes, the first step to having a great resume is to have confidence in yourself. The best salespeople truly believe in what they are selling. If you don’t believe in yourself, and if you don’t believe that you can achieve your career goals, you won’t be able to write an effective resume.
- Posting your resume across the Internet often has the opposite effect than what you intended. It gets you noticed, but it makes you look like you’re willing to accept any position that will hand you a paycheck. Employers like candidates who are choosey, and you should be choosey for the reasons I listed above.
- Your resume contains a lot of personal information, and you should be careful about where you share it. Do you want every Pinterest user to have access to your email and phone number? Do you want everyone on the web to see confidential information about previous employers that you might be sharing on your resume? I can guarantee you that those employers might have something to say about that.
- If your resume is all over the Internet, odds are, your employer is going to see it. Most people don’t want their employers to know they are thinking about leaving – for good reason!
So if you shouldn’t give up, and you shouldn’t go post crazy, what should you do? The answer isn’t one I can give you on this blog because it is inherently specific and customized. The best job-search strategies are unique and take advantage of your network and your skills. At Morley Career Solutions, we can help you with more than just your resume. We can work with you to develop a targeted career search strategy that will help you achieve your goals. Never settle!