Hiring Practices Have Shifted
Sarah Remy's current yearlong job search has been a lot different from her past efforts to find work. Partly that's because the former college dean of students is exploring other fields, including human resources. But the act of job hunting itself has changed quite a bit in the few years since she last scanned help-wanted ads in 2000.
Today, employers rarely provide feedback on why she wasn't chosen for a position, says Ms. Remy, a 42-year-old Winston-Salem, N.C., resident. It's even hard to figure out if her résumé was received in the first place. "What is it that held you back? You often have no way of knowing," she says. "I've been real frustrated."
Now that hiring seems to be picking up, many people in the job market, and other so-called discouraged workers who temporarily have given up, finally may be encouraged about the prospects of landing a new position.
To be successful, however, it helps to recognize that significant shifts in hiring attitudes have occurred in recent years, as have the ways that companies use recruiting technologies. "People have to keep in mind that it's really a whole new environment, and if they do it the old way with their old techniques, they're going to be stuck looking for a long, long time," says David Schmier, president of Gethired.com, a New York company that teaches job-finding skills.
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Here are some signposts to help navigate the hiring scene today:
Picky hiring managers. As Ms. Remy and other job seekers have discovered, many hiring managers are looking for extremely close matches between the skills and experience on a résumé and what is called for in a job description. An abundance of talented job seekers has given hiring managers the freedom to be choosy.
Mr. Schmier advises job seekers to draw from their experience but to carefully tailor a résumé so that it closely matches what an employer states is required for the job. Similarly, before trying to switch fields, it's often better to gain experience in a temporary capacity or at a nonprofit so that you can first build your résumé.
Temporary hiring. More companies are deciding to "lease with an option to buy," says Anne Maxfield, president of Project Solvers Inc., a New York staffing agency. Cautious companies are filling more openings with temporary employees, and then deciding to convert successful workers to full-time status.
"This gives companies a chance to see [potential] employees when they're not on their best behavior during an interview," Ms. Maxfield says. In some cases, workers have a better chance of gaining a full-time position by going the temp route. Find out which staffing agency a company uses and approach the firm as you would any other prospective employer.
Online networking. Job boards have been around for about a decade, but they continue to evolve, and so do the ways that recruiters and job seekers use them.
In the past few years, so-called niche sites and industry-association sites increasingly have become destinations for recruiters and therefore more essential for job seekers, says Peter Weddle, publisher of Weddle's Guides, a series of guides to Internet job sites. More job seekers are turning to sites for career advice, mentoring and networking on chat rooms and discussions boards, Mr. Weddle says. If you're only searching for jobs on sites, the way you might scan a newspaper, you're missing a lot of what these sites have to offer.
Workplace ethics. The corporate scandals of the past few years have led to an increased emphasis on hiring ethically sound candidates. As a result, companies are doing more thorough checks on everything from a candidate's professional background to credit history.
Candidates need to "understand the cultural change that has happened because of the scandals," says Sean Bisceglia, chief executive of Corporate Project Resources Inc., a Chicago staffing company. Mr. Bisceglia advises candidates to let a hiring manager know during an interview that you have kept current with the news as well as with your industry through trade publications and associations.
Most people get discouraged during a job search by relying too much on strategies that have a low success rate, such as applying to ads posted on the Internet, says Diane Wilson, author of "Back in Control: How to Stay Sane, Productive and Inspired in Your Career Transition." One of the best ways to land a job is still through a personal referral. Your best bet is to spend most of your time networking, many career experts say. To stay positive, Ms. Wilson also advises job seekers to surround themselves with supportive people and to avoid others who ask, "Do you have a job yet?"
"If you approach it from a perspective of strength and that you have a contribution to make, then the whole process is different," she says.
用新办法找新工作
莎拉?雷米(Sarah Remy)找了一年的工作了，这次和以前她找工作的经历不大一样。莎拉以前在大学工作，负责学生事务。现在找工作难，一方面是由于莎拉想转行，如从事人力资源类工作；但另一方面如今找工作和以前可不一样了。她上次刊登求职广告还是在2000年。
现在的雇主几乎不会告诉她没有被录用的原因，42岁的莎拉说。她甚至都无法知道对方是否收到了她的简历。“为什么不要我？我根本无从知道原因”，莎拉说，“我真的很气馁”。
随著招聘人数增长，很多人涌入就业市场，以前因为气馁而暂时放弃找工作的人也可能会对重新找到一份工作产生新的希望。
但要获得成功，人们需要认识到如今雇主的招聘态度与前几年相比已经发生了重大变化，如同招聘所采用的技术日新月异一样。“大家一定要记住，现在是一个全新的环境，继续延用过去的方式和技巧会使人很长时间都找不到工作”，Gethired.com总裁大卫?施米尔(David Schmier)说。Gethired.com是一家总部设在纽约的公司，主营业务是向人传授找工作的技巧。
下面是一些关于在当今社会如何找工作的指导。
应对挑剔的招聘人。莎拉以及其他找工作的人可能已经发现了，很多负责招聘的人所寻找的是在技能和经验上要能与其招聘岗位的工作介绍极其吻合的人。而大量有才能的求职者让这些招聘者有了自由进行挑剔选择的机会。
施米尔建议求职者不用过于局限于自己的经验，应当根据雇主对空缺职位的描述来专门制作简历，使自己的经验能与空缺职位更加匹配。同样，在转行之前，最好争取相关行业的临时工作，即便没有薪水，目的主要是让你的简历更符合未来工作的要求。
先找份临时工作。愈来愈多的公司开始先招聘临时雇员，以后再决定是否将其转为全职雇员，纽约一家人力资源机构Project Solvers Inc.的总裁安妮?马克斯菲尔德(Anne Maxfield)说。一些比较谨慎的公司选择招聘临时雇员来填补职位空缺，然后决定让他们中表现优秀的人转成正式全职员工。
“这样做使雇主有机会见识那些在面试过程中没有表现出最佳状态的雇员的潜力”，安妮说。在有些情况下，先在一份临时的岗位上就职更有机会获得一份全职的工作。找到为求职公司提供人力资源服务的机构，尽量与他们接触，就像你接触潜在雇主一样。
学会利用互联网络。在网上刊登招聘广告大约10年前就有了，但这种方式也在随著时间不断演变，雇主和求职者如何利用它也就不同于以往了。
最近几年，所谓的定位网站和行业网站越来越多地为雇主所青睐，对求职者来说这些网站十分重要，Weddle's Guides的出版商彼得?维多(Peter Weddle)说。Weddle's Guides提供网络求职信息和指导。很多求职者开始转向网络寻求找工作的建议，培训，或者是在网络聊天室里或论坛上建立工作联系。如果你像浏览报纸那样在网络上搜寻职位空缺，那就就会错过很多这些网站提供的东西。
职业道德。最近几年曝出的公司丑闻使公司在招聘时越来越重视求职者的道德素质。这样以来，他们就会对求职者的背景进行更加彻底的审查，从就业背景到信用历史，都不会放过。
求职者需要知道公司丑闻给职场文化带来的变化，芝加哥一家人力资源公司Corporate Project Resources Inc.的首席执行长肖恩?比谢利亚(Sean Bisceglia)说。肖恩建议求职者在面试时让面试考官知道，你始终通过行业刊物或组织让自己了解行业发展的最新动态。
《在职业转换中把握自己》(Back in Control: How to Stay Sane, Productive and Inspired in Your Career Transition)一书的作者戴安娜?威尔森(Diane Wilson)说，很多人因为找不到工作灰心丧气，主要由于他们在找工作的过程中使用了一些成功率很低的策略，比如申请互联网上刊登出来的空缺职位广告。找工作最好的办法之一就是通过个人推荐。很多职业专家说，你的大部分时间都要花在培养关系上。戴安娜建议求职者对和那些支持和鼓励自己的人在一起，尽量避免与询问“你有工作了吗？”这样的人接触。
