Leverage Tools/Skills To Find Targeted Jobs

For many workers, the following could be a HIGHLY effective job search technique. It involves putting other people to work for you — people who may be perfectly situated to open doors for you, and quite willing to do so. Read on!

Let's say there is a specific tool —a piece of hardware or software, for example — that is an integral part of your job. One that you have mastered, one that you enjoy using, one you wouldn't mind making a cornerstone of your career. Leveraging this tool can become the key to an effective job search.

Let me explain by painting an ideal scenario. Jerry is a customer service rep for a small insurance company that recently signed up to start using an "e-zine" (subscription email) tool, to keep in touch with their customers. The tool was developed by a third party vendor that specializes in providing such a tool for insurance companies. Jerry has discovered that he really enjoys extending his knowledge of insurance by using this new web-based technology, and he recognizes that there is some real career potential in having a skill like this.

Jerry could look at this in a rather pessimistic way: he has mastered one small vendor's technology, intended for a niche market. Or, he could look at it in a far more positive light: he has taken a very useful general skill (insurance) and supplemented it with a very relevant technical skill (web/email marketing), once that's in demand. If he wants to make a job move, the trick is finding the right opportunities to leverage both.

Here's the killer technique. Consider the situation faced by the vendor that created the tool Jerry has mastered. They have a niche technical tool optimized for a specific industry. One of the main challenges they face when they try to sell this tool is probably concerns over the learning curve. Potential customers probably don't have anyone in their organization that knows much about email marketing or how the tool works. And how are they going to find someone who knows the technology plus understands insurance? Being able to recommend Jerry might be of even more value to the vendor than to Jerry! If Jerry has taken the time to cultivate a good relationship with the vendor (ideally, both their salespeople and their technical support people) he might have a ready crew of people ready to go to bat for him!

Of course, not everyone has a specific tool this integral to their career. Additionally, there may be some problematic politics involved when tapping a vendor to help you with your job search. Depending on the overarching relationships, a vendor may not wish to risk offending your employer by essentially helping you jump ship.

So, let's consider a less powerful but more universal application of this idea. Whatever tools you have mastered as part of your job, chances are good that there are organizations or affiliations associated with them. When they need to recruit people familiar with specific tools, smart employers often turn to these associations (etc.) to find candidates with the right skills. Let's say you are a WordPerfect expert in a world of Word users. There are still some employers out there who need WordPerfect gurus. Make it easy for them to find them — join a WordPerfect users group. Get a WordPerfect certification. Call a company that provides WordPerfect technical support and ask them if they know of any opportunities in your area.

There are a lot of ways to leverage specific skills to find targeted job opportunities!

Comments

[ActiveJobseekers.com]

Great article. I find it very useful. It is increasing difficult for job seekers to find the right jobs.

That is why I think the push approach is better.

[Executive Careers Blogger]

Well said! Choosing a specific tool and knowing their specific functions for a particular career.