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.
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.
