In my Google Alerts I found a link to a blog that mentioned JibberJobber (titled: What’s Wrong?). In fact, the blogger wrote “newfangled jibberjobber”… hm, now my curiousity is piqued!
The blog post is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time… the blogger talks about all of the widgets and gadgets and tools that are supposed to make our lives easier, but in fact, don’t. I think we all have at least one thing we’ve purchased that was supposed to make our lives easier, but just sat around unused?
The blog author talks about stuff from infomercials, kitchen utensils, phone accessories, etc.
And they threw JibberJobber into the conversation with this question:
“After all whats wrong with the OLD way of doing whatever the newfangled jibberjobber is supposed to replace?”
Let’s talk about that…
The OLD way of doing a job search is, well, old. It’s outdated. It doesn’t necessarily work.
Remember, the OLD way of doing a job search was in a different environment. Back in the olden days (a few years ago) you could use job boards, apply to jobs, and it was a numbers game (how many resumes could you send in? Someone was BOUND to hire you if you sent enough resumes).
The NEW way is, well, new. It’s not so much a numbers game. It might just be more about managing relationships. And managing relationships is HARD. Keeping track of relationships you manage is HARD, also, especially the more you network.
Try tracking hundreds of companies you are looking at. Hundreds of resumes that you use to apply to hundreds of jobs. And hundreds of people you network into (online and offline).
What OLD way would really help you manage that information? 3×5 cards not good enough? Well, buy 4×6 cards then :p Or wait, how about a spreadsheet? Been there, done that, didn’t do the job after a while because there was TOO MUCH data to manage.
There are only so many tools that will really, really cut an onion the right way. And usually my favorite cutting tool is the knife. I can’t image a tool that will replace my set of Cutco knives. They are the best tools in my kitchen.
In a job search, there never really was a knife (that super tool). There still isn’t … finding a job and managing your career is more complex than cutting an onion. So you might need multiple tools. But if your OLD tools were paper-based, or a spreadsheet, and you are getting ready for a new job search, I’d suggest you seriously check out some newfangled tools… like JibberJobber.com and LinkedIn. These are the closest knife-like tools you’ll find for your job search.
Jibber Jobber and Slap Chop in the same blog post…you have arrived! Jason, you make good points here. Today’s job search requires job seekers to manage more information and tools that help track and automate that information are worth embracing.
Thanks Barbara… what really struck me was having JJ called “newfangled”… I didn’t realize a website that is over 3.5 years old is “new-anything” :p
The trick, though, will be be (and has been) sifting through the muck to find the tools that really are value-add, or critical. There are hundreds of tools out there, all claiming to be the best thing since _____, but really, many are just newer versions of the old (or, powered by other technologies).
As a job seeker, I want to find a few of the most important tools and use them… not become an expert on all the stuff out there.
Amen Jason! My customers complain that tracking their activity is a full time activity until they are introduced to JJ. Jason JJ is newfangled when you haven’t had to seek employment for 5 years, newbies go back to the same old stuff until they are introduced to the new fangled things like computers and serious tools like JJ – no nothing is quite as good as JJ -(often imitated – never duplicated).
If you look at the effort to launch a job acquisition strategy… self analysis (personality, skills etc), resume development, branding, marketing, interviewing, negotiating etc why it is almost like getting an MBA within a month, I equate it to Job Acquisition Boot Camp in about 2-3 weeks or less. I spent twelve weeks in boot camp and another four weeks learning combat techniques while in the Marine Corps.
To me or you and Barb … Job Acquisition is not complicated as we do it every day of our lives and deal with the finest professionals in our tradecraft and have them available to us for references. We’ve been building these networks for years as we learn from one another. The newly unemployed jobseekers are dealing with the psycho/social aspects and are not often ready to leap into the the search. Cripes you know all this stuff… but we have to continue to remind everyone they deal with about the resources and tools available… when they find out a tool like JJ exists I hear “dag on, how would I have found out about these cool toolsthat will allow me to concentrate my efforts on the things that get me where I want to go… like back to work.” It is a marketing problem and it is the nature of using the product we are marketing… you don’t know/care about the existance of this particular product/service if you have no foreseeable need for the item or service. To create this awareness one must continue introducing it to our customers on a regular basis by reaching out to those through the non-traditional markets and piggyback on to products/services that are in demand and valued. don’t look at me I don’t have the answer. But it is a fun exercise
I just “stumbled” across JJ today. After 9 months in the job search, talking with “career coaches” and recruiters as well as other job seekers and this is the first I’ve heard of it. This should be the first place a job seeker is led to. I’ve been “perfecting” my search organization for a long time trying to streamline the process. I tailor a different resume and cover letter to every job I apply to because of requirements, job titles/functions and keywords and trying to organize all that even electronically can be a daunting task in and of itself. Add networking and recruiter contacts, company research etc…it becomes simply impossible to keep up with. On top of all that the “rules of the game” change so quickly it adds to the frustration. Even the way one networks is evolving as quickly as technology itself (Linkedin, Twitter etc…just wait till Google Wave slaps us in the back of the head).
The blogger sounds like one of those resistant to change types that will find it not only difficult to land a job but might also find it difficult to keep one. Personal change management has become so important as what we know today becomes obsolete tomorrow in almost all aspects of our lives. Change must not only be embraced but met head on in order to survive in almost any career or personal endeavor. This, as you stated, will require multiple tools for handling the vast amounts of information that we not only create but assimilate and disseminate as well. JJ really seems to be a perfect place to start the organizational process.
Gary,
You are enlighted and it is a damned shame you had not been pointed to JJ sooner. Sound off here if you need help or email me at Stephen.Gallison@gmail.com if you have any questions – no obligation!
Steve
Absolutely Jason!!!!!! I am sick of meeting candidiates who have been advised by outplacement consultants to apply for loads of irrelevant job, send cvs to irrelevantorganisations and play the numbers game. When will jo and joanna public get the message ? We should be teaching networking skills in schools methinks to eradicate old thinking.
Hi Jason and all,
Gary, Jason knows the rest of us as career professionals and though Jason always says he isn’t a resume writer / strategist, career coach etc, he knows the products, the field, and the resources very well. And thus, we all tend to forget how much we do know. Steve said it very well when he talked about Job Acquisition Boot Camp.
You will find a wealth of information if you follow the career industry around blogs, Twitter, and even Facebook. And you can’t go wrong by stopping by any of Jason’s blogs.
Thanks all – you guys are terrific! I just cut some stuff from Gary and Steve’s comments for today’s post about the US Gov’t Dept. or Labor survey…