The topic of 'fishing' in recruiting circles usually carries with it negative connotations.
When we speak of job seekers who are ‘fishing’, we refer to the act of simply shooting out generic resumes to every single job opening you come across—without taking the time to really read the job description, draft a cover letter or (most importantly) target your resume to that specific job.
When job seekers cast out their resumes in every job pool they find they are ‘fishing’.
Usually, this sort of ‘fishing’ results in frustrated hiring managers and angry trees. (We do not read your resume and the trees died in vain.) Job seekers who fish in this manner rarely secure job interviews and they may even burn bridges at companies they would like to apply seriously to later.
With this said, the topic of ‘fishing’ in this way is seen as negative because these job seekers are actually ‘fishing’ poorly. As any real fisherman knows, fishing is a science and an art. It is not about casting your line in every pool of water. It is about planning, purpose and positioning. Therefore, here is a new way of looking at fishing as it relates to the job hunt:
1. Availability – Are you really looking everywhere for job openings? Finding a job is often like fishing. The fish do not usually come to you...and crowds usually mean more competition. Everybody uses the main job boards and recruiters. Yet, there are tons of other resources out there (company websites, smaller job boards, networking events, social networking sites, etc…). If you are not working FULL TIME trying to find every available position you are qualified for then you might be missing out on the best fishing holes.
2. Culture – Are your cover letter and resume targeted to every job you apply for? These both should include elements that show you are not just someone with experience, but that you are also a good personality fit for the company. The best way to do this is to really research the companies you apply for before you write your cover letter and target your resume. If you are just sending out the same resume to each job you apply to and following generic standards you are just a piece of paper to the hiring manager. You are a hook with no bait.
3. Attitude – Do you rely too much on your skills and not enough on your personality? Your hard skills are a dime a dozen. Plenty of people out there can do what you do. However, you are irreplaceable as a person. A company will not hire your skills. They will hire you. Therefore, if you come across as adaptable, creative, upbeat and hard working you are going to beat out the 10 other applicants who are just a piece of paper. Live bait catches more fish.
With all this in mind, by focusing on availability, culture and attitude you allow yourself to approach more jobs and you appear better suited for those jobs. That should put you in a much better position to catch a prize winning job!
