17 Jun 10 Finding a Job in the Twin Cities

Recently, I’ve helped a few more friends in their job search with some of the vast advice I have on how to find a job. In regards to this, my motto has become “I’ve made a career out of losing my job.” Here’s the email I sent, with minor changes for privacy. Enjoy and let me know if you use this with success!

Lucky for you, I work in job and recruitment marketing and deal a lot with companies who simply cannot get the best candidates because those candidates never see their jobs. They either aren’t listed online in search engines, or can’t afford job boards, or they simply don’t know how to market their various positions out to candidates to receive the best candidates for their positions. That’s where my company and I step in–and, having done this for a while now, I’m all-too familiar with the issues facing people searching for jobs.

Don't utilize newspapers or flyers. Save a tree.

Minneapolis-St. Paul consistently have great employers. Minneapolis hosts five Fortune 500 companies below, as well as a Dow Jones Industrial composite company (3M), and numerous medium- and small-size firms. Minneapolis is consistently rated as one of the most technologically advanced workforces and workplaces. Here are some companies you should check out:

• Target
• US Bancorp
• Xcel Energy
• Ameriprise Financial
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherns

Other companies with great local reputations are Best Buy, Wells Fargo, IBM, ING Group, Qwest, UnitedHealth Group, Guidant, Honeywell , 3M, Ecolab, General Mills, St. Jude Medical, Thomson Reuters, Lawson Software, and Securian Financial.

For all these major companies, I’ve linked their Careers page which lists hundreds of jobs you would never see, typicallym unless you went there. These jobs do not appear in search engines results and do not get moved out to the job boards on any regular basis! Check all of these out and start to compile a listing of jobs you’ve applied for.

Job boards!

Job boards are ubiquitous and these days, full of spam. If you want to work for a specific corporation (e.g. Target, Best Buy, etc) then it’s best for you to go to their respective careers site, but definitely check out these boards as they have some of the better jobs, or some of the broader markets cornered. In all cases, try to get around the job board and find either an email address, phone number, or company name/contact line where you can circumvent the board and go directly to the company in question you are applying to.

• SimplyHired
• Indeed
• Monster
• Careerbuilder

Work with contractors!

Sometimes the best way to get your foot in the door or just provide for yourself for 3-6 months is to get a contract position. That way you can attach a new title and new experience to your resume, and show that you’re moving in a direction and picking up steam. There are a lot of great tech firms in the Twin Cities that have consistent openings.

• Robert Half, http://www.roberthalf.us/
• Aerotek, http://www.aerotek.com/
• Manpower, http://manpower.com/
• The Creative Group, http://www.creativegroup.com/
• ITR Group, http://www.itrgroupinc.com/Home.aspx
• Analysts International, http://www.analysts.com/Pages/default.aspx

…to name just a few. In every case, you’ll be working with a recruiter whose sole purpose is to land a candidate within a requested timeframe. This takes fast turns and sometimes, fast decisions on your part in regards to what sort of work you’d be doing. Recruiters at these agencies will look for jobs for you and it’s best to use them to supplement your own job searching. Have about 2-3 of them working for you with copies of your resume to find you a good job.

Generic corporate branding with floor reflections. Eventually, you just don't see it anymore.

And some general interview and working-with-recruiters tips:

1) Say what they want to hear. Really. If you can manage to drop a few terms from the job description–even if you’ve only Wikipedia’ed them–that’s fine. Just stay one page ahead in terms of training and get yourself in the door. In many cases, lower-level technical positions don’t need a B.S. in computer science or any sort of hard training (the positions that do, and have an impact on lives, safety, or industry, you’ll never get to), so you might as well give the benefit to the employer to bring in a fresh, new perspective on things and get technical training at the same time. Wing it!

2) Make a custom resume and custom cover letter for every application. Sometimes, these jobs that you’re applying to are not routing to recruiters, but rather to field HR agents who can handle up to 100+ requisitions at a time. Seeing the same ol’ resume from someone, with the same cover letter, does not go far. Actually take the time to write a cover letter and resume for each job you apply for, working to get the collateral in your head and on paper as to why you want this job, why you’d be a great candidate, and why they need to look at you. Sometimes you do this and you figure out yourself you aren’t a good candidate at all for this position, and move onto the next job.

3) Put a solid 40 hours into searching for a job. Searching for a job is in itself a job. You should expect to spend about 40 hours a week looking for a job, and spend at least 1 week for every $10k you want to make. Never gauge how well you’re doing by how many resumes you’ve sent out, but rather by the number ofquality, applicable jobs you’ve applied for and new contacts you’ve made. Again, take the time and put effort into it. Don’t ‘apply’ for a job by sending a resume, no cover letter, and then take the rest of the day off. Every job application should take about 20-30 minutes, at least, to complete.

4) Do not get upset, frustrated, or angry–be professional. Recruiters can smell when they have someone desperate on their hands. Always appear professional, never be negative or a ‘downer’, always be upbeat and excited for a new opportunity or adventure. Even if this is the 10th bad interview of the week, after you’ve been let go with no severance and unemployment means you have to raid the city food shelf–be upbeat and happy. At the same time, avoid being too happy or too personable–they want to hire someone who they think will be a good fit into the corporate culture, which means someone who can understand both over- and under-sharing your personal life.

Your final option: circus-man outfit and scrawled, desperate messages in blood.

Tags: career fair, careers, finding a job, job fair, job search, job search tips, jobs, searchin for jobs, Twin Cities careers, Twin Cities jobs