Job search starts with practical questions. If you're looking for work, they're the questions you need answered.
Not with clichés. Or droning platitudes you've already heard a million times. If the answer contains the words, "out of the box" then you don't even want to hear the rest of the sentence.
There are lots of practical questions. For example:
1.How do you get past the gatekeeper?
2.What's the best kind of resume?
3.The networking tricks that always work?
4.What's a secret tip to get the "key words" for résumé screening software?
5.A list of what employers always look for?
6.Sure fire interview tips?
7.The skills that will make me more marketable?
8.Why do I keep getting rejected for jobs I'm qualified for?
9.How do I get someone to call me back?
10.How do I find more, different or better work?
The practical questions all matter. None of them are bad or wrong. And there is always something to be learned from picking up any nuggets of wisdom that might apply. If you're searching for the first time or for the first time in a while; a review of self presentation basics might help.
Or, it might not. And right there begins the challenge.
Because, job search is not a one-size-fits all-proposition. Job search is not a rational process. Or even a normal market transaction. No one runs down to the store to pick up a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and a job. The common sense fact known by every single top-level recruiter and successful searcher, is that every job search is different.
So, because job search doesn't work like an organized checklist or a mathematical equation, an alternative kind of thinking about finding work is in order.
Job Search Alternative Questions can be part of this new way of thinking about finding work. These are questions whose answers will be different every time, for every individual. Questions where "expert opinions' simply will not matter.
In fact, the whole notion of what an "expert" is will change. The new definition of an "expert" in career development or job search will NOT be the person who has the right answer.
The expert will be the person who can prompt you to find your own right answer.
Which can of course be much, much more difficult. Especially in comparison to platitudes promising magic. Or advice that requires a minimum of individual thought.
But the good news is that with Job Search Alternative Questions, the answers will be totally tailored to you. You become the real expert.
Listed below are example Job Search Alternative Questions taken from Finding Work When There are No Jobs.
The number of Alternative Job Search Questions is infinite.
Any other questions you'd care to add to the list?
Job Search Alternative Questions
1.What have you left out of your story?
2.Do you come across as authentic? How do you know?
3.When you tell your story, do you include what matters most?
4.How do you find out if you're a fit for a job?
5.What are the intangibles required for the job you want?
6.How can community building help you find work?
7.How could mystery play a role in you finding work?
8.What's a need, cause, or organization that inspires you?
9.Could a chance encounter lead you to work?
10. How do you make a "gatekeeper" unnecessary?