When job-hunting, don't apply everywhere

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UCLA PhD Dr. Arlene Barro, author of "Win Without Competing: Career Success the Right Fit Way," urges job seekers not to be discouraged in the current tough economy."Instead of frantically emailing your resume into cyberspace, hoping that someone will find you, start by defining for yourself exactly what your "right fit job" would be -- the one that matches your skills and talents and aspirations, the one for which you are uniquely suited right now -- and then search for that particular job only."Forget the competition and focus on yourself," she advises, "setting high standards of performance against which no one else can compete. When we exercise, we continue to raise the bar. In our careers, we need to use the same approach. Compete with yourself, never against others. Frequently, candidates accept wrong fit positions because their focus is on winning, not on selecting the right job."Barro's top three steps for starting a successful job search include:Don't flood the Internet with your resume. If you broadcast your availability from Burbank to Bombay, you'll appear desperately mediocre. Who will want to hire you in that case? If you are still employed, using company email to broadcast, your resume could cause immediate firing.Manage the job interview process. As a candidate, it is your responsibility to present a personal brand to "match" the employer's job description. Listen carefully to what the employer wants, then "match" your appropriate skills.Don't assume a potential employer knows what they want. If the employer's specs are vague, then you should probe the employer to define the position and match yourself to those specs."Win Without Competing" walks readers through the "right fit" process with a perspective from both sides of the hiring desk. Barro is also president and CEO of LA-based Barro Global Search, Inc. Thank you, Dr. Barro. It's comforting to know that our views on job searching in today's workplace are the same. No one said that looking for a job is easy. It should be the toughest job you ever have, but if you do it thoroughly you'll be demonstrating to prospective employers what kind of job you're capable of when hired.(Marvin Walberg is a job search coach. Contact him at mwalberg(at)bellsouth.net, marvinwalberg.blogspot.com, or PO Box 43056, Birmingham, AL 35243.)