were announced for 4 companies that are growing or bringing functions to Indiana. On Tuesday, ExactTarget, Inc. announced plans to grow it’s Indianapolis headquarters by 500 and Cummins revealed plans that they intend to add 350 jobs as part of a growth initiative for their global headquarters in Columbus. Today, Progress Rail Services announced plans for a manufacturing facility in Muncie and Ascension Health will be adding nearly 500 jobs in a professional service center that will be located here in Indianapolis.
This is great news for those in the Indianapolis job search and for the Indiana economy in general! According to Indiana Secretary of Commerce, Mitch Roob, this could be the largest number of job announcements in one week that Indiana has had in a very long time. I have to admit that I am a little skeptical on whether all of these will truly come to fruition since we have had some announcements in the past that didn’t quite pull through like anticipated; however, I am hopeful that the majority of these will come through and just the activity itself is awesome!
In all the excitement over these announcements some job seekers can get a little over-eager in their efforts to fill one of these Indiana job openings. Therefore, I have a couple of words of advice for anyone that may begin targeting these companies in their active or passive job search.
1. Don’t start approaching any company or open opportunity without a well thought out plan. Pause. Take a deep breath. Then put together a plan for how you will target these companies. It will be very apparent if your networking activities are haphazard.
2. Only apply to those jobs for which you really qualify. Don’t just start applying to any and every position that they post on their website in hopes that you will get selected for something. Be patient and only apply to those positions that actually match your skills and experience. It will take time for these positions to all be filled and recruiters don’t want to handle thousands of candidates beating on their door before they’re ready to start filling these position.
3. Don’t spam current employees of those companies. You should not just start asking to connect via LinkedIn with anyone and everyone that works for those companies. Instead, only connect with those you can truly offer something up to to make it worth their efforts to connect with you or that you have met in person through an event or organization. Remember, you are one of hundreds (if not thousands) of people who are trying to get the time of these employees. Make sure that you make a good impact that shows your intelligence and willingness to develop a relationship with them that is mutually beneficial.
Your approach to these companies and openings can make or break any progress that you’re hoping to achieve. Don’t let the excitement of all of these great announcements cloud your vision and jeopardize your otherwise organized Indianapolis job search. The other important thing to remember is that people will be leaving their current positions to take some of these opportunities, which means that other companies will then have open positions as well that may be just as fitting for your background.
That’s Good HR is excited for the state and it’s job seekers that this activity is happening. Hopefully this is just the start of job growth for the end of 2010 and the start of 2011!
