These are sure-fire ways to boost your job search to get better results!
If your job search has hit a wall, repeating the same routine won’t produce different results, so it’s time to overhaul your approach.
Step away from endless job board scrolling. Here are 10 high-impact strategies to take control of your career search and connect directly with opportunities.
1. Use A Proactive Job Search Strategy
Don’t wait for a company to post a job; identify potential employers and pursue them.
Leave no stone unturned. Create a list of at least 50 companies that are likely to need someone who does what you do. Now you can follow these employers on LinkedIn (and other social media platforms), and in the news to see what they are up to. You might even be able to connect with people who work inside the organization (isn’t the whole idea to meet company insiders BEFORE a job is posted anyway?)
2. Research Your Industry & Occupation
Know what skills are in demand, understand new trends in your industry and keep up with what those 50 companies are up to! You have to know what technology is being required, what the challenges are, and what the direction your occupation is headed in as well as your industry. Your goal is to be up-to-date and speak intelligently about what’s going on in your field. It makes you valuable!
3. Sell Your Personal Brand
No, not in a slimy way, but in a convincing way.
Get your name and reputation out there. Right now, you are a well-kept secret who’s been doing a great job inside a company and no one knows this. When you introduce yourself, use language that everyone can understand and make it interesting. Remove cliché taglines, trite language, overused, meaningless keywords. Tell mini-stories instead. Make sure your resume highlights accomplishments, not job duties. Finally, build an online portfolio! This is one thing you can easily do to ensure your name will show up in search results. But if you’re not up to that task, at least convert your resume into a multimedia online sales tool!
4. Maximize LinkedIn
You don’t need to take a class, but you do need to know how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and use it. Watch a video or read online articles so you fully understand the best practices. This tool will be around for a while, and you’ll want to use it once you are employed too! FYI, recruiters and hiring professionals are using LinkedIn to find candidates.
Your profile should be complete; that means it’s at “All-Star” status. Also, make sure you are using the right skills and keywords in your profile. Finally, and most importantly, be active! Post and comment regularly. Stay focused on topics directly related to your occupation and industry, and comment/congratulate people in your network!
5. Create A Campaign
Treat your job search like a marketing campaign. Create awareness of who you are and the value you add. All marketing starts by identifying the needs and wants of your ideal employer. Use social media to build awareness. There are lots of creative ways to promote your talents! And don’t forget to use email marketing to stay in touch with your network. You’ll need these people as your informants, allies and advocates!
6. Improve Your Visibility
You don’t want to be a well-kept secret. You want to attract recruiters based on the value you deliver! It’s called pull marketing! You can do this by writing articles – either on your own website, on LinkedIn or as a guest post. Tap into professional associations and groups and get involved! If you’re up for it, deliver a presentation or sit on a panel. Heck, you may even be a guest on a podcast!
7. Have More Conversations
Most external hiring comes through referrals. So spend more time meeting people and less time applying for jobs online. Your chances of landing a job because you know someone inside the hiring company are greater! This means you’ll need to be strategic – know who you want to meet and why. And don’t forget to touch base with past colleagues, vendors, suppliers, and clients! They all have a finger on the pulse! Social media is great for building new online relationships, but the magic happens when you actually meet IRL (in real life). Schedule coffee or a video call!
8. Be A Giver – Not A Taker
A misunderstood principle of networking is that you have to be a strong communicator. The truth is, you need to be a good listener. Your focus during every conversation should be on the other person. Ask good questions and look for ways you can help them. Other ways to give back include volunteering, helping others, teaching what you know. Giving back comes in many forms and makes you feel better!
9. Stop Saying You’re Looking For a Job
When you confess that you are looking for a job, you sound desperate. And that is not the look you want. People do want to help, but you have to make it easy for them. Ask for information they can easily provide about their company, their career path, the industry, etc. You’ve been out of the job market for a while so you genuinely do need information about what other companies are doing and what problems they are facing. When asked what you do, be clear in your messaging about the problems you solve and where you’ve been successful.
10. Be Positive
Complaining and lack of self-confidence don’t work to your advantage. Everyone knows this is an especially difficult time for you. Put your best foot forward and let people see the best side of you! Employers hire for attitude over skills!
Yes, you do need a darn good resume, but…
Now, having said all this, I know that having a strong, accomplishment-based resume is always a good thing. The resume must be customized for every job you apply to so it clearly conveys how you meet their requirements. No guesswork or reading between the lines required. It should include:
- your unique strengths
- what problems you will solve for them
- how a company will benefit from hiring you
It should be error-proof and truthful. Yes, you have to have a good one, but do these other 10 things first!
Do you need help putting the pieces together? Contact me!
This was originally posted on the JobMob, 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Boost Your Job Search as part of their blogging contest and received quite a bit of traffic.
