Searching for a new job is something that people must go through many times throughout their lives. However, as often as workers search for new positions, not everyone does it efficiently. Knowing the right ways to go about performing a job search can be incredibly useful information, even if you currently have a job and are not thinking of leaving it.
Unfortunately, life is not always quite so predictable, and it is a good idea to prepare for the future in order to make future transitions go much more smoothly. Once you have gotten a better idea of how to perform a job search, you can be more confident in the event that you need that information at any time.
Why You Should Prioritize Your Job Search
It may seem obvious, but having a job is one of the critical parts of life in the 21st century. Many people work towards advancing their careers on the vocational path that they have chosen, whereas others try to build their skills and experience up towards a career change. However, getting a job is difficult work. A job search includes sending out resumes, networking, using a recruiter or even going straight to the companies that you would like to work for. Landing an interview often requires completing a good amount of work on your part.
Setting a schedule for your job search and utilizing all of your possible resources is an excellent way to get those highly coveted interviews as soon as possible. Taking the time to expressly focus on your job search will enable you to get it done much faster than you might think, which will, in turn, get you working in the job of your dreams. Set up times to search for available positions, write cover letters and organize resumes to fit the intended jobs, sent applications and follow up with the hiring manager or contact. It can be an unfamiliar experience at times, but getting over your fears and inhibitions is one of the only ways that you can prove to your future employer that you have the initiative and attitude to tackle new experiences and challenges.
Where can a job search go wrong?
Other aspects may undermine your job search efforts, so it is important to understand common mistakes job seekers make:
You do not take advantage of your social media (or worse, you do in a bad way). Social media can either be a blessing or a curse to your professional internet presence. Tailoring your profiles to your career interests, showing a strong grasp of the English language, linking to your website or portfolio and showcasing your skills are excellent ways to impress employers. Excessive badmouthing of former bosses, uploading pictures of crazy parties and posting your controversial political opinions are not.
You use vague words or say too little in your resume. Resumes should be simple and concise, but they should not be too general or vague. Employers want to know exactly what you did at your last job, so give them numbers and figures that represent how much you helped the company, how much you were in charge of or what exactly you learned. Job searches that do not take advantage of such descriptive resume speech can often fizzle out as hiring managers throw away vague resumes.
You are simply unprepared for what happens next. This applies to many different parts of a job search. Getting your application method right and finessing your resume for the position is simply not enough to land the job. You need to be prepared to follow up about your application, dress properly for the interview, answer and ask questions at the interview, follow up your interview and more. Planning is the biggest key to landing the perfect job, so do as much of it as you possibly can.
The Best Uncommon Job Search Tips That You Can Use Today
Some of the more popular job search tips, such as taking notes, staying organized with documents and spreadsheets, setting aside specialized time to search and more, are important and will set the framework for your job search. But some lesser-known tips and tricks below can streamline your search process much better than others who are not quite so in-the-know:
Practice for your phone calls, job interviews and other interactions. So many people go into conversations with recruiters and hiring managers blindly, and do not realize how unprepared they really are until it is far too late. You can fix this unpreparedness by imaging how your interaction could go in a variety of different ways, formulating practice questions (and answers to some things that you think they will ask you about) and looking online to see if you can do a timed practice interview. For an interview or basic contact with the hiring personnel via phone call, have notes in front of you to make sure you do not forget key phrases. First-time or experienced job seekers may become nervous and forget to say thank you at the end of interview scheduling.
Use your time wisely by delegating and getting help. As much as you might like to, sometimes you cannot go about your entire job search on your own. While you are spending valuable time refining your resume and submitting applications, have recruiters or career coaches helping you in the background to find more opportunities. Use help from your family and friends when you can get it, and never hesitate to call up someone that is in your network who may know somebody.
Keep dedicated, focused search times and do not get distracted. Productivity has long been the bane of many working professionals throughout history, and job searching is no exception. Hours that you originally planned to devote to job searching can easily go to waste by constant distractions such as cell phones, email, television and even other people. When your calendar says that it is time to spend a few hours job searching, shut everything else down in order to have uninterrupted focus while you search.
By Admin –
