One Stumble Fast
Job Search Career Advice 101 – What to do immediately before you start your job search.
In previous blog posts I discussed a few items on what you should avoid doing – you can find this here. In this post I will discuss what you need to do immediately when you are ready to start your job search.
Whether you just lost your job as a result of a job action and you did not resign your position or if you feel you need a change in the current role you are in – the items listed below will form a strong foundation before starting any job search.
- Resumes –
You have heard this before – always keep your resume up to date. Always. I take my own notes as I gain experience on the job, I jot down what I did, or if I learned a new skill, this keeps this information at the ready for your next update.
About resumes – This is your marketing and advertising portrayal of yourself, it is among the necessary resources needed for a job search, it may be the very first perception an employer may have of a potential employee, they need to depict the abilities, training (or education), and experience the employer is seeking
- Cover Letters
Write a cover letter – this document introduces you to the hiring organization – in my opinion, just as important as the resume itself. (more content coming on this soon)
- Join career web sites (if you are not already a member)
I recommend LinkedIn.com, Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com and Indeed.com. There are many others. Each one of these sites has features specific to themselves and each provides you with tools you can use for your job search. Check them out.
- Network Connections
Call and reach out to the people you already know personally to determine if they can assist you in your job search. During the time you are taking updating your resume schedule conversations, email and communicate with your people! Check the web site career pages where they are employed for open positions close to your job skills and that you are interested in investigating and ask about your contact about those positions. Ask them for a referral. You want to get your resume to the top of the stack of resumes that a hiring manager may already have.
Some surveys suggest that up to 50% of all jobs landed in 2014 were found through personal connections!
- Ask for advice
Everyone has someone they can talk to, if you were laid off and find yourself in a panic (link) talk it out. Get to that person you trust and have that long conversation. It will help you and that person may have their own experience to assist you with your current situation. If you are in a job and are currently looking for a new one, advice from your trusted advisor can and will do the same for you. Everyone has an opinion, (reminds me of a bad joke. I digress), their opinion can be useful or not, but if you don’t ask it is definitely not useful!
As you go through your job search, you will encounter many other items you need to get completed, many other tasks, finding a job is a full time job itself. Stay positive. In upcoming posts I will get into more detail on a well-crafted cover letter and also provide additional useful tips to keep your search moving forward to get hired!