5 Things to Remember When You Start a Job Search
I totally understand the fear and anxiety that comes when you are starting a new job search. Especially when you feel that you need or must find a new job for financial reasons or whatever the case may be. Finding a new job or starting a career search can be one of the top five most stressful things that we do in our life. So, I want to help you y giving you 5 things to remember when you start a job search, so that you can start on the path to finding your dream job.
First, you need to put yourself out there. If you are looking to find a new job or career path, you need to let people know that you are looking and open to new opportunities. Make sure to post your resume. Hopefully, you are familiar with some of the different job boards that are out there including Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, and Dice. So, depending on your career background there are certain job boards that will cater more to certain disciplines. Dice for example, is great if you have any kind of technology or engineering background. Dice is a very technical job board and when I am looking for technical talent, that’s one of the places that I go. Indeed, is actually an aggregator, so I highly recommend that you get your resume on there. It is also a great place to go and search for jobs and you can set up job alerts so that if a new job is posted and it matches what you’re looking for, you will get an email alert. Apply for new opportunities, and if you don’t have one already, make sure to create a LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, I highly recommend that you set one up. I have a video specially on LinkedIn Tips, including how to fill out your profile and how to leverage LinkedIn. LinkedIn is essentially a social network for professionals. So, it’s great because almost everyone that I know has a LinkedIn profile, so we all essentially have this online digital profile or resume that is out there for anyone to see, at any given time, without causing concern with your employer. There are also some great features on LinkedIn that you can check a box that you are open to new opportunities and your employer will not see that. Check it out and get yourself out there if you are starting your career search, to make it known that you are open to new opportunities.
Secondly, remember that social media can be your friend or your enemy. If it is out there on the internet it is out there and can likely be found by anyone who is really trying to find something about you. So, when you are starting a new job search, I highly recommend that you take a minute and google yourself to see what comes up. Look at your Facebook profile, look at your Instagram or whatever social media platforms you use. There might be other meetup groups or all sorts of different online platforms that you could be involved with, so just make sure that your digital footprint or your personal brand, is consistent with the image that you want to put out there. Do a quick spot check before you really start actively applying for jobs because more and more employers are taking the time to look you up on Facebook and LinkedIn, or even google you to see what they can find and make sure that you’re not doing anything that is not consistent with their company’s values.
Third, remember that every step of the process matters. And when I say every step, I truly mean every step. From the moment that you apply to a job, all the way through to the end of the interview process, every single phone, email, video, or in person interaction all matters. Even if you’re not interacting with the person who’s actually responsible for hiring. It might be the receptionist that greets you when you come in, it might be someone in customer service, or any employee in the company you might meet or have the opportunity to speak to along the way; all of those interactions matter. If they are talking to you throughout that process, there is probably a reason. They are going to look at the quality of the emails that you wrote, they are going to look at your application, did you have grammatical errors in your application? Did you capitalize what should be capitalized, did you follow up and did you follow through on whatever commitments were made? If they asked you to complete an application or send them any kind of follow-up documentation within a certain period of time, did you do it? All of these things are in place for a reason and they are there to screen out the people who are not going to follow through, or those who are not consistent or serious about making that career move. Every step matters; be professional, be courteous, and be cognizant of how you are representing yourself both verbally and in written form.
Fourth, be proactive and follow up. This is so critical and so many people take a very passive approach. They apply to 50 different jobs and then they just sit back and wait and hope to hear back. That is not a good strategy, especially if you are really passionate or serious about pursuing a particular opportunity or company. You need to take matters into your own hands a little bit. If you apply to an opportunity and you don’t hear anything back for a few days, pick up the phone and call that company. Ask who is responsible for hiring for that position, ask if you can talk to them, and ask where they are in the hiring process. Make sure that they have received your application and ask them if there is anything you can address for them or any questions you can answer. Make sure to communicate how serious and interested you are in that opportunity and that you would like to give them any information that they need to get you involved in the interview process. If you reach out to follow up on your application and they tell you that they are in the process of reviewing applications and they say “maybe check back next week” make sure that you do that. Make sure that you follow up. On the flip side, when it comes to follow up, if you do get a call for an interview and you do a phone interview or go in for an in-person interview, make sure that you follow up after that. Express interest and ask about next steps. They are going to be looking for and listening for those cues or signs that you are truly interested, that you are engaged and that you really care about that company and the opportunity. Be proactive and make sure that you follow up throughout the process.
Lastly, remember that you need to sell yourself. So if you’re applying for a new job or trying to change careers, that new company doesn’t know you. Unless you have someone on the inside, or you have a friend or someone in your network who referred you, in many cases they don’t know you, they don’t know your value. It also depends on how you articulated your experiences in your resume, some people do that better than others, so you do need to sell yourself. If you have the opportunity to get on the phone with a manager or meet with them in person, make sure that you maximize that opportunity and be prepared to share what you bring to the table. What have you learned through your previous positions, how have you progressed in your career, and what is transferable from those skills that you have gained in your past, into this new opportunity? It is critical to communicate those things. Don’t feel like you are being arrogant. The point of the interview is for a potential company to find out if you would be a good fit or if you have the skills that they need for that opportunity. Do not be bashful about talking about awards that you have won, or accolades that you have received. You should be excited and proud of those things, and an interview is the perfect time to let those shine and to sell yourself. Before you go into an interview or even before you start your job search, give some thought to what value you bring to the table, what sets you apart, what makes you different from the hundreds of other potential applicates that might be going after that same job. You really must think about that; what is going to set you apart, what is going to make you stand out and why does that company need to hire you?
To recap on the five things that you need to remember when starting a job search, first and foremost you need put yourself out there, post your resume, and make it known that you are looking for new opportunities. Secondly, remember that social media can be your friend or be your enemy, so be aware of your digital footprint and what a prospective employer may see. Third, remember that every step of the application and interview process matters. Fourth, be proactive and follow up. This is your life that we are taking about, and we want you to have your best work life – be proactive and make it happen. Fifth, remember you need to sell yourself to get an interview, and throughout the interview process is the perfect time to really communicate what you have learned and accomplished. That is the time to sell yourself and really set yourself up for the best possibility of winning that opportunity.
LinkedIn Tips Video Link:
You can download 10 Tactical Tips for Writing an Effective Resume here: https://mailchi.mp/liveyourbestworklife.com/resume-tips
I especially like the idea of being proactive and reaching out to the decision-maker that will be hiring me. Getting to that person might be tough, but pay off in the end.