With the unemployment rate rising in Orlando and Central Florida, you might be thinking that you will never get another job if you are still looking. While this definitely is not the case, I want to give you a check list of things that will make sure you are doing a good job in your job search.
1) Network, network, network. I can’t stress this enough. You need to let everyone you know that you are looking for a new job. Also, please join network groups like we talked about earlier this month.
2) Don’t send and sit. If you see jobs that you are qualified for on sites like OrlandoJobs.com, don’t just apply and sit back and wait. Get proactive professionally. Use your friends, family, and LinkedIn or Facebook friends to find anyone who may work at the company you just applied to. This connection could be your way in to this job.
3) Send hand written thank you cards. After the interview, use the US Mail and send the interviewer a hand written thank you card thanking them for their time AND asking for the job if it is a job you desire.
4) Corporate Career Sites. Not all companies post all their jobs on major employment website. While this might take some time, identify 50 companies in Orlando that you want to work for and go to each of their corporate websites and search their jobs. You may be surprised.
5) Resume Clean? One of the craziest things I see over and over is the poor quality of the resume you send to potential employers. A good resume is grammatically correct, targeted for the job you are sending it to and has important information about you and your qualifications. Think of it this way; past performance is an indicator of future performance. Most resumes I see have a job history but no defined accomplishments. I like to see things on resumes that show the value you had to past employers. For example, “I decreased phone wait time from 70 seconds to 14 seconds”. If you are applying to an administration position, this will stand out.
6) Email Address and Phone Message. Wow. If your email address is not professional, you automatically put yourself at disadvantage over other candidates. Get yourself a simple, professional email address for applying to jobs. Also, if a cell phone message is funny for your friends, a potential employer may not be laughing. Clean it up!
There are jobs in Central Florida. However, in a job market like we have today, you cannot afford to miss the little things you should be doing. Make yourself stand out professionally and you will increase your odds of getting the job you want!
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