With over twenty years of experience helping job seekers
find great jobs, I am very concerned that many unemployed, underemployed and
skilled educated people are not finding the best job matches for their career
aspirations. High unemployment has played a role but hidden behind the scenes
is the fact that many job seekers do a horrible job search today; and it's not
really their fault.
Jobs exist. Getting them has changed because of
technology and how each employer has changed their recruiting 1. Great jobs reside online in many places. Job boards, social media, LinkedIn, job aggregators, corporate career sites, GlassDoor, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, RSS feeds and many other online sources are popping up all over the place. For job seekers, this can be overwhelming to figure out which resources to use to help your search. TIP: Don't worry about the source of the job. Your job search should be spent identifying companies in your city that have a need for your skill set. Start with keyword searches in Google and niche/regional job boards. Get a list of the top 100 companies in your town or career specialty and visit each company's career website directly to see if your skill set is needed. Great jobs reside at companies you know nothing about! Once you find companies that hire your skill set, use the above sites to do your career investigation. Companies are hiring SKILL SET MATCHES today. Spend your time finding matches for what you do and don't waste time with jobs you could do!
2.
Applicant Tracking Systems must understand you. Many larger
companies use applicant track systems that require you to answer their
questions and submit your resume. In today's market place, you must have the
skill set match to the job you are applying to and if your resume, objective
and majority of experience doesn't support this, you most likely will not be
considered for the job. If you are a claims adjuster and you apply for an
underwriting job, you just entered the black hole. However, if you are a
property claims adjuster and apply for a property claims position and your
resume reads "property claims adjuster", if the job is open, you will
be considered. What if you have a variety of skills? Believe it or not, this is
a major issue. Your resume and skill set has to spend the majority of time on
the skill set need to get the job. A disorganized and general resume is also a
likely candidate for the black hole. TIP:
Only apply to jobs that you can make a serious skill match via your online
resume and application. If you spend more time identifying employers with jobs
that match your background instead of just applying, you will have great
success in your job search.
3.
Professional Resume. Today's resume are much different than
just five years ago. Not only does it have to be written in a way that allows
it to talk to applicant track systems, it also needs to be the cornerstone of
your online employment brand. Resume writers today know that human resources,
in house recruiters and headhunters are searching Google, job board resume
databases and LinkedIn to find talent directly. If you are in a job search and
are a graphic designer in Orlando, will a potential employer find you? A well
done resume translates extremely well to resume databases in job boards,
LinkedIn and many other places. Sure, keywords will find you but what about the
entire body of work? Do you include pictures, work examples and
recommendations? Professional, certified resume writers can help and the
investment is minimal. (Your neighbor is not a resume writer) TIP: I have three
certified (and awesome) resume writers I use who will do a free evaluation for
you if you have any interest. Just let me
know.4. Power Interviewing. Getting an interview is just the first step. Most of you are not professional interviewers and it shows. However, it is amazing how many of you are not prepared for the interview. Before the interview, do everything you can do to learn about the company. Just as employers can Google you, you can do the same to them. Many go to interviews not prepared and there just is no excuse for this. Dressing well, confidence, interest, energy, and knowing how YOU can add value to the company. Have real examples of past experiences that will showcase your ability to perform the job duties. If you know you can do the job, ask for the job in the interview so the company knows your interest level. TIP: View this document from interview expert Lisa Maile. Also, if you are in Central Florida, Lisa is doing a boot camp on interviewing that is one of the best in the business. (download boot camp information)
This is the real deal. The theme is simple. Stop wasting time applying to anything and everything... target your search! Once targeted, follow the rest of these tips and you will increase your chances of not only finding a job, but a really good job. Research is king!
