Finding Work Fast Starts With YOU! – Job Search Tips

Day in and day out job seekers all over are asking themselves the following questions:

“Why is my job search taking so long?”

“Why will no one give me a chance?”

These are very real questions with very real solutions that start with you. You, in large measure, determine how long your job search will take and what successes you will encounter along the way. The only difference between someone who finds meaningful employment in a couple months and someone who takes a year or more is commitment; commitment to your search and to your personal development. These forms of commitment go hand-in-hand and they build off each other. With that said, there are some universal skills and ideas that every job seeker needs to consider when approaching the job search. A few of those things are, being professional on paper and in person, spending enough hours per day in your job search, and thinking outside the job-seeker box.

BE PROFESSIONAL ON PAPER.

Professionalism on paper means having ZERO spelling errors, ZERO grammatical errors, and CORRECT formatting. About one in three resumes contain one or more of these errors. You, as a job seeker, first need to seek counsel from your local career center, and other professional resources, on how to polish up your resume and improve how you present yourself on the most important document that gets you in the door, your resume! Luann Murray, Vice President and Human Resources Partner with Bank of Arizona stated, “Have a good resume that tells your story well.” Make sure that the story you tell on your resume accurately reflects why you’re the best fit for the job you’re interested in.

BE PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Here is a list of things to remember when you finally get the interview:

• Be 5 minutes early. If you’re too early, it’s annoying to employers, but if you’re late, that will most likely disqualify you from being hired.
• Dress professional! If you’re unsure how to dress for the interview, error on the side of business professional attire, for example, wear a suit and tie if you’re not certain whether a polo and slacks are acceptable.
• SMILE! A nice smile not only shows that you’re excited about the job but that your personality may be a good fit for the organization. Employers seek people who are a good personality fit with their workforce.
• Provide a firm hand shake when greeting your interviewer. Don’t break the interviewer’s hand, but providing a firm handshake shows confidence.
• Use good eye contact!
• Send a “Thank You” card in the mail with a hand-written message of gratitude, as soon as you get out of the interview so it arrives to them the next day.

SPENDING ENOUGH TIME.

How many hours each day do you spend looking for work and developing your skills? It’s estimated that most job seekers spend between two and five hours per day in this all-important effort. Luann Murray went on to say, “If you’re truly trying to find a job that fits you, that’s a full-time job.” That means, your job search begins at 8:00 AM and does not end until 5:00 PM, at a minimum. So, get up, get ready for the day and dress in business attire to help you feel more professional in your professional job search (how you dress affects how you think; it really does!). Keep your mind as sharp as possible!

THINK OUTSIDE THE JOB-SEEKER BOX.

There are many resources all around you that, when used properly, can expedite your job search significantly! Some of those ideas are as follows:

• Sign up with every appropriate staffing agency you can (this also helps you to fine tune your interview skills).
• Attend free networking events. Career Connectors and Goodwill, for example, are a couple non-profit organizations in the valley that sponsor regular job seeker networking events and free training seminars around the valley.
• Attend every job fair you can!
• Create a LinkedIn account and use LinkedIn as a job search tool.
• Network with everyone you know!
• Include your resume on as many internet job boards as you can, LocalWork.com especially!
• Think of any company you would like to work for, approach a senior-level manager of that company and ask them to be your mentor. You will find that 90% of business professionals would be honored to take on the role of mentor for sincere individuals looking for work in a particular industry and/or company. And it doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 52, having a mentor is just someone you can ask sincere questions to and who might actually end up hiring you because you have shown genuine interest in them and their company.

A common thread in all of the ideas above is that of networking. Networking has proven to be the most effective way of obtaining meaningful employment, so get out there, get in front of people, and build professional relationships with people. “Those relationships are invaluable…meet a variety of people from other businesses,” said Luann Murray.

More jobs in our economy would be nice, but in the meantime, our economy needs job seekers who are first willing to put in the time and effort necessary to land the many jobs that are already out there! You just need to go hunt them down! When remembering these simple things, professionalism on paper and in person, spending enough time in your job search, and thinking outside the job-seeker box, you will find yourself interviewing more frequently which automatically leads to getting hired more quickly.

For additional tips and advice, feel free to connect with me, Rob Briggs, through LinkedIn at,

www.linkedin.com/in/robertrbriggs/.

Happy Searching!