I advise all my job search clients, when they have been at this task for 3 or more months, to audit their search. Performing a Job Search Audit can corroborate what you’re doing well and provides ques and clues to areas for improvement.
Why? As with the “Weekly Review,” this is another $$ no-cost $$ technique that could move you a step closer to accomplishing your job search objective. (For additional information, please refer to "Schedule A Weekly Review” in the Planning and Strategy section of the AJC website.)
Here's how to perform your own job search audit:
1. Set aside a block of time in which you can devote your total attention - NO INTERRUPTIONS!
2. Next, if possible, find a “job search buddy” with whom you can talk through your review.
It needs to be someone who understands the process of what it takes to find a job today, and the way you are going about your search. THIS IS NOT A TOTAL REVAMP ( That's why I say it has to be someone who knows the process you are using and is familiar with you and your activity). You don't want to re-invent the wheel --- just tweak it if necessary.
3. Review your Career Strategy - Marketing Plan.
What responses have you received from your target companies? It's not a bad idea to again look up your target companies; revisit their current work as well as to learn about any new work areas/directions/projections, etc. that might be in need of your skills.
4. Review your resume - Not a quick read but a through review.
Read it out loud, and take a step back and view it from the perspective of a target company or employer.
- Based on the knowledge you've gained of your industry/target companies, and their advertised positions, as well as your current knowledge about what you REALLY want to do, does your resume need revision or re-focusing?
- Does anything need to be slightly tweaked, or should additions be made in light of your experience searching since you wrote your resume?
5. Review your interviews - serious networking meetings count as interviews.
Note the top 5 or 10 questions you have been asked and make note of your answers. It may be that you decide that your answers are the right ones, or it could be that something should be tweaked or actually changed in light of additional activities / courses/ experiences/ you have accomplished while job searching.
Performed periodically, an audit is a great way to gauge how you are REALLY doing. Armed with this knowledge, you'll have the ability to identify what you are doing that is working, what's not, and what you need to change to make yourself more effective in the employment job market.
This is the toughest job market we've seen and experienced since the Great Depression. As such, it takes time to land a new position. However, working strategically and working at it like it's your job - which it is - is the way folks who land jobs get them. FINDING A JOB IN THIS MARKET IS A CHALLENGE - NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. BUT BY DOING THE RIGHT THINGS RIGHT, YOU'LL GET THERE.
For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tabs of the AJC–Career Strategy website. ____________________________________________________________________________
nancy@ajcglobal.com
www.ajcglobal.com
AJC
- for Your Career Path
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-c-gober/6/14b/965
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