To Find A New Job Quicker . . . Follow-up!

Over the years, I have asked many, many job seekers after they landed a new job or role:
    “If you had it to do over again, what would they do differently?
                Their answer:  follow up. 
To find a new position quicker, follow-up is a must!  It is not enough to just submit an application or resume and then WAIT! 

With hundreds, if not 1000's, of candidates vying for the same positions, your resume is as likely as not to land on the bottom of the stack.  With 50 or 100 or 1000 submissions ahead of you, you have little chance of being noticed by simply submitting a resume or application.  It’s a first step  —   just not your only step!

So, implement a follow-up strategy to get yourself noticed.  Plan follow-up activities after your initial submission.  There are various ways you can do this:
Here are a few:
1.  Write directly to the hiring and/or HR manager, and include a copy of your resume.  
2.  Identify a person, in your personal and professional network, who works inside the organization or knows someone who does.  Ask them to hand carry your submission (or e-mail if they can’t do it person-to-person) to the appropriate person and put in a good word for you.
3.  Use your social network, including Linked In, to connect with a person familiar with the organization who can tell you about the organization and help you direct your marketing material to the appropriate person.
4.  Attend your profession's association meeting and look for someone connected with the prospective employer.

A "First Follow-up" is A First Follow-up
These are just a few of the ways you can creatively follow-up.  I’m sure you can think of others.  The important thing to remember is this: That "first follow-up" is just that - a first follow-up.  Plan to stay in touch and continue to express your interest until you have gotten the desired employer's attention, hopefully resulting in an interview and an offer!

When asked what they would have done differently, the overwhelming majority of job seekers said that if they had followed up more often and more consistently, they would have landed their new job quicker!  So, plan to follow up to achieve your job search goal!

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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

Job Search Marketing Tools

You've decided to look for a new position.  You’ve written your resume.  You are ready to go!   Right? . . . .  Wrong. 
Your resume is only the first of several tools you will need to market yourself in today's employment marketplace.  After all, if finding a job is all about selling yourself  -  and it is  -- then you will need all your sales tools to make the sale to prospective employers in today's highly competitive employment marketplace!  Your resume is only one of many job search sales tools - albeit a very important one.

Too many job seekers think that when they have finally written their resume, they are ready to roll --  to just start sending their resume out in response to any and every opening they see.  However, to do so without planning a strategy for following up those initial entrees, or developing a marketing plan and focusing your efforts, can result in slow - or no - progress in finding that next position.  You will likely join the ranks of the many job seekers who can count 100's, if not 1000's, of submissions with no results.  Why?
Without a full set of marketing tools, simply applying for positions on-line and sending out resumes is not enough!

What tools will you need to begin to market yourself for a new job?  Remember, finding a job boils down to sales.  You are selling yourself.  You will need to identify opportunities (industries, and then companies within those industries, and jobs within those companies) that could use and value your skills and experience.  Putting this information together is really creating  your Marketing Plan - another of your marketing tools.  That done, you will then need to develop the rest of your marketing tools. 

Here are the basic marketing tools you will need to venture into the job market:
The Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1)  Resume. . .  
    Generally a chronological resume (although can also be a functional, combo functional/chronological) that quickly tells  the reader about your skills and experience.
(2)  “L”vator speech. . .
    A self-introduction that accurately and adequately conveys your expertise and attributes in less than 30 seconds.
(3)  Business Cards. . . 
    A Personal-Professional Business Card that tells the receiver at a minimum your name and basic contact information, and at maximum your profession/title and competency areas.
(4) Reference List. . .
    An annotated reference list shows not only the name and contact information of your reference, but also the nature of your professional relationship.
(5) Marketing Plan. . .
    Your marketing plan identifies your competencies areas, and the types of industries, and companies within those industries, that employ your skills.
(6) Portfolio. . .
    Your professional job search portfolio captures and displays materials that provide “proof” of your competency, skills, experience, and expertise.  It can contain items such as: resume, letters of recommendation, letters of appreciation, performance appraisals, certificates, degrees/diplomas, articles about you and by you, reports written, awards, etc.

Your Basic Tool Kit for a Job Search.  With these marketing tools in hand, you are now able to enter the job market.  Think of it is as your Basic Tool Kit for a job search.  You now have the information you need to identify real, potential job opportunities, and a way to communicate to those potential employers about what you have to offer in an impactful, attention-getting way.

Here are the additional or advanced marketing tools you will need to have an all inclusive Job Search Marketing Tool Kit to fully engage and competently capture career opportunities:
The Advanced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(7)   Networking Plan
(8)   Linked-In Profile
(9)   Cover Letter Template
(10) Thank You Letter Template
(11)  Follow-up strategy
Now, you ARE ready to go!  As with any good salesperson, you have a plan and the product knowledge to expertly and persuasively engage your potential customers - who just might become your next employer!

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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

A Job Search Audit

Been at your search for a while?  A Job Search Audit can tell you how you’re doing.
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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

Schedule a Weekly Review . . . Weekly

How is your job search progressing?  Don’t really know!  Schedule a weekly review weekly to find out.   If you actually keep this appointment with yourself (Therein lies half the battle!) to review progress and set a schedule for the upcoming week’s work, you’ll progress further faster!

Dale Carnegie, in his now classic self help book, How To Win Friends & Influence People, talks about a successful Wall Street banker who used this system for self-improvement.  The banker set aside Saturday evening each week to conduct a self-analysis of his week’s progress. 

Each week, the banker reviewed the week’s interviews, discussions, and meetings – What did he do right, wrong, and what lessons could he learn from his successes and mistakes that he could apply the following week?  He attributed his success in part to this technique.  The key is to schedule your self-analysis meeting with yourself.  Then KEEP THE APPOINTMENT!  Put it on your calendar and treat it with the same respect as any other appointment. 

Don’t let yourself down by not keeping your appointment with yourself.  Conducted on a weekly basis - or certainly at regular intervals - you may be surprised by what you learn about what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.  Weave these "lessons learned" into your plans for the coming week and check them against your goals. 

A NO-Cost Technique:  Your weekly review meeting.  This is a no-cost technique that could move you a step closer to accomplishing your goals.  In today’s tight and tough economy, here’s a technique that won’t cost you a dime but could make you $$$1,000s.  Your next job might just depend on it! 
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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

                                                    

Don’t Go Into Business Because You Need a Job

Don’t go into business because you need a job  – Go into business because you want to be in business. 

I often hear clients who are looking for a job say that they are thinking about starting a business.  This generally occurs after they have been searching for a job for a while and have not landed a job yet.  Seems like an option – right?  Wrong.  

1.  There is only one reason to go into business:  You want to be in business.
Starting, building, and running a small business is a life commitment in terms of time, energy, and resources.  Those who succeed do so because it is their burning desire to do so.  It becomes their life style.  Born of necessity, many if not most other things come in second!  It is interwoven into their daily existence, so that you can't tell where one starts and one lets off.  Being in business becomes a way of life.

2.  If you want a job, work at getting a job.
What playing around with starting a business does for someone who really only wants a job is deters them from the job of finding a job and delays their  search.  They waste their and others' time and energy. 

In doing some of the business start-up activities, a job seeker winds up NOT spending time on job search activities.  They also send a confusing message to those with whom they network and interview.  A prospective employer isn't sure what you want from them:  business or a job?

3.  So, decide.  Are you looking for a job or an account?
You can’t do both at the same time.  You water down your argument in either case as to why you will be the best employee or the best provider of your service or product in your business. 

Don’t mix up searching for a job with starting a business.  Focus on your search if you want a job, and on building a business if you want a business. 


For additional information on marketing yourself and your capabilities, please refer to the many articles found under the Articles tab 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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub

 

Resumes Get Seconds . . . . Make Them Count

Resumes get seconds  --  not minutes  --  on the first read-through by a recruiter.  Make them count!  The numbers vary - some say they get 30 seconds of a recruiter's time; some guesstimate it as low as 6.  Wherever it falls on the scale between 6 - 30, the fact is that you have a short amount of time to impress a recruiter.  So make the most of that time to engage your reader.  A job depends on it!

How do recruiters spend that 6-30 seconds?  In fact, the first read-through is NOT a read-through at all.  Generally, recruiters say, they read the top half of the first page of the resume.  If it catches their interest, they read on.  If not, they don't.

So, it becomes your job, as a job seeker, to make those seconds count  If you do, the recruiter will want to read more!  Here's how:
 Focus your efforts in customizing your resume for a position on 2 things - your goals for the work you want to do and the recruiter’s position.
(1)  Write your resume strategically so that it showcases the information about you that will help you get the work you WANT to do. Keep your goals in mind as you write.
(2) When you identify a position for the work you WANT to do, edit and focus your resume for that job as you apply.  Highlight and feature work skills, experience, capabilities, and accomplishments that meet the position’s requirements. Show that you have performed these, or similar duties, possess the requested skills, and achieved results.

Make it easy on the eye
Ensure that your resume is easy to read.  After you have focused your resume (see above 2 steps), step back and take a look.  Make it easy for the recruiter to read and to learn what you can do.  Here’s how:
● Use an easy-to-read format with plenty of white space.
● Bullet key points - no big blocks of text or type
● Use an easy to read type face that is commonly available.
● Use a large enough size of type so that is easy to read, generally size 11 or 12.
● For hard copies of your resume, use a good quality of paper.
● Keep it to 2 pages - 2 ½ maximum.
● Place contact information at the top of your resume.  Include (at a minimum) name, e-mail address, phone number. You may also add physical address, Linked In address, website, etc.
● Place some key contact information at the top of page 2 in case the pages get separated - name, phone OR e-mail, page number
● Write an initial concise and relevant summary of your work experience and skills, and put it on the top of your resume, directly below your contact information.
● Use phrases.  No complete sentences on a resume.
● No pronouns on a resume.
● State the content succinctly. 
● Don't waste the recruiter's time with descriptions of the company or its projects.  Instead, write about what you did and the results you achieved, i.e. Accomplishment Statements. Show what you have done and what benefit you provided your previous employer(s).
● Include only relevant additional information about your education, associations, publications, awards.
● Exclude hobbies, religious affiliations, political affiliations in most cases
 
The trick to producing a resume that gets read is to show what you have done and what benefit you provided your previous employer(s) in an attractive and easy to read format. 

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        

Twitter:  @AfterJobClub