So recently several of my friends have been laid-off during the holiday season. This sucks! There is just no way of making this better through words of encouragement and by telling them this is an opportunity. Opportunity-really? All they are thinking is that they are going into the holidays without a job. So what can they do that will make it suck less? The only way to feel better is getting the next job. It is not impossible during the holidays. If you are in the same circumstance, here are six suggestions to get you started.
The first is that your full-time job is getting a job. You should plan to spend eight hours a day, five days a week focused on your job search.
Create web crawler based on keyword searches. This can save you a lot of time perusing various job site boards. SimplyHired.com is the one I use. There are others, but I find this one useful for the below reasons.
i. Once you decide the best keyword search, sign up for emails to come to you daily –you can locate this function on the left menu bar.
ii. Also, sign-in with LinkedIn.com – you can do this on the right hand bar. Now all the job postings that come up will show how you are connected within the organization.
Complete your profile in Linkedin.com. There are several reasons why. First, you most likely don’t have enough keywords to come up in a search. Second, Linkedin ranks you higher in the search when your profile is complete.
– Your tag line is not, “I am seeking a position”. No one is looking for someone who is out of work. It is your specialty or focus.
– Create a summary that focuses on your career goal. Start with mission alignment and then your strengths.
– Write descriptions for each of your positions. These don’t have should not be long but focused on keywords, scope, and achievement. You can also add documents to these sections to show examples of your work.
– Ask for other recommendations from people who will speak highly of your work.
– Follow companies that are in your target list to work – i.e. Harvard University.
– You want to start posting an article at least once a day. You will come up more often on your contacts feed. This will keep you on top of people’s mind.
Networking! You should look at talking to 3 to 5 people a week. Preferably in person but also over the phone would work.
– Develop a set of informational interview questions that will help you in the job search.
– Growth based questions: this allows you to see if there are openings coming up.
– Challenge based questions: this allows you to see how you can potentially contribute to current challenges and
develop your marketing documents to discuss these challenges.
– Skills based questions: where you can see where else you can fit within the organization.
– Ask for referrals.
– Contact your close network – let them know what is going on and ask if they know someone you could meet with for an informational interview.
– Identify second degree connections in Linkedin.com at your target organizations and ask for introductions to them from your connections.
– Use groups on LinkedIn to connect with people and answer questions. Answering questions will help to elevate your visibility.
– Reach out to executive recruiters in your area. Let them know your mission alignment and strengths and see what they have open at the moment.
– Join or reconnect with your professional organization
Apply for positions daily
– Create customized resumes and cover letters for each
– Apply as soon as you hear about the position. In this case, the early bird often gets the worm.
Prepare for interviews – create practice questions based on the job description and actually practice!
For more detailed information on job search strategies, see my lynda.com video.
Career Solutions by Valerie 