Whenever I get a new referral for someone looking for a
job, I always tell them to start with these four steps in order to get their
job search going...
1) Update
your resume.
This should be a no brainer, but a lot of people that
contact me are in panic mode or are very overwhelmed and unhappy with their
current work situation. Now is the time to focus your energy on your job search
and you can’t do anything without an updated resume.
Make sure you fill in all the details of your most recent
job and review older parts that you haven’t looked at in years. Then have
someone else look at it. Like with all writing, you need another pair of eyes
to catch typos and grammar errors.
2) Sign up for a LinkedIn account and fill out
your profile COMPLETELY. Make connections and join Groups.
I am a big follower of Lewis Howes, who has written the
book, “LinkedWorking: Generating Success On The World's Largest ProfessionalNetworking Website”. Lewis has an amazing story of how he spent months on his
sister’s couch with a broken wrist figuring out all the secrets of LinkedIn and
how you can use it to network and get noticed.
Here is Carlos Gil's 8-minute video on how he used LinkedIn and his recommendations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDZrxQ0Yyhg&feature=youtu.be
Here is Carlos Gil's 8-minute video on how he used LinkedIn and his recommendations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDZrxQ0Yyhg&feature=youtu.be
The key to using LinkedIn is to fill out your profile
completely and with specific key words in your industry. I have learned that
recruiters like to search on those keywords in order to find prospective
candidates.
Once your profile is filled in, using information from
your resume (you can even copy/paste), I then suggest networking with as many
people as you know.
Also, another advantage of LinkedIn is the
"Groups". Type in your field in the search box and select
"Groups" from the drop down list. When you join Groups specific to
your field, it's another way to network as well as view job postings. You can
set the e-mail notifications of postings to either daily or weekly.
LinkedIn now lets you notify recruiters that you are looking (excluding the recruiters at your own company). Click here for learning the steps to take:
http://www.stljobcoach.com/2016/10/linkedin-lets-you-notify-recruiters.html
http://www.stljobcoach.com/2016/10/linkedin-lets-you-notify-recruiters.html
Here is a good daily, weekly, and monthly checklist to
follow to keep you active on LinkedIn: http://www.getajobtips.com/2015/02/what-to-do-daily-on-linkedin-to-land.html
3) Use job search websites and set up searches
so that job postings get e-mailed to you directly.
I usually recommend “the big three” when it comes to general
job search websites: Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Indeed.com. Those are
good places to start and I have set up my accounts so that I get weekly e-mails
with job postings that are similar to what I do. This way the jobs come to me!
But there are still far more job search sites out there,
and you can find my list here: http://www.stljobcoach.com/p/links.html
In addition to job websites, reach out to temp agencies
like Kelly Services or Robert Half International (RHI). The best way to get
your foot in the door is to act as a temp or contractor.
If you are in between jobs, a good way to get experience and
networking is to volunteer. This will give you motivation to get out of bed and
out from behind the computer.
4) Networking,
networking, networking...both online with companies and in person with your
friends!
-- What are the companies in your field? Go to their
company website and see if they have a careers page or a “Contact Us” page.
-- Go to LinkedIn and search for HR representatives that
work for that company and ask to connect with them.
-- Search for former coworkers on LinkedIn and see where
they have ended up and ask them if there are openings.
-- Attend monthly meetings or conferences for your field
and talk to as many people as you can!
-- When you’re hanging out with your friends and they ask
what’s new, tell them you’re looking for a new job. You never know…they might
say, “My company is looking for someone like you!”
-- Here's a great blog post that talks about it further: How to Network Your Way to a New Job
-- Here's a great blog post that talks about it further: How to Network Your Way to a New Job
Your network is bigger than you think!
