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These seven steps will kick you into high gear for a successful job search.
1. Set Up a Job Search Tracking System
The Internet and the technology available to most of us "complex-ify" the job hunting process to the point that you need to keep close track of all the activities and contacts so you don't mess up or miss an opportunity.
Use whatever technology you are comfortable with from pen and paper to computer spreadsheets and contact management systems.
In addition, Job-Hunt has arranged with JibberJobber.com to provide Job-Hunt's visitors with many FREE job search tracking tools (calendar, contact management, etc.) combined into one coherent system, enabling you to keep track of your job search more easily. Check them out - they are "free for life!" A fee-based upgrade to JibberJobber is available for a modest annual fee, but most people are happy with the free tools and don't find the upgrade necessary.
2. Make a Job Search Plan
Based on your ground work in Part 1, you know what job you want and who you want to work for. Now, prioritize the job you really, REALLY want and the employer which looks like the best (and most secure) place to work, and plan your campaign to get employed there. Then, do a Plan B, in case the timing is bad for your first choice (don't assume it's bad - check!). And a Plan C.
Using your job search tracking system (# 1 above), plan your job search campaign. Through your network (off-line as well as online), find the people who work at the target employer and reach out to them. Do NOT bluntly ask if they know of any jobs open, unless you know them really well. Read Liz Ryan's job search networking articles for more tips and see Step 7 below for more resosurces.
3. Increase personal marketing and branding (LinkedIn, Twitter, VisualCV, ZoomInfo, Ziggs)
If you don’t Google yourself regularly, you are at a disadvantage. Potential employers will probably Google you, and if you don’t know what they will find, you are defenseless. A strong personal brand will help you stand out as the real you, and help you put your best foot forward.
Further, as mentioned in Part 1, if you don’t have a good LinkedIn Profile, you are at an increasing disadvantage in the job marketplace. A December, 2008 poll of recruiters by ERE.com (a recruiters’ forum), 66% of recruiters plan to use LinkedIn for recruiting in 2009. In 2010, I've seen estimates as high as 80% of recruiters will be using LinkedIn and other social media. Can you afford to be invisible for all those recruiters?
For ideas:
- For concrete suggestions on building your personal brand, read the articles written by Meg Guiseppi, Job-Hunt's Personal Branding Expert. Also see Meg's Executive Resume Branding Blog for more ideas, even if you're not an "executive."
- Marci Reynolds, Alison Doyle, and Jason Alba, Job-Hunt's Social Media & Job Search Experts (present and past), offer excellent ideas for leveraging the social networks for your job search including LinkedIn (of course), Twitter (really!), and Facebook.
- See the Add Misspellings to Your LinkedIn Profile posting on the Job Search News Blog for ideas on how to be found if you have an uncommon name, have changed your name (via marriage or some other method), or have a name that is just often misspelled.
4. Select
a FEW Job Sites to Use
It has been
estimated that there are 80,000 Web job sites. And there are thousands
of other sites that have job openings -- company Web sites, professional
association Web sites, Chamber of Commerce Web sites, college
alumni/ae Web sites, etc. That's more options than you could probably
use in a lifetime!
How do you
navigate through all of this to your new job?
- Finding
the Jobs
Read this article to learn about all the many places that jobs
are listed, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
You'll want to check them all out to find the ones that work
best for you.
- Choosing
a Job Site
Don't
post your resume or leave a profile on any site until you have
read this article. Not every job site is a good, or even
a safe, place for you to post your resume or to leave
contact information! So, learn how to spot an unsafe site
before you get started.
- Using
Web Job Sites
Then, read
Job-Hunt's article on to see how Web job site usually work,
what services to use and what services to avoid.
- Watch Out for the Scams
Take this quiz and then read the answers to see how well you can spot the job scams. On the Internet, even on otherwise trustworthy sites, you will find that bogus jobs have been posted by bogus employers. Be careful!
- Dirty
Dozen Online Job Search Mistakes
Job-Hunt's famous list of pitfalls (with some solutions, too).
[If you are
an executive or senior level manager/professional, check out Job-Hunt
Sponsor RiteSite from John
Lucht, author of the best-selling book, Rites of Passage
at $100,000 to $1M Plus. John's site is for top level
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5. Visit Employer Websites
If you have
identified potential employers of interest to you, track down
and visit the employer's Web site. Frequently, particularly for
larger employers, the company Web site will also have job opportunities
posted. Job-Hunt links to over 8,000 employers by state, so check your state's listings to see what you can find.
To find out which employers are hiring in your target location right now, be sure to check out Job-Hunt's sponsor Indeed.com to see what they have found for you.
6. Follow
Up Relentlessly and Politely (Off-line, too)
Follow up tells the potential employer that you really are interested in working for them.
- When you have
identified a job you want or a company you want to work for and
submitted your online application, customize your resume for the opportunity and send it, with a targeted
cover letter, to the recruiter and hiring manger (using paper
and a postage stamp). Then, call to see if they've received it,
and what is happening with the job that interests you.
- Don't assume
that every e-mail message you send is received and read! Currently,
spam (bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail) and computer virus-generated
messages in circulation comprise an estimated 70% to 80% of all
e-mail traffic. Companies and people have responded to this deluge
of junk e-mail by using filtering software in an attempt to separate
the "good" mail from the "bad." So your message
and resume may be deleted or diverted by one of these electronic
gate keepers. Following up via phone and "snail mail"
is a necessity. Be politely persistent.
- Also, immediately sending formal written thank you's after an interview makes a big impression since fewer than 5% of job seekers bother with this step.
- To further distinguish yourself from run-of-the-mill job seekers, send a thank you for the dreaded thanks-but-no-thanks rejection letter, when you receive one from an employer you really liked. Sometimes the person hired doesn't work out, and the person who sent the thank you after being rejected gets the offer next. See Job-Hunt's article on Turning Rejection into Opportunity - it definitely works!
See Job-Hunt's Pro-Active Job Search article for more ideas.
7. Spend
More Time OFF-Line than ON-Line >> Off-Line is Where the Jobs
REALLY Are!
The Internet
is an awesome information source, but think of it as a "tool"
in your job search toolbox. You will be hired by a person who
will probably want to meet you and talk with you before offering
you a job. So, use the Internet's vast information resources to
help you, but don't limit your efforts to this on-line world.
Reality is
that the vast majority of jobs (estimated at 85% or 90% of them!)
are NOT posted on a Web site or even advertised in your local
newspaper. They are never advertised at al! These jobs comprise
"The Hidden Job Market."
The people
hired in the HIdden Job Market jobs are known to the organization
before a job opportunity has been documented or, sometimes, even
recognized. They are the "friends of the friends" of
the hiring manager or of another employee. Don't be discouraged!
You can find those jobs, and the Internet can help you
get started.
Your personal
network is one of the best ways to find that next job (and the
job after that, and the job after that!). Read the articles in Job-Hunt's Job Search
Networking section, the "Tapping the
Hidden Job Market" article, and the Hidden
Job Market section of California's wonderful JobStar site.
Millions
of people are job hunting right now. We have some recommendations
for how you can Stand Out
From the Crowd. And, you've probably heard this message hundreds
of times, because it's true, networking is the most effective
way to find a job.
Networking Resources
If you belong
to a professional association, look for a "career center"
(or something similar) on the association's Website, or go to
a few meetings to see if you can connect with other job seekers. Also check out Job-Hunt's links to company/military "alumni" (former employees) to reconnect with former co-workers.
- Check out Job-Hunt's list of over 800 national and international associations and societies by industry or profession.
- If you worked for the U.S. Federal Government, the U.S. Military, for a company in the U.S., look for an "alumni" group where former employees or members stay in touch. See Job-Hunt's Corporate, Military, & Government Alumni Groups to find a list of over 250 groups.
- Liz Ryan, Job-Hunt's Job Search Networking Expert, has written a series of articles about job search networking, including the tools and tactics to help you succeed.
- Marci Reynolds, Alison Doyle, and Jason Alba, Job-Hunt's (present and past) Social Media & Job Search Experts, have written a series of articles to help you understand and leverage the emerging social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Check the LinkedIn and Facebook Groups, too, for wonderful ways to connect and re-connect with people in your profession, industry, or past (and future!), like Job-Hunt's Job-Hunt Help LinkedIn Group.
Next: Part Three or Back: Part One
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About the author...
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.
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