Job searching is time consuming and like any other project - you need a plan. Organizing and optimizing your efforts can slash your job search in half.
Related:How To Demonstrate To Employers That You're The Best Talent
There are several ways in which you can conduct your job search: job boards, recruiters, and networking. Knowing that networking offers the greatest effectiveness rate over the others, you should craft a plan that includes networking time.
4 Steps To Building A Job Search Plan
Follow these steps and you will slash your job search time considerably. Take these steps:
1. First, get all the materials you need ready.
Before you even target any contacts, you have to have certain materials and tools ready to work with. This includes your resume, LinkedIn profile, and elevator pitch/phone script. The elevator pitch and phone script essentially offer a brief summary of who you are and what value you have that distinguishes you. For more help crafting you elevator pitch and phone script, read “4 Steps to Crafting Your Elevator Pitch.”
2. Determine how much time you will spend towards you job search.
If you are unemployed, you should spend 30-40 hours per week on your job search. If you are employed, 10-20 hours per week. These numbers are just general guidelines. You determine how much time you want to put towards your job search so that you can organize how to allocate your time.
3. Allocate your time for specific tasks.
If you have 30 hours to work with during the week, allocate how much time to put towards each task in your job search. For example, X hours per day for conducting follow-up on submissions and other communication, Y hours per day networking and making new contacts, and so on. Just keep in mind that to get your resume in front of employers, there are only three ways: Job Boards, Recruiters, and Direct Contact through Networking.
You want to spend most of your time networking because it is the most effective way to get a job. Often, job seekers spend most of their time on job boards, and that is a big mistake considering it only has a 3-6% effectiveness rate. More employers are relying on Applicant Tracking Systems, so with submissions through job boards, only the top 20 ranking resumes (based on the ATS search results) out of the hundreds are reviewed by a human. If you do want to use job boards, you should look at the niche job boards. Either way, make sure you are not allocating more than 50% of your job search time to job boards.
4. Have goals and keep a log of your work.
Setting goals will help direct your job search efforts. For instance, you may set goals like making 15 networking contacts per week. Depending on results, you may want to modify how you allocate your time with the goal. This entire process needs to be well organized, and to help you do that, keep a log of your work. Keep track of where you’ve applied, when you applied, the status of your submission, next steps, and so on. This way when you are contacted you will have all the information you need.
Finding a new job takes a lot of work – much like a full-time job, but armed with a good job search plan you can stay organized and utilize your time wisely for the best results in securing job opportunities.
Don Goodman’s firm was rated as the #1 Resume Writing Service in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Don is a triple-certified, nationally recognized Expert Resume Writer, Career Management Coach and Job Search Strategist who has helped thousands of people secure their next job. Check out his Resume Writing Service. Get a Free Resume Evaluation or call him at 800.909.0109 for more information.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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