Job Search Tips

Here’s another great article on job search mistakes to avoid. Liz Ryan is spot on here, and I learned a couple of things. check it out here.

Check out this great article on searching for a job in tough times. I agree with everything in this article except for the part about spending four hours on your resume for each job you apply for.

I believe that it’s best to spend a lot of time upfront on a targeted resume, but you should only need 15 to 20 minutes to tweak your resume for a specific job.

However, if you are applying for jobs in different fields, you should spend the time  to create a tailored resume for each career you are interested.  By the way you might want to consider a professional resume writer.

I’ve been talking about networking with respect to a job search. The best advice I can give is to just get out there and do it. Find an active local organization to join and get involved with. Become the kind of member who gets stuff done and is always looking for ways to help others. In addition to being an indirect source of job leads, this is also a great way to improve your resume.

Join some social networking sites (I recommend linkedin.com) and start participating. Find former classmates and coworkers and reconnect with them. If your choose linkedin I recommend that you participate in their answer’s module. You can build significant credibility by getting into the habit participating in the community.

This all comes down to developing the habit of networking. Spend one hour a day for 30 days on networking activities,  and I promise the second 30 days will be much easier to network.

Do you know what the most import job search skill is? Here’s a hint its not resume writing or interviewing. By far the most important way to find your dream job is good old fashioned networking.

I’m not talking about strangers in chat room or the thousands of friends you have on Facebook that don’t know who you are. I’m talking about networking face to face with real human beings that you’ve met and who know and like you. I’m talking about people who when called for a reference could say something positive about you.

People hire people. They don’t hire resumes and they don’t hire interview performers. When job positions open companies reach out to employees for any candidates that they can recommend. I’ve seen this pattern over and over Its rare that you will find a quality job on monstor.com or hotjobs.com. You’re best source of a good job is your personal network.

Come back this week as I’ll be covering networking in greater detail.

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