6 Ways to Avoid a LONG Job Search
I use the Leonardo DiCaprio meme image above simply to grab attention on this topic! I help candidates avoid long and dispiriting job searches so this month, I wanted to share 6 of about 12 tips I give clients, that shorten their job search.
Here are 6 reasons AND their "fixes" so you can start anew and keep your search shorter:
1. You're using old job search methods that not only date you, they just don't work today. These are using 80% of your time to answer ads, 20% of your time trying to cater to recruiters. The fix: network! As Leo says in the meme above, do networking meetings. These lead to increased trust and credibility, and increased trust and credibility yield more leads that fit you. Even recruiters will tell you this: make contacts.
Have you been out of touch with your network? Everyone networks today, so jump in, starting your reboot with close friends and working "outward" to business acquaintances, setting target numbers for each week.
2.You're doing a resume-based job search. Meaning, you're sending out resumes but doing little else. Yes, this is related to #1 above. My study of how people across the US have been landing good jobs – and this has been true for decades – is they are doing it through connections. They may see an opening, and apply knowing not a soul in that company. But the day they apply, they are ALSO on the phone and on LinkedIn and at church asking "Who do you know at ABC?" The fix: It's making those personal contacts that have shown me that despite what’s new in technology or online, fully 95% of people who are landing good jobs are doing so through old AND new friends and contacts. Tired of reading that here? Sorry...I share what works, and 60-80% of my clients landing for 20+ years now are because of contacts they have made, not because of numbers of resumes they've sent out.
3. You keep changing goals. This month, you're pursuing Director of Operations in collections, next month you're going after Marketing Manager positions in banking. It's impossible for you to make progress with networking, for example, if you're splitting your precious job search time among various goals. The fix: Choose one goal, and align all your activity behind it -- you'll be amazed at how quickly things will finally happen for you.
4. You're stuck in "wishing, hoping, thinking, and praying". As my mom used to say, "God helps those who help themselves", so in addition to wishing, hoping, thinking, and praying, take ACTION to keep moving forward. The fix: Set goals and reward yourself when you hit them.
5. You're doing an on-and-off job search. It's the holidays and the house needs the lights up. Or there's that "honey-do" list, or the heartfelt request that "since you're not working, you can take Mom to the doctor, right?" The fix: Set boundaries, with yourself and with others. Your search is like a shark: it needs to keep moving so that oxygen passes over its gills. Your search needs that oxygen, as well.
6. You're basing your job search on how you FEEL, not on sticking to a plan. You veer between one end of things -- confidence, hope that "something will happen" and doing a lot of activity -- and despair, when you stop sending out resumes and making connections and doing networking meetings. This is a job search fail waiting to happen because you keep sapping your search of momentum. On, off, on, off -- you are guaranteeing that you're adding months to your search. The fix: stick to it, every day. Have a plan A and a plan B so that you are always moving forward.
You deserve to find that great fit at a wonderful company. So make some changes away from those practices and you'll see more quality activity in your search right away.
______________________________
Popular link: Need to get more recommendations written about you on LinkedIn? DOWNLOAD this free guide from my LinkedIn profile (scroll down to the Featured section) about how to get more recommendations.
