I am frequently asked that question; and its music to my ears. I love the fact that some job seekers are interested in ensuring the time they spend on their job search is going to be the highest return on their time investment.
There are many moving parts to your job search; and you need to be working of all of them. But sometimes life simply intervenes; so you have to be clear on your priorities. It seems that everything is important when it comes to the job search, so how do you choose between the various activities?
Let me give you the top 4 highest priorities for your job search:
- Request for Interviews
- If you don't take an interview, you won't get an offer. It's just that simple. Also, you are like produce. Your brand will spoil quickly if you don't get in front of the hiring manager ASAP; so when they call – drop whatever you're doing and show them they are important to you.
- Always have a bias for scheduling an interview as soon as it makes sense for both of you. I've canceled other scheduled interviews after I've interviewed someone I would make an offer to so that I didn't have to take any more of my time interviewing. You want to be at the beginning of the process so that doesn't happen to you.
- All communication
- As a job seeker, your lifeline is email and your phone. You never know when the next message will be a request to interview you or to give you a referral. Like I mention above, they aren't going to hang out waiting for you to get around to returning a call.
- The hiring process moves quickly. If they can't get hold of you or aren't hearing back quickly, they will move forward with other candidates. Check and return voicemails and emails at least twice a day.
- Networking
- When you have no interviews or correspondence to deal with, your next activity should be nurturing and expanding your network. Are you surprised I didn't say applying for jobs online? You shouldn't be surprised. Networking will always be your highest pay- back activity, which means it needs to be the one thing you do before anything else. Think of it like brushing your teeth every day.
- If you've exhausted all of the possible new network coffee dates, pinged people you know with updates or resources and worked your Linked In, then you can think about other things. Keep in mind that if you only have a certain amount of time, you have to do the things that will give you the highest return for that valuable time.
- Tweaking your resume
- Assuming you have a good, basic resume, you will always want to tweak your resume based on the next activity you are pursuing. A resume is never done; it is a living organism that needs to respond to the next person to whom you are giving it. You will want to expand and contract certain things in it based on the business and position. If you are responding to an online posting, you will want to modify some the terminology in your resume to reflect the job posting, because it increases your chances of the applicant tracking system finding your resume.
- Just like your interactions vary with different people, your resume needs to comprehend what's important for each person to whom you distribute your resume.
There are certainly other things to do for your job search on a daily or weekly basis. Just keep in mind that the things listed here should be your first priority before moving on to other aspects. These 4 priorities will always be worth your precious time.
And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to the Career Makeover Newsletter AND eWorkbook "Should I Stay or Should I Go" – both dedicated to Your career success, when you visit:
http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com/ From Dorothy Tannahill-Moran – Your Career Change Agent from
www.nextchapternewlife.com
Author:
Dorothy Tannahill-Moran is a Career Coach and expert on helping her clients achieve their goals. Her programs cover: Career growth and enhancement, Career Change, Retirement Alternatives and Job Search Strategy. Want to discover specific career change strategies that get results? Discover how by claiming your FREE gift, Career Makeover Toolkit at:
http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment