Resume and Job Search Secrets

The job search blues can happen to anyone. One day you unexpectedly get a pink slip. After cobbling together a resume and blasting it to thousands of job boards, you wait by the phone. Nothing happens! The days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months. Your phone rarely rings, and when it does ring, the job is totally wrong or you don’t make it through the interview process.

Mild depression starts to set in. Maybe you sleep all the time or start overeating. I’ve seen some people start to withdraw from friends and family while struggling with a job search. Pretty soon you feel like a total failure and start to wonder if you’ll ever find another job.

You start to lower your job standards and even jobs that held no interest start to seem appealing. “Hey someone’s got to clean up those cages at the pound.”

Before you pick up your broom set, here are seven way to beat the job search blues:

1. Stop and take a breath. Forget about your job search for a weekend and do something that you love. Go golfing, fishing, scuba diving, or even bowling. The purpose of this is to break out of your negative state.
2. Target your job search. When someone is having problems finding employment they tend to start broadening their job search. Rather than increase your chances of finding a job, this approach actually ensures that you will remain on the bench longer than necessary. Employers are much more likely to call if your resume is specifically targeted to the position they are trying to fill.
3. Visualize your perfect job. Many people use visualization to help them achieve goals. First thing in the morning, visual your perfect job in vivid detail. What are you doing? Where are you doing it? How short is the commute? What are you co-workers like? How much are you getting paid? There is nothing magical about visualization. When you visualize your subconscious kicks into gear and helps you take steps to make your vision a reality.
4. Leverage your network. Your network is much larger than you realize. Have you spoken to aunts, uncles or cousins about employment opportunities? How about former co-workers? Have you successfully worked with a recruiter or head hunter in the past? Don’t be afraid to contact someone that you haven’t spoken to in a long time. If you are trying to find someone, use social networking sites such as Linkedin.com. If a former contact has created a profile on Linkedin.com, you can easily reconnect with them.
5. Get involved in the community. Don’t stay home thinking about your job search woes. Get out there and participate in community you live in. The list of potential organizations to join is endless, and includes the local Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement or Kiwanis. Don’t just join and attend meetings passively. You want to identify a committee to participate in. Sign up for a committee and offer to do a task that on one else wants to take on. Show people that you have skills to contribute and they will be more likely to open doors for you.
6. Target a Company. Identify your dream company and focus some of your job search efforts towards that company. Research what industry they are in and who the key players are. Find out how this company hires new employees (do they hire direct or use a recruiting agency). If they use a recruiting agency, try and find out which agency they typically use. Then find out who the key recruiters are for that agency. Next, try and meet these recruiters. You always want to be as targeted as possible when trying to find a job.
7. Seek professional help. Engaging the services of a professional resume writer or career coach can dramatically reduce your job search time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked individuals who have been looking for work for months. After redoing their resumes and helping them target their job search, suddenly their phone starts ringing, and they start booking interviews.

If you are dealing with the job search blues call us at (954) 839-8552 or visit our website. Take action today and get closer to your dream job.

Kenneth Lowrey

A Plus Professional Resumes Inc

Filed under: Job Search, Resume Success