Job searching is the most important part of……finding a job! That’s right, ground breaking news. Since we know this obvious point, than why do people spend so little time on it? Many people feel that because they either have good experience or a good degree that any company will give them a job. While in a few rare cases that is true, for the masses, it is not. Because of that, I want to share a story with you that I am going through currently and help shed some light as to why you need to start your job search yesterday.
One of my newest clients, Krystina, is looking for a new job in July. She reached out to me because she wants to make sure that her resume was in tip-top shape. In addition to that, she also needs helping looking for jobs because she doesn’t have the time.
When initially speaking with Krystina, I learned that not only is she looking to find a new job in July, she also wants to relocate to a whole new area. Her thought process was that she would start the job search process in May. She essentially was only going to dedicate one month to her entire job search and relocation.
After speaking with her, we agreed that she needed to start her job search immediately. Why? I explained to her how the whole process works; LinkedIn and building her network, perfecting her resume, researching target companies and the actual job search. When you look at the time each point takes, you see that it takes a lot more than a few weeks to find the perfect job. This is why we are starting her job search yesterday.
Lets explain each point.
- Krystina has a basic LinkedIn profile that she only uses every now and then. This is a great starting point and it now allows me to take her profile to the next level. I will be incorporating strategic key words into her profile which will allow employers to more easily find her profile. We will then be joining strategic groups for her profession and industry. Within those groups, she will be commenting and engaging in the articles being shared as well as forming strategic network connections. There will be much more Krystina will be doing on LinkedIn, but I can’t give all the secrets away!
- Perfecting Krystina’s resume will be something I will be working with her on. Through my resume review service, I will be completely revising and reformatting her resume to incorporate specific key words so it can get through all applicant tracking systems. In addition to this, the resume will be appealing to the recruiter and hiring manager to grab their attention so they want to read her background instead of the usual 3-4 second scan.
- Researching target companies is an exercise that every single job seeker should be doing. Ironically, your goal as a job seeker is not to simply find a job. Instead, it is to find the most ideal job in the most ideal company. It needs to incorporate everything that you are looking for; flexibility, salary, vacation and title. Just to name a few. The point here is that you need research every company in your surrounding area and find the ones that you want to work for the most. It will be that target list that we use together when tackling LinkedIn and the actual job searching. Don’t be afraid to make a robust list either; the more the merrier!
- Lastly, for the actual job search, Krystina will be utilizing my recruiting concierge service. Since Krystina has a full time job in which requires her to work more than the normal 40 hours per week. She is also very active within her private life, and simply doesn’t have the ability to dedicate the proper amount of time to conduct a full job search properly. With the use of the recruiting concierge service, she will receive jobs three times a week to her specified e-mail address. All she will have to do then is click the application links, apply, and majority of her job search is complete.
The above listed tips and tools are a great way to get your job search going. Nobody knows how long job searching will actually take and because of that it is best to start early. You can never find a job too early!
