Successful job searches often turn on small details – the confidence in your hand shake, the banter at a networking event, the typo that sinks a resume. The best candidates dot the i’s and cross the t’s in everything they do. Here are examples of small adjustments you can make to take your job search to the next level.
Successful job searches often turn on small details – the confidence in your hand shake, the banter at a networking event, the typo that sinks a resume. The best candidates dot the i’s and cross the t’s in everything they do. Here are examples of small adjustments you can make to take your job search to the next level:
Put your LinkedIn hyperlink in your email signature. Many times you email for networking, and attaching a resume is presumptuous. The link to your online profile is less imposing but gives people an invitation to check out your background. Keep in mind that even when you network for informational purposes the people you approach will want to know your background to see if they want to spend their precious time with you.
Practice the voicemails you leave. It never ceases to amaze me how unaware people are of how fast they talk, how they jumble their words, how they ramble and how unclear their request is. Prepare your potential message when you call key contacts because you are likely to get their voicemail. You want a succinct, engaging and clear message. Practicing on your own phone gives you a chance to hear what your targets hear.
Coach your friends and family on how to help you. You might be able to spot opportunities that interest you. You might be able to pitch yourself for consideration. But can your loved ones do that? Too often, we don’t let our friends and family know what opportunities are suitable for us or how they should talk about you if one of those opportunities presents itself. This is a wasted chance to have additional eyes and ears on the market. PS. If you can’t relay to them what you want and why you’re a fit, then you can’t do it to a stranger, and that means you need to work on your pitch. PPS. Now that they are on the lookout for you, do the same for them.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
