July 13, 2012
Five Ways To Bring Your Job Search Into Focus 4
Is Your Job Search In Focus?
Yesterday I had an eye exam. I was left alone by the nurse and I was looking at all of the equipment. I realized that together these were tools to help my Doctor understand clearly what was going on with my eyes, helping him bring my vision into focus.
As he was very busy, I had a few minutes to ponder how job seekers could bring their search into focus. Before he came into the examining room, I came up with five:
- Know What Your Greatest Strengths Are – If you really understand what you do best, you can match that to specific job postings, not wasting your time “spraying and praying”.
- Include Key Words on Your Resume – If you are applying online and you are not doing this, you are probably wondering why you haven’t heard from anyone. LinkedIn offers help with Key Words. Click on Your Profile, go into “more” and you will see Skills and Expertise. Enter key words from the job posting and you will see additional ideas
- Do Your Homework – If you need to ask the interviewer “what they do”, you are wasting their time. Set up Google alerts for every company you are considering. Search the companies websites for interesting facts. Read up on regulations that may affect the industry.
- Practice – The more you practice interviewing, the more comfortable you will be. Enlist a friend or family member and conduct mock interviews. Or put sample questions on cards, stand in front of a mirror and practice answering them,
- Stay The Course – It’s easy to get very excited when the phone rings. Landing an interview could mean you are one meeting away from a job. But you need to treat your job search as an on-going process. Your focus needs to be on the big picture, which means continuing to research companies, continuing to send out resumes and continuing to follow up on applications you have submitted.
My Doctor, when he finally got to see me, corrected my vision and brought things into focus. You can bring your job search into focus by doing these five things.
Jul 13, 2012 @ 15:51:45
All good points. I find so much value in number 4- just practice. So often people need to get the conversation of out their head in into words. There are no “do overs” in first interviews – practice like it’s the biggest pitch of your life. It may be.
Jul 13, 2012 @ 16:08:26
Great points Joel, as Susan above states there are no second chances at first impressions. Have a great weekend!
Jul 13, 2012 @ 16:21:58
Great tips for how to bring your job search into focus. It’s easy in today’s economy for job seekers to get disheartened and just give up. That’s why your tip about staying the course is extremely important. Job seekers need to know the next great opportunity could lie right around the corner. It’s also important for job seekers to research and practice. After all, whether the interview is in person or through the use of online video it’s important to be prepared to wow employers.
Jul 13, 2012 @ 16:56:46
Josh, Thanks for sharing your ideas. Keeping people from giving up is a challange for all of us as we help others find jobs. Joel