Having effective resume skills and job search strategies can save you a lot of time and energy when you’re conducting a job search. This audio clip will help you streamline the process so you’re not pouring precious resources into a black hole.
When it comes to resume skills and job search strategies, there are three common areas where many people waste precious time and energy.
Believe it or not, sending out a stack of generic resumes to companies who are advertising available positions on job boards does not increase your chances of landing a job.
It’s not a game of more is better.
The most effective job search strategies include customizing your search by researching and thinking through what you want, doing self discovery and determining what fits with the company, and making connections with real people.
Allow me to elaborate…
Online Job Boards
One of the primary mistakes many people make in their job search strategy is putting 100% of their efforts toward sending generic resumes out to job listings they find on online job boards.
This is not even worth your time.
You might as well go for a walk!
Why?
For starters, job boards usually only give you access to about 10% of available jobs.
Additionally, unless you have researched those companies and customized your resumes to fit the position they are looking to fill and/or you have made a genuine person-to-person connection with someone in the company, your resume is most likely going into a black hole.
This doesn’t mean online job boards, like LinkedIn, are useless.
They can actually be a great resource for research because they are such powerful search engines.
That leads me to another common blunder many people make in their job search strategies: Not doing research.
Researching the Companies You are Interested In Working With
Any time you spend delving into the culture, personnel, and operations of the companies you are interested in is time well spent.
This gives you insight into whether or not you resonate with the values and methods of the company.
It also allows you to learn about the people who work there.
My best advice is to target five specific companies that are a fit for you, and that you know have places you can contribute.
Once you have your list, do some research on these companies.
If you don’t know anyone who works in the companies, use social media/search engines/job boards to learn about the company and department you are interested in.
And if you find a junior level job and you’re a senior level person, don’t just automatically discard it. With just a little reconnaissance, you can find out who the hiring manager is, who the recruiter is, and other valuable details about the company.
Reach out to request an informational interview with someone close to the position you are interested in.
Any time you make a real connection with a live human being inside the company, you have greatly improved your chances of landing an interview for the position you are interested in.
This is much more effective than submitting an electronic document.
It doesn’t mean don’t do it.
It’s just much more personal if you have someone to receive it and/or walk it in for you.
Customize your Cover Letter and Resume
The next step is compiling your resume and cover letter.
Honing your resume skills is yet another opportunity to make a personal connection with the hiring manager.
It’s a mistake to send a cookie cutter resume and cover letter to every company you apply for.
They need to be customized.
Yes you can use somewhat of a similar template, but you want to look at the job description you are applying for and customize them to that.
See what pieces fit for you and show them that you are someone who belongs there by crafting a story through your resume and cover letter.
Instead of sending out 20 generic resumes (or even 1), do some research, and make a goal to meet three new people per week in the companies and/or field you are interested in.
Then decide how many customized resumes and cover letters you want to send.
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