When in the market for a job, you don’t want to depend upon one way or method for locating potential employment. A diversified job search means better chances of identifying viable opportunities quickly. Remember, the longer you are unemployed, the more it costs you. Here are some recommendations you can use to broaden your job search strategy. If you are already using all of these, that is excellent! However, if you are not, take the time to integrate them.
Your Professional and Personal Network
Regardless of how tech-heavy our world gets, networking is always likely to be the #1 way to find a job. According to a Forbes article, in 2010, more people found new employment through their network (41%) than the next two methods combined. While it may be hard to believe, there are some people who have had quite lengthy careers and never conducted a search because of the power of their professional and personal networks. If you have never developed a strong network, you MUST make developing one your #1 priority.
Recruiters
Recruiters are an excellent way to multiply your job search efforts because their income is derived from placing excellent candidates with employers. Recruiters work for, and are paid by, the companies looking to bring talent aboard. This makes them a great resource at no cost to you. One thing to remember, however, is that the higher the potential salary of the job seeker, the more attention they will get. So if you are seeking a $28,000 per year administrative assistant, not as much time will be spent attempting to place you as it will for the $135,000 per year Director of Business Development. Also, remember that these professionals stake their reputations on the line when they forward a resume for consideration. As such, if your resume is not up to speed and online footprint not cleaned up, they will not waste their time.
If you are not on the LinkedIn train yet, then you are are missing out on an excellent resource. With more than 313 million members in 200+ countries, LinkedIn has become the digital hub for meeting other professionals and researching employment opportunities. How can LinkedIn help you move forward in your career? LinkedIn’s corporate talent solutions are used by 94 of the Fortune 100 companies. One executive noted “My LinkedIn profile has been printed out and used during an interview instead of the company looking at my resume.” Additionally, did you know that according to socialmediatoday.com, 77% of all available jobs are posted on LinkedIn?
Company Targeting
Cold submissions to targeted employers might be one of the most underrated and underused tactics in job searching. One would be surprised at just how many positions are filled before they even become public knowledge. As such, don’t wait around for job openings to begin submitting your resume. Identify ideal companies for which you would like to work and make contact. Try forging a relationship with someone in HR (LinkedIn is great for this) and see if you can develop an “inside source” for learning when something is coming down the line. With good timing, that could be YOU getting in for an interview before the job officially becomes public.
Colleagues Already Employed with Companies
In order to avoid the deluge of unqualified applicants that wastes a hiring manager’s time, many companies are now accessing their employees for recommendations on people they know. So job opening might eventually hit the job boards, but this is usually after hiring managers tap their employees for potential candidates, as well as certain specialty recruiters. Again, LinkedIn and professional blogs and association websites are great ways to forge relationships with others with common career paths. These individuals could very well be your ticket in.
Yes, the social media darling that is Twitter can also be used to help you land your next gig. Be sure to “fan” the companies you are targeting. This way, you may learn about certain job openings before the masses. Additionally, you will find several services that sync with social networking sites to help you stay on top of the job search game. For example, TweetMyJobs will send automatic updates of new position availabilities in specified fields and regions, sending you this information to your phone, or even “tweeting” you.
