1. BE ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT YOURSELF

It is essential to practice telling others about yourself. This is so that you can give them a clear idea of what it is and what you can do. Do not say:” I am looking for a challenging job in which I can grow.”  It is best to know how you can add value to a company in a job and be able to describe it.

Practice:

  • Who you are and what you do.
  • How many years of experience do you have?
  • In what areas do you have particular strengths (technical, mechanical, organizational, administrative, management?)
  • What are your unique skills, languages, and technologies?
  • Why did you leave your last job?
  1. BUILD YOUR WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

Here are the key elements that you will use to present yourself:

Resume (focus on your accomplishments)

Cover letter

LinkedIn profile – Your LinkedIn profile is as important as your resume in the modern world of job search

  1. DEVELOP YOUR MARKETING PLAN
  • Where do you want to work?
  • In what functional capacity?
  • What industries and companies are in your target market?
  • What size are they?
  • What is the culture like? (You will need to talk to people who work there or who have worked there in the past.
  1. NETWORKING

At least 70% of jobs are found through networking. If you think about purchases or big decisions that you have made in your life, you will see that you likely talked with others about the elements of your choice.

How can you network?

Sites like LinkedIn can be helpful to make connections with people who work at a particular organization. And many schools and universities support networking groups for alumni.

There are also events called MeetUps. These are found in many cities and towns. Plus, Chambers of Commerce and similar organizations sponsor networking events. These are a win-win all around. Even groups of companies will sponsor a networking event so that they can meet potential candidates face to face. You can do an online search for these events.

Be sure to bring copies of your resume to these events.

And order business cards- these are very inexpensive and helpful to pass out to people. Your goal here is to get people to remember you

  1. APPLY TO COMPANIES ON YOUR TARGET LIST

Be ready to apply for advertised positions with companies on your target list. Many of them will ask you to fill out your information on their website, as opposed to sending a resume. This can take time, but you will also be in their database. Not all jobs are advertised, so it is good to be known by a company.

  1. RECRUITERS AND STAFFING FIRMS

Another action is to send your resume to recruiters. Do not expect to hear back from them right away- you want to get into their database. You can search online for recruiters by industry and specialty. Limit yourself to those.

  1. MAKE THE SALES CALL: PRACTICE INTERVIEWING 

You can do an online search for typical interview questions, both for Traditional and the modern style called Behavioral. Be prepared for both. And for some jobs, in the interview, you may be asked to create an approach to a specific situation.

Your first interview is likely to be by phone or Skype or another video conference. Make sure that your phone has clear audio.

As you get called in for follow up interviews, your confidence and ability to present yourself will increase dramatically.

You may get called in for a group interview, where several members of an organization will be present at the same time, to ask you questions. Again, practice makes perfect with this style.

Try to get contact information for the interviewers, for the next step.

  1. FOLLOW UP

Within 24 hours after your interview, if you have their contact information, send a thank you note. This can be by email.

8       THE WAITING GAME

This can be the hardest part. Organizations can take some time in letting you know. Sometimes you will not hear back at all.

You may want to reach out after ten business days to ask about the status. But if they do not respond, you are best off to not continue to reach out.

 

This article is a guest post by Jess Dods.  He is a career transition and executive coach who helps clients find the right job and perform at their best. He works with clients via phone and Skype.  Check out his website: www.jessdodscoaching.com

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