Intensify your job search effort with this strategic move

If you ask a job seeker what he is doing with his time, he will probably tell you that he is working very hard to find a new role. Unfortunately, most job seekers concentrate so hard on the online job boards and seeking positions from that perspective that they miss opportunities. They are working hard but in the wrong direction.

What if you intensified your focus on one connection daily?

I was reading Lisa Rangel’s LinkedIn post, The #1 Job Search Metric You Are Probably Not Tracking–And Should Be and it reminded me of how critical it is to talk to people. As I work with job seekers, job search scares many of them. They generally feel better when they have their new resume and LinkedIn profile in hand but many of them are now scared of what they have to do next. We discuss the benefits of networking and we talk about some strategies to find new opportunities, but at some point, if they are really going to be successful, they have to take a big step without me and make contacts.

If you recognize that applying online will only get you so far and you understand the strategic move of making connections, you still have to take those to the next level. You have to converse. You can’t run a job search only from your computer. You have to actually speak to people. If you are constantly waiting for them to call you, you could be waiting a very long time.

Three ways to be proactive in your job search

1. Information Interviewing – If you think you would like to work at a company, explore your connections and contacts to find someone who works at the company. This is one of the benefits of LinkedIn. Once you have built up your connections, you are more likely to find someone who knows someone at the company. Call them or ask them out for coffee and learn about their company. Getting insider information will help you understand their needs better.
2. Follow-up – Many people are so afraid to call the company after they have filled out an online application but the proactive candidate will call and be ready to respond to any questions that could be asked by the person who answers the call. Sound professional. You applied for the role of X and just wanted to let them know you are very interested in moving forward in their process.
3. Networking – I don’t mean networking meetings. Those can be fine occasionally or if you happen upon a group that really builds you up and provides opportunities to learn. (My Christian Business Leaders Group is one group that I never miss because I know that I will come home invigorated.) But most networking meetings are a waste of time. What you really need is strategic networking to help you reach decision makers. Sometimes this could come in the form of volunteering. When you work for a common goal or a common good, you often find that you see each other as people and are able to better understand their needs. Networking is so complex. It only works when you nurture a network, giving as much as you take.

Critical to your job search is talking to people.

You can take any relationship to another level. But you have to want to talk. Lisa’s point was that you need to track those conversations. Jason Alba’s JibberJobber is one tool that can help you do that. I love Jason’s videos that teach the user exactly how he would use each feature. His advice is to track how you met people and track each time you contact someone by using his log entry and you can even create action items associated with companies or jobs as well as your contacts.

Need help? While job search is often painful, I take the pain out of writing your resume and even make it fun with a personalized, interactive process. Hire me, Julie Walraven, Certified Master Resume Writer.  Click Here.

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