Where do you want to work? - Job Search Success Strategies

Overall there are 14 job search strategies that one can adopt when looking for a new job. The strategy that most job searchers use and easily get bogged down by is online job search sites. Unfortunately this is only successful for 4% of the users. You read that correctly - online job searching is only successful 4% of the time.

In order to increase your job search success you need to adopt more than 1, but not more than 4, job search success strategies. Statistics show that individuals focusing on more than 4 different strategies begin to decrease their success rate . There is one recommendation that I make before entering the job market and that is to clearly identify your direction and objectives for success by creating 2 table with the following 2 sets of titles below.

Table 1 - Why you?

What are my knowledge based skills? (include examples)
What are my transferable skills? (Include examples)
What are my personality traits?(include examples)

Once you have developed a clear understanding of your skills and experience in the table above then match that to job titles and organizations that would appeal to you. (Yahoo Jobs have a list of the top 100 companies who are currently recruiting - this is a great place to start!)

Table 2 - Where will you fit?

What job titles match my skills?
What organizations would appeal to me?
Notes on names, contacts at these organizations

Once you have a clear list of who you are, what you have to offer and where you want to work you will have a clear direction to start your search. Here are top 5 job search strategies.

1. Who do you know?

This may seem like an obvious thing to say but so many of us struggle through a job search without reaching out to people in our contact lists including colleagues, friends or family to make them aware we are looking for a job. Contact them, include your resume and ask them for feedback or the details of people they know and can refer you to.

2. Where do you want to work?

In your research you will have developed a list of companies that you would like to work for - now we need to find people who work for them who you can connect with. A good way to be able to do this is using Linkedin - you can easily put a company name into the search box and this will notify you of anyone in your network (1st, 2nd or 3rd) who works for them. This will give you a warm contact in the firm for you to contact (phone or in person) direct. Trade press is also another route to identify names to contact. Remember it will be more effective for you to contact them direct rather than apply for online jobs or by sending indirect emails.

3. Online Networking

There are a number of different networking sites and the one I recommend is www.linkedin.com It is free and easy to create a profile with recommendations on your work and a summary detailing what you are looking for. The Q & A tool also enables you to interact with other professionals and by answering questions you will show your expertise and open yourself up to be contacted by other professionals. The Jobs tool also details a good list of organizations who are recruiting so you can refer to your list in Job Search Strategy 2.

4. Face to Face Networking

There are a huge variety of face to face networking meeting including some that are dedicated to job searchers or recruiters looking for new candidates. It is recommended to find 3-4 different styles of networking events (e.g. bar events, structured networking meetings, presentations) and you can find them through www.bni.com www.meetup.com www.ingoodcompanyworkplaces.com and by contacting your local Chamber of Commerce of local community groups.

5. Recruiting Organizations

There are a number of recruitment firms both boutique and specialist to firm offering a wide variety of levels and expertise. Recruiters are well placed in the market to know what is going on and which firms are currently recruiting. They are also able to provide feedback on both your resume and interview style. To find some recruiters specific to your specialty visit www.kennedyinfo.com

by Lou Clark