In a world where job seekers roam the streets looking for a place to call their, “Home Away From Home,” it can be tough to keep a chin up when nothing seems promising in sight…
Okay, but really, with an epidemic in place— when it seems glum and there are no job prospects in sight, we have learned that positivity and turning inward for some perspective on what you want can go a loooonng way.
Let’s start at a reminder crash course about which tools will help a job seeker stay positive before we dive into the action steps of what to do while waiting for a job opportunity to bite.
There are many activities one can partake in to greatly increase confidence, boldness, and enthusiasm to successfully present him or herself to potential employers. Things like volunteering will increase the confidence in yourself to be able to offer a helping hand to your fellow man (48 Days to the Work your Love, Dan Miller, pp. 121). An increase in the positive material to read or listen to through inspiring audiobooks, podcasts, etc. will lend you new ideas on a new goal to set or a new idea for a side business. Setting achievable daily and weekly goals can also allow you to maintain your optimism by seeing results now (Miller pp. 120). A fresh outlook through daily creative activities will allow you to see that other areas of your life are going well and will encourage you to keep on truckin’.
Now that you are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, it’s time to get to work. The #1 successful thing you can do while seeking a job is to — wait for it — take…action!
Hop to it!
The job isn’t going to fall into your lap — I’d love to say it’s that easy but finding a job is a job in itself. But before you hit the pavement, take just a moment to ask yourself some questions:
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What do I really want in a job?
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What kind of skills do I posses and am proud of to apply to that job?
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What is the ideal job structure, environment, and vision to dedicate my talents to?
Visualize your next stop in your career and get excited! Think about what companies would represent those elements you desire and pursue them — even if they don’t boast job openings — go forth and pursue anyway!
Next, you get to carve out time to spend on a job search. The more time you dedicate to the job hunt, the better you increase your chance of landing a killer position. But remember — this is your responsibility. No one else’s.
Spend time investing in research of what companies you want to invest the next years of your life in. Research will set you up for success in being knowledgeable for getting your foot in the door of that dream job. It is ideal to name 30 – 40 target companies that excite you and then start your search. This may sound like a lot, but ask yourself, “How badly do you want this?” If you want it bad enough, you should be dedicating at least 35 hours of your week to this.
Now most people think that hitting the World Wide Web is the key to finding jobs. Wrong! Let me drop some knowledge on you about this forum. Many companies post jobs online regardless of whether or not the position has been filled. On average, only 8 out of 100 job hires stem from online ads, CraigsList, Monster, and other search engines. Also, the higher up the job position, the less effective this method will work (Miller, pp. 111).
Think about it — if you were an employer and you had a job opening, you would want a trusted soul that you know and are confident will get the job done. This person will most likely come from within the corporate family because you have invested time, money, and energy in them already to grow them into another level a awesome.
Sorry to break it to you, but you can no longer hide out behind your computer alias. You must get out there and hustle!
A successful hiring process begins where most relationships start…an introduction of who you are, where you’ve been, and what you have to offer that they can’t live without. You can even peacock by telling them what you like about their company.
Next step is to send your impeccable cover letter and resume to further share your experience and demonstrate your ability to present yourself once again.
Remember, it takes 3 times for someone to hear or see something before their brain can recall it later on. Remember, it takes 3 times for someone to hear or see something before their brain can recall it later on. Remember, it takes 3 times for someone to hear or see something before their brain can recall it later on.
Get it?
Also, when contacting the company, get a specific person’s information in the company to reach out to that hiring power. Get their name and address your emails to them instead of, “Dear HR Department.” This will give you another advantage of looking like you are making effort to get to know the company and their team as much as possible.
After the resume and cover letter, follow up with a call to that person. If they are not available, do not leave a message. Fight becoming a piece of paper that gets hidden under a mountain of files. If the person is not their, ask when they will be available and then follow up with them at that time. Again, another opportunity to be visible to your potential employer.
Leave about 5 days in between each of these phases and make sure you are sticking to this process. As said before, it will take about 35 hours/week for someone to successfully land several interviews through this process. This may sound like a lot of work, but if you are serious about getting a job, this is what it takes.
Ready. Set. Action!
