So, you’re out of a job or you hate the job you’re currently in. I guess it’s time to dust off that resume and begin the dreaded JOB SEARCH. Yes, job searches suck. There is no other way to put it; they are tedious, stressful, anxiety provoking monsters. Hopefully this list of tips will help reduce the anxiety and make you feel like you have a bit more control over the process.
Resume
First and foremost you need to spiff up your resume, this is the part that everyone hates, but it’s necessary. So, get yourself a GIANT cup of coffee and spend some quality time figuring out how awesome you are. If you haven’t done this in a long time it might be advisable to go to a workshop or hound your closest friend who is in HR. NOTE: We won’t write your resume for you, that’s your job, but we will review it to help eliminate passive words, etc. There is a lot of advice out there about format and other periphery items like whether or not you should have an objective statement (Btw, I’ve been told that they are so out); one thing that can be agreed upon is that it needs to make you pop. On average a recruiter spends no more than 30 seconds on a resume in the first pass. So, what can you do to grab their attention? Highlight your biggest achievements, if there is ever a time to brag, this is it. For example, I have a bulleted section under each position entitled “Key Wins” with two or three big projects that I am proud of and I think will catch a recruiter’s eye. If they aren’t going to spend the time going through what my actual position entailed, they will at least scan the highlights.
Next, run don’t walk to setup your LinkedIn account. I would argue that your LinkedIn profile is on par with having a spiffy resume. LinkedIn can be a very powerful if leveraged properly. (Yes, I just used leveraged, get over it.) You can spend ages getting your profile together and you should. For many recruiters seeking out candidates this is their first impression of you.
There are several sections within the LinkedIn profile. The top portion that summarizes your experience and education will be automatically populated for you as you fill out the sections. A few things to note, you can change your Headline to whatever you see fit. This is what will be displayed on update feeds as you add more connections, make sure it represents how you want to be advertised across the site. Just under your Headline are your geographic location and your industry. Again, these can both be altered. Are you looking to relocate? Change your location to the desired city and you’ll start showing up in the searches in that area. In addition, if you want to change industries, go ahead and alter the industry to the one you would like to be in or best represents you. For example, I work in HR, but my last position was with a publishing company. I am now looking for an HR position, but not necessarily in publishing, so I went in and changed my industry to Human Resources.
The next two mandatory sections, in my opinion, are the Past Experience and Education sections. I feel like this goes without saying, but when giving advice, I guess it’s best to be specific. From here on out the sections you fill out are left to your discretion. I have chosen to have the Summary section filled out because I feel like it’s a brief cover letter to potential recruiters. I also changed my career awhile back and believe that this gives greater insight into my career history than just listing out the jobs in the Past Experience section. In addition, I have filled out the Skills section, but this is purely to optimize search on LinkedIn. I would recommend it, because, it can’t hurt, right?
The Recommendations by current and former coworkers are also extremely beneficial. It allows recruiters and other connections to see how others view you and your work. Of course these people will think you’re awesome, otherwise they wouldn’t recommend you, but what they choose to say about you speaks volumes. For example, a theme in my recommendations is that I challenge processes and procedures. If you come from a company that is just fine with the status quo, thank you very much, then perhaps I’m not the right fit for your company. On the other hand, if you’re looking to shake things up a bit and want someone that will push you, then I’m your gal!
Finally, upload a picture; just like OKCupid, you are more likely to receive views when you have a photo. No, not that picture of you holding a glass of wine with that mildly buzzed look on your face, “But, ZOMG! My hair looks so great in that picture!” Remember that this is your number one tool in controlling your professional image, do everything you can to help yourself and not hurt yourself. (While you’re at it Google yourself and see what pops up. What can be controlled or locked down should probably be done so during this process, unless you’re going into Social Media.)
Now you can start Connecting away!
Now that you’ve completed your profile, it’s time to use the networking features that LinkedIn has to offer. I have found the Groups on the site to be incredibly helpful, sign up for the groups you find relevant and be as active a participant as you are comfortable with. These groups have led me to networking events, which has helped increase my connections in the city, and I have participated in some very spirited discussions. Also, you will find that recruiters will post jobs in the Discussion section as opposed to paying for a LinkedIn ad, so it really is worth it to check in often with your group pages.
Free vs. Paid LinkedIn Accounts. I’m usually not a proponent for paying for things on social networking sites, you’re making enough money of off my data, thank you very much! However, on LinkedIn it opens up two very key features, who has viewed you and your search statistics. On the free account you can only see a limited number of people who have viewed you, but with the paying account you can see all of the views. In addition, you can see where you are popping up in searches on LinkedIn. This has enabled me to identify the keywords that people are using in their searches, I was able to make a few adjustments to optimize these terms and make sure they were highlighted in my profile. Words of caution, if you are searching while still employed make sure that you are aware of what icons are appearing next to your name. You have the option to not include the icons that scream, “I’m looking for a job!” Additionally, you also have the ability to delete the “Updates” that broadcast to your connections that you have upgraded your account. (I won’t go into the How-to here, but if you want to know, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll take you through it.)
Finding the Jobs
On LinkedIn you can use their job search feature and even save your searches with the option to setup email alerts. Feel free to use what works for you, I have about 5 different keyword searches saved and reference them daily, well more than daily. The other site I use is Indeed.com. It can be a bit time consuming to sort through their results since they are an internet scraper, meaning anytime they see your keywords in your defined area they show you the result. I continue to filter through the positions because since they scrape you end up with the most up-to-date listings. Many companies will post jobs internally before they advertise in the big wide world, so you have a chance of being FIRST!!1! with a site like Indeed.
Of course, the grand daddy of all methods is through your network. I cannot stress how important it is to build and maintain your network, yes, even when you are happy with your current job. You are more likely to hear about/be recommended for a new, amazing opportunity through your network than you ever will be by cold submitting your resume.
Applying for the Job
I know it’s very tempting to produce one standard cover letter and get your resume in tip top shape and then never touch it while you’re going through this process, trust me when I say, don’t do this. Read every job description thoroughly and carefully craft your cover letter and resume to speak to the job description. By all means do not lie, but perhaps you forgot about that one time you did this project, and, hey, look, I’ve done that before, I’m totally right for the job! Yet you fail to include that project on your resume, sorry Charlie, you’re not getting the call.
This leads me to keywords…keywords, keywords, keywords. In an effort to deal with the mountain of resumes that companies receive most use what’s called an Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, to manage the first screening process for them. This is software like Brassring/Kenexa or Taleo, you’ll know you’re in the system when you see those words in the URL when you apply for the position. They make you upload or copy and paste your resume into a field so the software can easily read it without all of the lovely formatting you spent so much time working on. The software will then scan your resume for the predetermined keywords associated with the job, if you have the keywords you’re through, if you don’t the system removes you from the process. For the record, I am not an advocate of this software; I think it removes candidates who have had a diversified career from the candidate pool and can leave you with the same tired options. Anyway, once you know the game, at least you can play it.
I am a big fan of storytelling and believe that the cover letter can be a way to give a brief and interesting story of your professional life. Keep it concise, but interesting. Engage your recruiter; hook them in with that first line. A quick tip, the other day I included a link to a webpage in my cover letter that led to a more detailed description of a something I was briefly explaining, I used the URL shortener bitly.com, which, when you set up an account, gathers statistics on that link. Due to the statistics that were gathered, I was able to see that my cover letter had been read by the initial screener and then passed on and read about 45 minutes later by someone else in the office.
Following up on resume
One of the many advantages of LinkedIn is seeing which one of your connections works at the company you applied to or may have connections there. After you have submitted your resume, feel free to get your network moving and seeing who in the company can put in a good word for you. Or, better, yet, have one of your connections submit your resume on your behalf, any personal recommendation within the company is always going to receive more attention than those that are cold submitted. Most large corporations have a referral bonus program, so it’s usually a win-win for you and your connection.
If you are completely at a lack of connections and you REALLY want the job, this is what I do. I search the company’s employees and try and find the hiring manager, if I can’t find the hiring manager, then a recruiter in the company is your next best option. I then put together an InMail, which is LinkedIn’s version of email, for the person. What you say in this email is up to you, but I usually go with something that stresses my enthusiasm for the position and an enticing tidbit that I may have left out of my cover letter, something that will intrigue them enough to at least give me a phone screen.
I’m going to finish this post here, if you would like a post on the interview process, let me know and I’ll put one together. In the meantime do what you need to do to keep your anxiety level down. Remember that no one wants to meet a stressed out and anxiety filled candidate. Deep breaths and Good luck!
Image via flickr
