Overlooked steps to help your job search


By Katy Piotrowski
I’ve talked with hundreds of eager job seekers this year, and these are the top job-finding opportunities they seem to miss most consistently:

A clear focus

Even cats know it’s smart to have a plan: “One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree,” reads Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland.”

“ ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’ ”

 • A directed LinkedIn profile with a healthy group of contacts

With just a few keywords, such as “marketing analyst Fort Collins,” a hiring manager can locate prospective candidates. If your profile doesn’t align to your job search goal (or if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile), you’re sure to be missed.

Join related LinkedIn groups, such as Colorado Purchasing Managers, to quickly expand your network.

A target list

Refer to my cat comments above, and then create a list of at least 20 organizations likely to hire someone for the job focus you’ve chosen.

Research the hiring manager at those businesses — not human resources; the person you would report to — and send her your resume with a short note saying, “I could be a resource for you. Could we meet?”

Mine your LinkedIn contacts for possible opportunities to connect with people at those companies.

A resume that reflects where you’re going, rather than one that recounts where you’ve been

Most of us don’t enjoy reading history, so why would a resume screener, who has to look at hundreds of documents each day, want to know the nitty-gritty details of a job you held 20 years ago? Instead, inspire her to call you by presenting a carefully chosen set of facts and accomplishments that show her why you’re the right person to meet her needs.

A team of supporters briefed and actively helping you

Inform anyone who believes in you of your job hunting goal, show them your target list, and ask for next-step ideas. Then roll into 2013 with much better job-hunting momentum.

Katy Piotrowski, M.Ed., is the author of “The Career Coward’s Guides” and provides career and job search support with Career Solutions Group in Fort Collins. Reach her at (970) 224-4042 or katy@careersolutionsgroup.net.

This post originally appeared here:

No comments:

Post a Comment