Whether you are a recent college grad or a seasoned professional and want a change, how do you figure out your next step?These are the five steps every job seeker must follow in order to figure out where they are going next and how to get there:
1) Assess your skills, interests, and values. Tired of the corporate grind and back stabbing atmosphere? Then maybe it is time to think about nonprofits and associations . If you were a liberal arts or communications major, how do your skills fit into the job market? Ask yourself what are your best skills and what are the things you enjoy most? Maybe you can use your skills in sales or writing and editing. Then do your research online and in your local public library. Seek out people to talk to (see #3 who can give you career advice).
2) Branding – Create your personal brand through a pitch, cover letter, resume and LinkedIn Profile. You must tailor your resume for each job. Swap out key words and accomplishments. You can have only one LInkedIn Profile so it has to cover a lot of bases. Make sure to use a lot of key words including hard and soft skills. Hiring managers and recruiters all search for viable candidates using keyword searches on LinkedIn.
3) Connecting – Start with your network of people you know: friends, family, college roommates, former colleagues. Build your network through your professional association, alumni association, volunteering, interest groups for your hobbies and a civic or religious organization. It takes time to build relationships…It is not useful to go to a networking event, exchange business cards, and speak to the person once. Trust and credibility take time to build.
4) Differentiating yourself – Practice telling stories about your accomplishments – the problem you solved, the action(s) you took and the result, so you can talk about them in a conversational tone during an interview. Write down the stories. Practice saying them. Before you have an online interview, write stories on post-it notes and stick them on your computer so you can look at them while you are looking at your camera.
5) Enhancing your candidacy. Remember to follow up after every meeting and every interview with an email including a thank you, what you learned about the company or the person, three skills that you can contribute and one or two accomplishments. Stay in touch every 4 to 6 weeks. Even if you don’t get the job you wanted, do stay in touch with the hiring manager or the recruiter so they keep you in mind for future opportunities.
Remember: You have to take charge of your job campaign. If you are having difficulty, think about working with a career coach.
(c) 2022 Amy Geffen All rights reserved