Boost Your Job Search Effectiveness - Fast!

Has a state of exhaustion overcome your good intentions to stay focused on a job search? At a recent networking seminar for unemployed executives, several volunteered that they had been unemployed for months. Many were burned out, burned up and just plain tired. If that sounds like you, now is the time to re-examine their job search strategy and kick it up a few notches! Imagine a tired long-distance runner nearing the finish line. What does he do? Fall out of the race or dig deeper for the extra spurt of energy needed to cross that line? Let's look at some ways to enhance a job search that will help speed up reemployment.

Boost Your Activity

How do you track your job search activities? Do you have a system in place to keep your contacts organized so you can methodically follow up on a regular basis? Do you set goals and reward yourself when you meet them? Organization is the only way to stay on top of all the activity surrounding a professional search. Utilizing technology can save time with the support of a career coach to keep on track. Challenge yourself to increase the weekly contact you make. If you currently reach out to three per day, raise it to ten. For anyone with sales experience, this tactic should be familiar. You up your chances for success by increasing your calls. Track your average rate of return…you will need to collect your "no's" to get a "yes," but it only takes one "yes" to get a job!

Boost Your Visibility

Now is not the time to stay home. When you are unemployed, looking for a job becomes your full time job. How many people do you meet in a week? If it's fewer than 20, then you are probably contributing to your state of unemployment. Most people (some career experts say as high as 85%) are getting their jobs today through networking – the kind of face-to-face interaction that involves building personal, ongoing relationships. Sure, money may be tight, but just consider the cost of breakfast and luncheon meetings as an investment in your career. Of course, when you meet and greet people you must pull yourself out of that "black hole" into which you may have fallen. Put a smile on your face, even if you don't feel it in your heart. Get to know others by asking questions to find out what you can do for them and their job searches. When you leave meetings, you will feel reconnected with humanity. You will be remembered for what you have to offer which will result in others wanting to return the favor. Watch how many job leads begin to come your way!

Boost Your Creativity

When small business owners launch their enterprises, they are advised to publish articles and deliver presentations to increase public awareness of their new ventures. And it works! So, what would happen if you did the same? Try writing and speaking about your expertise to attract interest in your personal brand. It would be interesting to see how many responses you receive due to this newfound notoriety, and how many might turn into bona fide employment offers. How do you reach your target markets through publishing and presenting? Do your research to discover what they read, then write and submit articles relevant to their interests and your expertise. Printed periodicals and online publications can both work to your advantage. Use the same approach in scheduling presentations. Where does your target market go to learn more about your expertise? (Hmm, are we back to networking?) Contact event organizers to offer your speaking skills. Most professional groups welcome presenters who don’t charge fees.

Boost Your Knowledge

Visibility and creativity will work to your advantage as long as you stay current in your field. Since learning is a lifelong process, take advantage of your unemployed state to attend seminars and workshops that keep your skills fresh and up-to-date. This rings particularly true for anyone in the information technology field. However, people in most industries would agree that change is occurring at warp speed…don't get left behind! While you continue your learning, remember to read business journals, nonfiction bestsellers and current events periodicals. What business trends do you spot? How can you position yourself as a change agent? Companies are seeking drivers of innovation to impact their bottom lines. Does your resume portray your successes in such a way that hiring authorities can easily see the value you offer them as they try to not only cope, but thrive, in an ever-changing marketplace? Ask a career coach to critique your resume to ensure all your bases are covered. You may not have heard and you may not agree, but some business futurists predict a huge talent shortage by 2010. If you are stuck in the present with job search inertia, this may be difficult to imagine. However, based upon research through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a new book has emerged that clearly outlines this coming turn of events. "Impending Crisis" by Roger Herman, et al, is a must read book if you are seeking your next leadership position. One thing it addresses is the over-50 age factor in relation to the value companies can receive from hiring those with proven leadership experience. When you read this book, you can charge ahead of the learning curve!

Boost Your Chances to Succeed

With most things in life, history repeats itself and change challenges the best of us. The status of work in the 21st century is being defined as this article is being written. It will continue to evolve as baby boomers retire and are replaced by their children and grandchildren. For those currently out of work, today's angst will eventually fade into the past as new positions are obtained and careers move forward. What role do you want to play in your overall career satisfaction? Do you want to take charge of your own destiny or surrender its control? You don't have to do it all alone. "At a time when companies are downsizing and out placing…at a time when boomers are facing 50, coaches are easing traumatic transitions." This quote is from "Career Coaches Offer Help in the Game of Life," Long Beach Press-Telegram, July 9, 1996. Let's see…that was almost nine years ago. Isn't it about time to hire a career coach?