Recently, I was working with an executive candidate on multifaceted job search strategies and she was so relieved to find that there are a variety of ways to successfully land a new job - even in this recession economy.
If you have not launched a job search in a long time or have been unsuccessful in your efforts, don't get too discouraged. In these uncertain times, it will take a lot more than "good luck" and "being in the right place at the right time" to come out on top with your job search.
You may be guilty of diving helter-skelter into a job search that is eating away at your productive time and not netting any real results due to the following errors:
--Having a vague, unfocused job search target
Would you jump into a taxi, ask the driver to get you there in 10 minutes, but not give him your destination? When you are buried in resume writing, relationship building, interviewing activities without knowing your ultimate goal, you will keep spinning your wheels over and over again.
-- Marketing a one-size-fits-all professional resume
In the same manner that a summer jacket will do you little good in the dead of winter, sending out a teacher's resume to apply for a marketing assistant position holds the same folly.
Nothing is wrong with having more than one resume if each is targeted and relevant for specific industry/functional positions.
-- Making the Internet and online job boards your primary tool source for job leads
While the Internet and other online-based tools are a necessary portion of your entire job search campaign, do not allow the convenience and ease of the worldwide web to keep you passive and complacent in your activities.
Move beyond the computer to engage in offline activities, networking events, industry forums, tradeshows, conferences and alumni meetings.
-- Inability to clearly state your personal strengths in an interview
Want to impress them in an interview? Show them your STARs and CARs that is address their behavioral-style questions with a Situation-Task-Action-Results or Challenge-Action-Results case study.
With so many candidates competing for the same jobs, be creative in your interview answers, don't give hypothetical answers and show them through STARs and CARs how you deliver value.
-- Being vague about your personal brand and unique value proposition
Personal branding is so much more than a marketing slogan or cute sounding phrase - it gives employers and executive recruiters an insight to your unique promise of value.
If you have not launched a job search in a long time or have been unsuccessful in your efforts, don't get too discouraged. In these uncertain times, it will take a lot more than "good luck" and "being in the right place at the right time" to come out on top with your job search.
You may be guilty of diving helter-skelter into a job search that is eating away at your productive time and not netting any real results due to the following errors:
--Having a vague, unfocused job search target
Would you jump into a taxi, ask the driver to get you there in 10 minutes, but not give him your destination? When you are buried in resume writing, relationship building, interviewing activities without knowing your ultimate goal, you will keep spinning your wheels over and over again.
-- Marketing a one-size-fits-all professional resume
In the same manner that a summer jacket will do you little good in the dead of winter, sending out a teacher's resume to apply for a marketing assistant position holds the same folly.
Nothing is wrong with having more than one resume if each is targeted and relevant for specific industry/functional positions.
-- Making the Internet and online job boards your primary tool source for job leads
While the Internet and other online-based tools are a necessary portion of your entire job search campaign, do not allow the convenience and ease of the worldwide web to keep you passive and complacent in your activities.
Move beyond the computer to engage in offline activities, networking events, industry forums, tradeshows, conferences and alumni meetings.
-- Inability to clearly state your personal strengths in an interview
Want to impress them in an interview? Show them your STARs and CARs that is address their behavioral-style questions with a Situation-Task-Action-Results or Challenge-Action-Results case study.
With so many candidates competing for the same jobs, be creative in your interview answers, don't give hypothetical answers and show them through STARs and CARs how you deliver value.
-- Being vague about your personal brand and unique value proposition
Personal branding is so much more than a marketing slogan or cute sounding phrase - it gives employers and executive recruiters an insight to your unique promise of value.
It helps you answer the questions "Why should we hire you?"; "What differentiates you from others with a similar background?" In many cases, having a strong personal brand can allow you to negotiate for higher salaries and be in a competitive positions for high-profile projects and assignments.
Abby M. Locke (premierwriting.com) is a career marketing strategist and leadership brand coach who partners with 6 figure executives and professional MBA women to help them achieve true career mastery and success through cutting-edge, career branded communications, innovative job search campaigns, and proactive career management tools.
Abby M. Locke (premierwriting.com) is a career marketing strategist and leadership brand coach who partners with 6 figure executives and professional MBA women to help them achieve true career mastery and success through cutting-edge, career branded communications, innovative job search campaigns, and proactive career management tools.
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