Jump Start Your Labor Day Job Search

As a private practitioner working with job-seeking clients for many years, I've seen a number of professionals acquiesce to several job-search myths: "No one hires during the summer" ... "There's no point in making contacts between Thanksgiving and New Year's" ... and so forth and so on. I've seen these myths debunked time and time again by those clients who do persevere.

However, we’re coming up on one of the very best times of the year to accelerate a job search. With just a little over three short weeks left until Labor Day, job seekers should take advantage of this opportunity and really do their background prep. Here are a few recommendations.

Polish your resume. Does it communicate the value-add you bring? Is your brand clearly evident in your qualifications profile and throughout concisely presented content? Do you effectively quantify and show your transferable strengths? Don't just tell it, prove it with CAR stories that demonstrate Challenge-Action-Result -- and, I like to add Impact back to the organization as a result. Share your resume with trusted friends and colleagues. Really seek their professional input.

Refine your elevator speech (or create a dynamic introductory message if you don't already have one). This will become essential in the networking steps below. Make sure you succinctly and enthusiastically leave the listener (networked contact, colleague, recruiter, potential hiring authority) with a very clear picture of what you can do for them.

Cull your Rolodex, planner, or BlackBerry to create an up-to-date contact list. Most professionals, with a bit of due diligence, come up with at least 125 contacts relatively easily. Group by priority into A, B, C, D, and E lists. Your goal? To reach out to 25 contacts each week from Labor Day until the first week of October.

In the weeks ahead, I'll share more networking strategies to help you up the success rate of these efforts. I'll also describe some of the common mistakes execs make in their resumes to help ensure your qualifications profile, CAR messages, achievement content, and cover letters are as effective as they can possibly be.

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Jan Melnik has been an executive job search coach and C-level resume writer for more than 15 years and works individually with clients globally through her private practice. She has nearly 10 years' experience as the career expert on nationally syndicated Money Watch and Money Matters radio, is a featured resume and job search expert on NBC, and the author of several entrepreneurial books. Her newest title is "Executive's Pocket Guide to ROI Resumes and Job Search." She is a regular presenter and keynote speaker at industry conferences nationwide.