Job Search Strategies for 2014

Successful Job Search Strategies for 2014

The New Year brings new hopes, challenges, goals and for many companies it brings new budgets. Budgets have been set aside to bring on new employees for the 1st quarter of 2014.

Whether you are unemployed or satisfied in your current position of employment it is always important to know how to locate your next quality job quickly and efficiently.

Traditional job search includes strategies such as looking in the newspaper classified advertisements, searching through ‘help wanted’ notices on bulletin boards, going to recruitment or job agencies, and write in for jobs opportunities directly to the companies. All these traditional ways of job search involve an individual reacting to a job that has already been publicly offered.

Although, traditional methods are still necessary, creative, well-informed and socially Internet savvy job seekers will take a step further to stay ahead of their competition by creating an online presence to reach out to more prospective employers.

More and more recruiters use the web as a place to search for talent and conduct employment background searches. This trend will set to increase over the years.

A keyword rich resume is still the most valuable tool to unlocking the doors to getting a job. Keywords are those words that define skills and certifications that are specific to your industry.

Keywords should be displayed in your summary as well as throughout your resume job descriptions.

Your resume doesn’t need to be complicated. The best resumes are keyword rich, easy to read, and listed in a chronological order. Your resume should start off with your name and contact information at the top. This information should be in a large enough font so that it is easy to read.

Next list your Employment History in chronological order, providing start and end dates that include a month and year, for each job. Provide the company name, your title and a brief description of your job duties and accomplishments.
Next provide a summary of your skills. This can be listed in bullets or a simple paragraph.
Lastly, list any education, certifications and related volunteer activities that you participate in. With a quality resume on hand it is time to ‘post & search’.
Increase your odds of the right people seeing your resume by posting your resume on the job boards.

Online Resume

In the new economy, it has changed the way employers review resumes, the Internet has also made it possible for job seekers to post their resumes online, on their own hosted web sites. This change is particular helpful to those persons whose resume presentation will be greatly enhanced by being able to take advantage of the graphics and interactive capabilities that an online resume on a personal web site can provide.

In a nutshell, in these times, a paper resume is not enough. It is essential to be creative and a well-designed electronic, or online version of your resume combined and linked to a strong social media profile, is usually ideal for a successful job search

Build your online presence on social network sites.

Make employers find you easily online and thus open doors to more job opportunities. Without an online presence, you will not appear to be as relevant as those who has and you will be passed over for more savvy applicants that have online visibility. Creating online presence include

LinkedIn- A networking tool for professional connections. Also used to recommend job candidates, industry experts and business partners. Employers use LinkedIn as a search tool to find talent, and job seekers use it to leverage their network in support of their search. It is imperative that you create a full and complete profile on LinkedIn. The vast majority of recruiters start their searches using LinkedIn. Include a professional photo on your LinkedIn profile. For some reason, perhaps it is human nature, but profiles with a photo garner more attention.

Twitter – Social networking and instant messaging that allows users to post 140- character updates. Employer can use twitter to post for job opportunities.

Create a blog to demonstrate your expertise

Another good way to further boost your image and demonstrate your experience, expertise and passion in a particular field is to create an updated blog. Keep it professional, creative and update it with value add contents for readers. The articles that you post may include tips and advice on issues in your area of expertise, also be mindful that everything you write and post online is up for judgment.

Keep track of your job search activity. Create a spreadsheet or simple MS Word document where you record the date, name of company, title of position and any username or passwords that you create when you apply for a job.

Another great tip is to create a job search strategy journal. Journal at the end of every day what worked the best today, any encouragement you received, new leads on companies, specific individuals or companies that you will follow up with sometime in the future, new advice or strategy you learned from today that you would like to implement tomorrow.

Try harder

Are you ready for that interview?

Preparation is an important part of the interview process.

Try harder

Happy job hunting and career goal catching for 2014!

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