By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter
Ankle-deep in water, we waded across the ramp to our dock. The next day, after a satiating weekend of sailing, we returned to the ramp for departure, and alas, the water had risen to our knees.
Granted, we had slept the prior night ‘on the water,’ and then sailed through the day, water skimming our hull and sails pulling us through this liquid highway. As sailors, water clearly is our friend, but it was the unexpected creep of the wet stuff that startled us, interjecting itself where it wasn’t welcome, creating a potential barrier to our sailing lifestyle entry and exit.
Fast-forwarding a few days later, the water had ascended to waist level, forcing the more serious sailors to don swimsuits and paddle to their docks and boats. At this point, the marina owners and technicians stepped in, erecting temporary, gangplank type structures that bridged the water, facilitating an adventurous journey for eager sailors to meet up with our awaiting sailboats.
Nonetheless, as in a career course that only appears smooth, unwavering and secure, the signs of flooding had preceded our alarm. A spring and early summer of heavy storms and rain forewarned us, as the mounting raindrops created soggy lawns and rising lake waters.
As well, the wisdom of experienced marina folk, in particular a retired Coast Guard professional who now helped manage the marina, had anticipated this occurrence. In fact, he had strongly suggested to the owner that bridge building supplies laboriously created in the wake of prior summers’ storms be stored for future such emergencies.
The marina owner had declined his suggestion, and in the wake of this latest storm, was caught unprepared and forced to react urgently and quickly, and quite frankly, expended more abundantly in human and financial resources than he would have if he heeded the wisdom of the retired Coast Guard expert.
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Likewise, many careerists find themselves unprepared and seemingly unaware of impending job course changes, despite storms that intermittently erupt and the rising tides signaling distress. Instead, they look the other way, or, are so swept up in their day-to-day that the distraction of building career plans to bridge potential career floods seems too onerous.
Several key steps to maintaining a healthy career, built to endure storms and bridge job floods, include:
1. Maintaining a modern resume, updated with your CURRENT achievements and challenge/action/result stories that show (don’t tell) your nuanced talents as well as problem-taming skills, selling your value to a very targeted audience. Unfortunately, after situated in a new role, many careerists allow their career resumes to sit idly, collecting dust, and only when they are in the throes of job transition or job loss, seek a hasty resurrection and quick-fix of this most integral of career tools.
2. Nurturing, giving your time/attention to and maintaining a solid, trust networkof individuals and groups on whom you call when needed to shore up during and after a career flood.
3. Creating and maintaining a ;ensuring your primary social media profiles are fed with contemporary contributions and roles.
Preparing for career storms and floods, particularly in the environment of Me, Inc., should become an intuitive process that careerists embrace. Empower yourself with a portfolio of career documents and profiles, career colleagues and coaches who lift your message and propel you through a journey of success.
Did you enjoy this article? You can read more articles by this expert here. Also, check out all of our free webinars!CAREEREALISM Expert, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally, has a BA in Writing and has amassed 15 years’ corporate experience. An intuitive researcher, Jacqui unearths clients’ most compelling story details, applies an inventive approach to content development and design, and originates uniquely branded career resume and social media profiles, including LinkedIn, Twitter and personal marketing websites, stirring interest and response. She can be found at www.careertrend.net and on Twitter.The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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