If you relate to this struggle, you're definitely not alone. A recent FlexJobs survey found that nearly half (48%) of job seekers are frustrated in their job search because they can't seem to find the right opportunities. So, what can you do?
Here are three tips to follow if you're frustrated with the lack of good job opportunities in your job search.
As a professional, you need to have an interview bucket list—a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. This is true even if you're not actively looking for a job. Are you passionate about a company's product or service? Do you feel connected to their mission? Can you relate to their values and beliefs as an organization? Think about these questions as you make your list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a purpose beyond just "getting a job." Simply put, your job search will have a foundation upon which everything else will be built. It'll make the job search and interview process so much easier.
For example, let's say a company on your interview bucket list has a job opening that you're interested in. When you go to write your disruptive cover letter, you'll stand out from the other job applicants because of your connection story, and you'll ultimately get the attention of the hiring manager. And, chances are, they'll want to give you a call.
Job seekers often rely solely on job boards for finding employment opportunities. This is not the most effective way to find a job, never mind a good one.
When you decide to look for a new job, don't make job boards a primary part of your job search strategy. Everyone else is doing that, and competition is not only fierce but most of the "good" job opportunities never actually get posted on those sites (ever hear of the hidden job market?). Companies prefer to post jobs internally before using a job board to find qualified candidates. They may also reach out to previous applicants whose resumes are already on file.
Focus your efforts on gaining access to the hidden job market where the best job opportunities are usually found. How? Well, that brings us to our last point...
A targeted and proactive job search, one that is built on an interview bucket list and also doesn't rely on job boards, is not complete without a clear networking strategy. If you ask a frustrated job seeker whether they've prioritized networking in their job search, they'll probably mutter "no." And there lies the problem.
Networking is essential to your job search. It's arguably the most important factor in getting job opportunities and growing your career. To find a good job opportunity, network your way into your dream companies, the companies on your interview bucket list. Reach out to current employees of these companies. Connect with them and start a conversation. Explain why you'd love to work for their company one day, but don't ask for a job or for any favors. Just focus on growing your professional network and providing value however you can. When a position opens up at one of your bucket list companies, you'll probably be the first one they contact.
At the end of the day, it's all about who you know.
If you're frustrated with the lack of good job opportunities available, don't give up. By following these three tips, you can and will find the right job opportunities. Try out your new job search strategy today and finally get the good job you've wanted all along!
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A target audience is an ideal customer who wants to purchase your product or service. Targeting a specific audience does not mean that you are excluding customers who do not fit your criteria. Instead, it allows you to focus your dollars and message on the right people who are most likely to buy from you. This is the most effective way to reach your audience while maximizing your spending.
Here is a sad statistic: 80% of consumers don't think brands understand them as a person (Source). Customers want a brand that understands their challenges and provides solutions for them. Focusing on your target audience gives your company numerous benefits.
You've probably heard the terms "target market" and "target audience." These are two separate things to keep in mind. A target market is a group of customers for which a product or service is aimed at. A target audience is the ideal customer most likely to want your product or service.
For example, you make Graco car seats that help provide safety for newborns to toddlers. Your target market is newborns to toddlers, however, they aren't the purchasers of this product. Your target audience is parents. When developing your strategies, keep your target market in mind, but sell to your target audience. In most cases, these two are the same group of people, but as you can see in this example, sometimes they are different groups.
Here's another example: your target market is digital marketing experts living in the U.S. whereas your target audience is SEO specialists with web coding expertise living in the U.S. In this example, the target market and target audience are similar, however, the target audience is more detailed.
In summary, the power of your brand relies on your ability to be focused. Take the time to identify your ideal target audience to strengthen your brand and transform your business. You've got this!
If you're feeling stuck in the pursuit of your passion, here are seven thoughts about finding your passion in life, from the popular self-help book What Color Is Your Parachute?
It may vary from "work that gets me excited" to "this is why I believe I was placed on this earth." When we are talking with someone about this subject, each of us may think we know what the other means. But often we are wrong. If we use it, we need to define what we mean by it.
Show teenagers, for example, a list of possible careers, and ask them which ones they feel any passion for, and they are liable to answer "None." Come to that same person ten or fifteen years later, and they have gained in knowledge of the world of work. More importantly they have gained in knowledge of themselves. Now they know, from experience, exactly what they like or don't like. We, who are trying to help, may speed up that process by asking them to do a self-inventory. At any age. Typically, they will want a template for doing such an inventory.
The most helpful self-inventories always turn out to be those that correspond to the parts of a job. That is to say, every job has seven parts to it: it requires certain skills (do), certain knowledge (know), certain goals (reach), certain people environments (surround), certain working conditions (enable), certain locations (find), and a certain level of responsibility (chart). Thus, a helpful self-inventory covers all these parts: what do you most love to do, what do you most love knowing, what are you most trying to reach, who are you most trying to surround yourself with, what most enables you to do your best work, where do you find such places, and what project, plan, or challenge, do you most want to help chart? One example of a seven-part inventory is chapter five in the 2013 edition of What Color Is Your Parachute? However, there are shorter inventories (on O*NET, for example) that omit some of these seven parts of one's passion.
For example, if I find a place where I am surrounded with the kinds of people I most love to work with, using the knowledge I most love to use, and tackling the challenge or problem I would most love to solve, I may feel I have found my passion in life. But if, as time goes on, there's more of an overlap of my work with all seven parts of me, I will more and more feel I have found my passion in life.
Doing a self-inventory of these seven parts increases what you're listening for, even if your current job is only a partial overlap.
The more you find your true passion in life, the more energy you will feel when you're at work. Thus, as we grow older, and our physical energy begins to diminish, it becomes all the more important to replace it with the energy that comes from having found our passion.
Defining your passion in life is not a sufficient goal for any life. That can be very selfish and inwardly-directed. This makes me excited; this makes me happy. So what? Let us suppose you were out of work for two years before you finally found meaningful work. What does that leave you with? A hope you will never go through such a period again? Yes. But is that all? Let us say you have now arrived in some function where you need to hire people. Do you reach out and go the extra mile, now, to help someone who has been out of work for two years? Or do you turn them down, and say, "Sorry, we don't hire people out of work as long as you've been"? You haven't grown until you have wrung every bit of compassion out of your own experience and used it to feel and show empathy toward someone in a similar predicament. Compassion, to find and feel our ties to all other human beings, should be our real passion in life. Passion; does it teach you compassion? That's the acid test of any life.
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Copyright © 2013 by What Color Is Your Parachute?
Using bullets requires a careful balance, though. Too few bullet points and you'll have unappealing, difficult-to-read blocks of text. Too many bullet points can have the opposite effect and look more like a laundry list. To develop a clear structure to your resume and present bullet points with impact, follow these tips:
In most instances, bullet points are used in the "Work History" and "Additional Experience" sections of your resume. For example, under the information for your current employer, job title, and employment period, write 3-5 bullet points that directly highlight your accomplishments and success on the job.
Consider what experience, skills, and accomplishments are important for the job you're applying for and select the most relevant points that will detail what you've done, how you've done it, and what results you achieved. Use bullet points on your resume to bring attention to something, but when you go beyond five bullet points for each position, it can look like a laundry list. Each bullet point also shouldn't need more than two lines in length. Keep it tight and succinct!
Remember that most hiring managers will only spend a few seconds on each resume, so you want to immediately catch their eye. Start with the most impressive point first.
When writing your bullet points, remember to start with the results rather than the how. For example, which of the following two bullet points is more likely to capture the reader's attention?
If you answered the second bullet point, you've got it.
For greater impact, apply numbers to your bullet points. This is called quantifying your work experience, and it's something every professional should do on their resume to stand out in the hiring process. You want to put the information in context and show results. For example, "Increased sales 300% within the first two years of product relaunch."
Relevant awards are always worth highlighting on your resume because it helps distinguish you from other candidates who might have the same experience. If you've been recognized as "Salesperson of the Year" or something similar, use it in your bullet points.
An effective resume informs the employer of your experience and skills, but it also provides insight into how good you are as a business-of-one, saving or making companies money. The correct use of bullet points can help you deliver the message!
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Here are five tips for managing your time for academic—and professional—success.
Does your college offer courses that work with your life rather than against it? You'll have a better chance of attaining your life goals if they do. So, talk with the admissions counselor and/or your advisor and find out if courses are available online as well as in class, whether courses are flexible, and whether you can complete your program at your own pace. Many campuses offer help with time management, so try to find out what support is available. You could even consider setting up a peer mentoring program to give and get support from fellow students if your college doesn't have one.
You should also talk to your employer. Assess when busy periods are likely to be, and try to avoid big assignments at the same time. Show commitment and consideration, and you'll probably get your boss's support. If you can, look for assignments where you can exploit your professional experience; it's a more efficient use of your time.
Busy, successful people understand what they can do each day, how they use their time, and what can realistically be accomplished. Learn from their techniques and you can do the same. Record your daily activities to find out how much time you really have. Assign a specific time to important tasks rather than hoping they will happen at some point. Get smart when prioritizing tasks so that "clean the attic" does not have the same weight as "write term paper." Build in buffer time for the inevitable interruptions. And set time limits for each task to stop it spreading into the rest of your day.
Once you have your schedule, beat procrastination by breaking down massive projects into manageable blocks. Work is usually the best way to get working, so start with small tasks to get the ball rolling. Finally, once you're in the zone, note any good ideas that pop up and move on. That way your ideas for your company's sales conference won't distract you from your revision—and you won't forget them.
John C. Maxwell, author of How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, put it best: "If something can be done 80% as well by someone else, delegate!" Clear out the clutter of unnecessary tasks and make more room for more important activities. Evaluate your commitments, discuss realistic goals with friends and family, and then learn to make use of other people.
It can be hard to let go sometimes, but you don't have to do it all. There are almost certainly tasks in your daily routine that can be done easily by others, even if your only available resource is a willing spouse or child.
Stay in the here-and-now and focus on one class at a time. If you complete one or two courses, you'll be motivated to take another. Equally, don't put too much pressure on yourself to complete your degree within a certain timeline.
Success is the biggest motivator, so acknowledge a job well done but don't allow yourself to be distracted when things don't go according to plan. Learn from mistakes and then move on. Remember that learning is a cumulative process: you won't be judged by one project alone and you don't have to be perfect every time. Sometimes, good enough is just that.
Extra-strong coffee is not a long-term study aid! When schedules fill up, sleep is often the first to be sacrificed. But lack of sleep actually makes your task much harder: your mental health, physical health, stress levels, and schedule are all affected.
Make sure you take time to look after yourself. It doesn't take long for the constant round of class, study, work and more study to take its toll on your ability to perform. Plan time to relax and be social—and treat it like every other commitment. It will improve your productivity overall.
Time management isn't a skill you pick up right away. Ironically, it too takes time. But the good news is that more and more students are managing to earn a degree while working full-time. The even better news is that the time management techniques you learn when balancing your various commitments can be applied throughout your career to enhance your chances of future success.
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