Part of Donald Trump’s fame arose from his role as the CEO on the hit television show, “The Apprentice.” He is known for pronouncing with no small amount of relish, “You’re fired!” to the unlucky apprentice du jour.Related: How To Address Being Fired In A Job Interview While people may have liked the show for its flair, if you have ever been on the receiving end of the “You’re fired” message, it isn’t entertaining at all. My dad was fired from a job that he had loved for ten years. That happened when I was in the 6th grade. I was also on the scene when it happened because my mom had driven my brother, sister, and me in our new 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 (barely a week old) to meet my father on a Friday afternoon before leaving for our annual summer vacation to the mountains. We happened to arrive just as his supervisor was delivering the bad news. To say that it was a devastating blow to my father would be no small statement. We went ahead with our vacation, and when we returned, we traveled as a family to the corporate headquarters where he made his case and offered a plea for a second chance. The answer was a firm, “No.” After another ten years went by, not coincidentally perhaps, my dad’s successor was fired just before he was eligible for being vested in the company’s pension plan. Suddenly it occurred to us all that the company had a pattern of keeping people on until they were about to be vested in the pension, and then they found a reason to terminate them. Not that it changed anything for my dad, but I think that realization helped to restore to some degree his otherwise wounded ego. Perhaps he was let go because he was about to be vested in the pension instead of because of the reasons he was given at the time. Needless to say, that experience has stayed with me in spite of the fact that it happened over 50 years ago. I still remember that warm summer afternoon when I realized that my daddy was being fired from his job. In his case, once we were back from vacation, he had a new job by the end of the day on Monday, his first day out looking. The economy was very different back then. He knew a lot about a lot of things, and he became an auto parts salesman. Later he tried his hand at insurance sales, and he did okay with that. Later he tried vacuum cleaner sales (I bought one from him) and then he worked part-time for the US postal service as a substitute mail carrier. He didn’t love any of those jobs the way he loved the one he worked in for ten years, however, and even though he never went more than a few days between jobs, it took a toll on my parents’ marriage. My mother complained that we kids needed to change his place of employment every school year, which was a slight exaggeration but was a measure of her discontent over his not being able to find something permanent that he liked and supported the family the way they would have liked. Needless to say, the economic landscape has changed a lot since those days, and if you are fired today, it is unlikely that you will be able to land something by the end of business on Monday after taking a week’s vacation between jobs. It can happen because anything is possible, I suppose, but it isn’t all that likely. Back in the “old days” you grabbed a paper and started circling the job postings. You made the rounds in person and met the decision-makers who were often in their office and willing to talk to you if you dropped by to offer an application for the open position. Electronic applications were a thing of the future, and you didn’t have to worry so much about a resume because you hadn’t worked at that many places. Jobs seemed to be steadier and more abundant back then. The entire landscape of job search has changed today. You need to get savvy very quickly about what goes into an effective and productive job search.
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.