I used to work at a nursing home. One day, everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. The State showed up for a surprise inspection (which we passed with flying colors). The grandchildren of a resident who had passed away filed a suit for abuse and neglect. (It was thrown out. We proved that they had never visited their grandmother during the years that she had been at the home and did not know what they were talking about.) And a grant we had applied for was rejected.
I made the comment to one of the nurses that there must be a full moon. It was a “we should have stayed in bed” kind of day. Her reaction was, “We don’t talk about full moons. There is actually something to it. Don’t mess with Mother Nature.” And she was serious.
This has been a week – and it’s only Wednesday! – when I have been thinking about full moons. Happily, I received a number of new searches (any IT and/or finance auditors looking for work?) and a corresponding plethora of resumes. What absolutely shocked me was that ten percent of the resumes I received or already had in my database lacked basic contact information. And, no disrespect intended, I’m talking about individuals who are well-educated.
Let’s ignore the person who sent me in his/her, I don’t know, resume without a cover letter, from a silly e-mail address and without a name, address, or phone number. Rejected!
About half of the resumes that lacked contact information lacked an e-mail address. I know what you’re thinking, they were e-mailed so I obviously have the e-mail address. Guess what, I don’t keep the e-mails, only the resumes. So if I received the e-mail sometime ago – even yesterday – I won’t have anything but the resume. No e-mail address on the resume, no way to e-mail the candidate.
And that can be a problem if the only phone number is a home phone and the person has moved. So, in addition to an e-mail address, you need to have a cell phone number and a home phone number, if you have one.
You can, of course, include your office number. But here’s the thing: If you include your office number that means I can call you at work. Do you really want a recruiter leaving you a message at work about a possible job? Now with me you don’t have to worry. My message will be, “Joe. I am working on an auditing project for one of my clients and would appreciate it if you could give me a call.” I’ll leave my name and number. I won’t say that I’m a recruiter. But some recruiters will leave a different type of message, “Joe. I’m a recruiter. I’m working on a search for an auditor and wanted to know if you might be interested in learning about the position. Call me.”
And one more thing: I know that many people (rightly) don’t want to give out their home address. But an employer needs to know where you are located because they may not be interested in relocating a candidate or knowledge of the local community may be a qualification for the position. So, at a minimum, include you city and state or residence.
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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
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Make 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
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Are 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.
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
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Your 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.