Conducting a job search is challenging enough without spinning your wheels unproductively and unsuccessfully. We all have a limited number of hours in the day, and many other priorities to attend to. It is important that we make the most of the time we have set aside for job searching. Here then, are some tips to help you maximize your job search productivity.
Prioritize Your Time to Focus On the Highest Potential Job Search Activities
Be proactive. Passive job search tactics do not work. Responding to ads is generally the least effective job search method. Why? Many of the jobs posted are already awarded to internal candidates. They are only posted to satisfy legal requirements or a company policy.
Also, remember that if you’ve seen the ad, so have thousands of others. Human resource departments have very little time to process the volume of resumes they receive. Your resume may never even be seen in the deluge.
To increase your job search productivity and success, you need to be more active in your search strategy and tactics. Set goals for yourself and make a commitment to take action daily. These action items will help you to succeed.
Be clear about your goals and what you have to offer. No one is going to hire someone who just wants any job. Take whatever time is necessary to define the focus of your job search. This is essential. You also need to identify the skills that you have and how those skills can add value to an employer. Focus on the roles and positions where you feel you could really contribute.
Identify potential employers. Once you define what you can offer to a company, you can start to identify specific companies in your region that you want to work for. A simple Internet search can get you started. For example, if you are interested in working at a marketing agency, you can search the web for marketing agencies near your zip code. You should also look at local business journals. They often publish news about the best companies to work for in your region. You want to start with a list of twenty companies that you might be interested in and keep growing that list.
Develop your marketing strategy and accompanying documents. It may help to understand your job search as a marketing campaign. You are marketing yourself to the employers in your regions. Create documents such as cover letters and resumes with this idea in mind. Better yet, have a professional resume writer like Distinctive Career Services prepare them for you (book a free Discovery Consultation to earn more). Don’t just list your past responsibilities in your resume. Instead emphasize your top achievements and highlight the qualifications that will interest your targeted employers. Also, make sure that your social media presence is aligned with your job search goals.
Build a network. Your main goal is to find out about jobs before they are posted publicly. You want an inside track to get interviews. Start by asking friends and family if they know anyone in the field that your are interested in or in one of the companies that you would like to target. At first, you are asking for an introduction so that you can conduct an informational interview and simply expand your own network. You are not looking for jobs.
By establishing a network of professional connections in the right way, you will eventually meet people in your target companies. Ideally, you will make a connection with someone who will want to see you working at their company. In this way, you can hear about available jobs before they are publicly posted.
Follow up. This is critical to your job search. You want to make sure that you are following up with your contacts. Use thank you notes and social media to stay connected to your network. You can also offer to help your contacts in any way you can. Volunteer some time, pass along valuable information or make a connection for them in order to make your networking a two-way street.
Change Your Mindset To Increase Job Search Productivity
It is time we stopped equating “busy” with “productive.” Just because you are always moving and doing things all day does not mean that you are actually being productive or accomplishing your goals. Being productive happens when you can realize goals and accomplish essential tasks. And with the right mindset and perspective, you can transform your busy job search into a much more productive job search.
A productive mindset includes ways of thinking and looking at the world that enable you to make the best of all your resources, including your time and energy. Productivity is not about doing more or even about doing things fast. Instead, it is about recognizing what is important, staying focused, and doing what needs to be done to realize an objective. Here are some of the elements that your mindset will need to be productive.
Vision.
You can’t be productive in your job search if you do not know what it is you need to accomplish. And your job search goals are only meaningful if they are relevant to you and help you move closer to realizing your full potential and career plan. Vision enables you to clarify what is significant in your life, allows you to filter out what does not bring you joy or fulfillment, and keeps you focused on the right path toward your ultimate goal. Vision helps you see the right path to get you to where you want to be.
Motivation.
To remain motivated, you must always be thinking about why this particular job search goal is important to you. When you lack motivation, it is likely because you have lost sight of its importance, or it is no longer meaningful in your life. Motivation will keep you moving toward your dream job even during setbacks and through challenges. Those who are most productive have strong motivation to realize their dream, and they use that motivation in all that they do.
Open-Mindedness.
When you are trying to be your most productive, it can be beneficial to be open to new ways of searching for and pursuing job opportunities. When trying to reach a new goal, you may need innovative ideas and different perspectives to help you. Doing things the way you have always done them may be comfortable, but it is not always the most productive. Being open to new ways of thinking and doing can help you boost your productivity in many ways.
Persistence.
Regardless of what you are trying to achieve in your career, a persistent outlook will increase your job search productivity and help you in many other ways. Perseverance enables you to overcome failures and obstacles. This way of thinking will contribute to your motivation over more extended periods. And being willing to stick it out and never give up is often the only thing that is needed to realize important and difficult job hunting goals. When you are persistent, you have less fear of failure and are willing to put forth the energy and effort needed to be more productive in your job search.
Positivity.
Without a doubt, a positive outlook is crucial to becoming successful in whatever you are trying to achieve in your life and career. Your ability to stay positive is a critical factor that contributes to all the other mindsets previously mentioned. You can never control other people or what happens in the world, but you can manage your response to those. And a positive attitude will help you refine your vision, stay motivated and open-minded, and enable you to persist in achieving your job search goals. Without a positive, optimistic outlook, productivity and achieving your goals will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
These actions points will transform your job search. If you pursue them consistently, you will soon land a position that you will enjoy at a company that you love.
About the Author: Michelle Dumas
