Interviewing is the most important phase of a job search. Few people get hired without a successful interview. Yet it’s also a place where many job seekers get stuck. On Troubleshooting Tuesday, we are moving through each phase of the job search, tackling and fixing common sticking points. If you are generating job leads, and being invited in for interviews, but not getting called for second interviews or job offers, it’s time for a deeper look at what it takes to interview successfully. This week we’ll focus on preparation for interviews. Other Troubleshooting Tuesdays will help refine communication skills and other aspects of interviewing.
Is Networking Your Problem?
Are you struggling to find job leads? If so, it’s possible you are not doing enough networking. Many job seekers rely too much on advertised jobs and not enough on networking. Recruiters are relying less and less on job boards and other traditional sources to advertise job openings. The hidden job market, often discovered through networking, is a stronger way to uncover opportunities.
Is Your Job Search Target Unrealistic?
If you are finding it difficult to locate any open positions at all in your targeted area, it may be that you have picked too small a target. Job searchers today are particularly challenged because there are many job areas that have greatly diminished due to changes in the market and economy. If you are targeting such an area, it’s time to widen your target.
Troubleshooting Your Job Search
Job seekers sometimes say to me “I’m doing everything, and nothing is working.” The truth is, there are things every job seeker can do to improve their job search. But often job seekers don’t see beyond what they know about job searching. What they don’t know could change their strategy and execution. With that in mind, I’m kicking off “Troubleshooting Tuesday”, a series designed to help job seekers locate and fix the trouble spots in their job search. Today, I’ll go over some common trouble areas and raise some questions for rethinking your future job search efforts. In the weeks that come, we’ll tackle each area in depth.
Social Media 101 for Job Seekers
Many job seekers, especially mature workers, struggle to understand the role social media can play in a successful job search. Back in the day, resumes were printed and sent by mail and jobs were found in the local paper. Today it’s Twitter, LinkedIn and more. Ignoring these “new fangled” methods can greatly hinder a job search. So, for those of us born before 1970 (and some of you born after) here’s a quick rundown of the most important social media channels for your job search.
Keeping Your Age from Being an Issue
Age discrimination is illegal so your age should not be an issue in your job search. At least that’s how it’s supposed to be. In reality, some feel their age might be a liability in their job search. A strategy to avoid the issue is to keep your age out of it until you’ve had the chance to sell yourself as a great match for a position.
When Your Job is Looking for a Job
If you are between jobs, people probably assume you have lots of free time. But the truth is, if you’re actively seeking a new job, you should be pretty busy. Here are some ways to bring organization and discipline to the job of looking for a job.
Set up workspace. Organize your papers, have a place for your computer, good lighting and a comfortable chair. If possible, pleasant, quiet workspace set away from the rest of the home is ideal. But, if your workspace is the kitchen table, that’s OK, too. Just set it up for function and efficiency and be clear with yourself that, when you’re sitting there, you’re at work.
New Ways to Use Facebook in Your Job Search
Facebook is partnering with job board site SimplyHired. The integration allows you to see Facebook friends you have at a company, and locate friends inside a company when pursuing a job opening.
To use the new integration, you must go to SimplyHired and then login in to Facebook through SimplyHired. You can then research a company and see if you know someone who works there. Or you can locate a job and then find out if you know someone who works there.
Using Facebook In Your Job Search
To use Facebook in your job search, you must first define your Facebook presence and page as personal, professional or both. Beyond that critical decision, there are several important ways you can use Facebook to advance your job search.
Your Friends, Your Network
If you are using Facebook as a personal social network, your Facebook friends are your inner-circle network. As such, they care about your success and are likely to want to help you. To use this resource in a respectful way:
Seattle Job Leads
An awesome fellow Seattle-based startup, Symform, is hiring!
About Symform –
“Symform is fundamentally changing the way businesses protect their data. We make it easier, more secure, and ten times cheaper than any traditional online service. Our award-winning technology is driving our growth and we are adding people who have a fire burning inside to create, market, and sell great software.”
Symform is looking for new team members in Sales and Engineering. Here are their current open positions: