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.
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.
Job Openings: Vertafore is Hiring
Vertafore is hiring. Their website tells a little about the company:
Vertafore, Inc. is a leading provider of software and information to the insurance industry including independent agents, brokers, MGAs, carriers and reinsurers. For more than 30 years, Vertafore has leveraged a unique industry presence to deliver meaningful solutions—powerful technology, critical information and robust insights to help organizations effectively respond to business challenges and capture new opportunities. Vertafore solutions have helped more than 17,000 customers and 500,000 end users gain a competitive advantage to accelerate their business performance.
It goes on to list job openings in these areas:
Accounting (1)
Customer Service (6)
Human Resource (1)
Information Technology (4)
Marketing/Product Marketing (4)
Product Development (16)
Product Management (1)
Professional Services (4)
Quality Assurance (1)
Sales (12)
Learn more on the Vertafore website.
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.
Unemployed Need Not Apply: The Numbers Behind the Claim
There’s been a lot of discussion about the claim that some recruiters and hiring managers are only interested in people who are already employed. This report, circulated on CNN and other major news sources, raised the specter of discrimination against the unemployed. But a recent poll should go a long way to putting minds at ease.
What are You Doing with Extra Hours?
If you had an extra hour each day, what would you do with that time? A recent study says “not much”. The study shows that due to unemployment, retirement and other factors, we have more free time than ever but we’re spending most of extra time watching TV and sleeping. For job seekers, this is probably not the most productive use of extra time. But it’s tempting to kick back when you feel you have so much time on your hands.
Action Items for New College Grads Looking for Work
In our last blog, we went over some food for thoughts for new college graduates to identify a clear and focused entry into the job market. Today, we will talk about what actions new college graduate can take once they have a good idea on what they are looking for in today’s job market.
Sanitize web image. Potential employers are increasingly Goggling candidates, looking at their Facebook pages and LinkedIn profile. College students are particularly vulnerable to getting a bad “web reputation”. As job seekers, they must do everything possible to clean up their web image, removing or privatizing photos and other content and also creating a positive web presence through a LinkedIn Profile, a professional blog or a professional web page.
Job Seeking for New College Grads
A challenging job market awaits the tens of thousands of college graduates who receive their diplomas this month. One recent estimate is that 17% of people ages 20 to 24 do not have a job and two million college graduates are unemployed. The good news is that the job market for recent college grads is improving, with hiring up 5% according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Even with less than ideal numbers, there is much new college graduates can do to find fulfilling employment.
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:
Sorting Through Reports on Job and Employment Trends
It seems every day there is a news item about unemployment numbers, hiring trends, layoffs or the possibility of recovery. Last week the Wall Street Journal reported “Job Gains Speed Up and More Seek Work”. The New York Times had a similar report, Economy Gains Impetus as U.S. Adds 290,000 Jobs, showing that, although 290,000 jobs were added, the unemployment number also went up. So what is a job seeker to do with all this news? Some suggestions for riding the hiring trends roller coaster: