At BroadPeak we love working with great candidates to help them find wonderful new jobs. However its always a good idea to network effectively and to understand how to sell yourself to a potential employer. Here are few tips for jump starting your job search.
1. Network with colleagues, through professional associations, college alumni associations, and with recruiters. Networking never goes out of style and the internet can enhance the networking process. It’s easier than ever to peruse online alumni directories, or to utilize online networking tools such as www.linkedin.com. The fundamentals of networking never change though. You have to get out there and spend the time and effort to get to know other people. There are no shortcuts to creating strong interpersonal relationships through work and in social settings. Let folks whom you trust know that you are in the job market so that they can keep you in mind when they hear of a great job. Most people want to be helpful to colleagues who are looking for jobs because they realize that grateful people return favors!
2. Use job posting boards as a way to find out which companies are hiring. Don’t worry about the jobs that are actually posted. Just look at the companies that have jobs available and I think you will be surprised at how many companies exist about which you may not have heard! Then go to www.google.com or www.ask.com and type in the company name. Find out more about these companies and look to see if they have a “careers” portion of their site. Some companies list a few jobs on big job boards like Monster.com but have a much larger list of openings on their private website. If there is a job for which you think you are uniquely qualified you can apply via the company website.
3. Use the internet to research companies that interest you. Create personalized application packets for selected companies. If you run across a terrific company for which you think you would be a great cultural fit but you don’t see any job openings that are right for you, don’t despair! Peruse any information about the company’s management team that you can find. Then communicate with your network to find out if you have any links to someone at the company. If so, ask your contact to make an introduction and then politely ask the company contact if you can meet them for a cup of coffee. While you may not get a job with the company immediately, you will probably make some good contacts and you may lay the groundwork for landing your dream job.
4. Market yourself! When you are conducting a job search your only job is to sell “You Inc.”. Think about all the unique features of You Inc. and come up with a great sales pitch. If you are in a creative field such as advertising, marketing, public relations, or even sales you can create a binder in which you show samples of your work. You could show brochures from programs you managed or collateral material you designed. You can include writing samples or web pages. If you are in sales use lots of numbers…show your results. Anything that highlights the skills and accomplishments listed on your resume is fair game for your binder. Sometimes having a binder for “show and tell” really helps to bring your background and skills to life for potential employers.
5. Create a personal website. This tip isn’t for everyone. If you are a creative professional, particularly if you have created a large body of creative or written material, a personal website can be a great way to showcase your skills.
Last night I attended a dinner which was organized from afar by my good friend Jason Alba.
Jason has become friends with a great guy named Pete Johnson who was in
town for work so Jason suggested that Pete meet up with a few members
of our local blogging community. We had a great time and Pete is every
bit as interesting as Jason had told us. In fact Pete said something
last night that I thought we could all learn from.