John had been sending resumes to companies for weeks
And hearing nothing back.
This was weird because he was more than qualified for most jobs
Still, no one was getting back to him.
This had never happened to him before
Because he never had to apply for a job
Heโs always just sort of found something through a friend or a
colleague.
When he called me, he was perplexed; wondered what he was doing
wrong.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅโฆ.
He was sending generic resumes to specific jobs
He was applying online without talking to humans
He sent the same resume to multiple jobs in the same company
Each time he sent his resume, heโd do nothing but wait.
And in return, nothing happened.
Here are three simple suggestions to help John get his job search off
the ground:
๐ข ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค.
Use current and expired job posters to learn what they look for in a candidate.
Read their job posters thoroughly. (This cannot be said enough).
Take what you learn and update your resume to align with the
employerโs needs.
๐ข ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ.
What companies are hiring?
What companies are downsizing?
Who do you know, who knows someone at your target company?
Can you get an introduction?
๐ข ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค.
Connect with professional associations in your industry.
Talk to the people in your industry to learn what positions might
open soon.
Talking to human resources (HR) is fine. However, talking to people
who may one day work on your team โ in some cases, is better.
Each time you speak to someone, ask them who they should speak
to next, then ask for an introduction to that person.
John was thrilled to hear these simple tips because it meant he
wasnโt being rejected; he simply didnโt have the right plan in place.
He went from thinking there was something wrong with him
to realizing there was something wrong with his job search strategy.
And he could easily remedy that now that he had a plan.
Related Categories: Job Search
About The Author
Maureen McCann is an award-winning career coach, master resume writer, and master certified interview, employment, and career strategist whose clients include C-level executives, managers, and professionals in all industries including the Canadian banking, oil and gas, healthcare, IT, and government sectors.