This week, starting today, I am hoping you can try to incorporate 3 new behaviors/practices that will alter the way you conduct your job search.
Contact several recruiters
They do not work FOR you, but with you. Recruiters often specialize by industry or occupation so ask around and find the names of several. Why recruiters? Because, some companies do most of their hiring through these 3rd parties. According to CareerXroads most recent study: “65.7% of survey respondents … report they have ‘Master Contracts’ with vendors to supply hourly & P/T or professional contract”. Would you be open to taking a contract/temporary assignment? Consider it one of the best ways to get your foot in the door. CareerXroads also reported that 50.3% of ALL hires were filled from internal movement.
Limit your computer time to “off hours”
Because you have to contact people while they are at work, you will want to maximize the time to allocate for these activities. Simply put, all your follow up, phone calls, informational meetings, etc has to be done during working hours (8 to 5). Therefore, submitting resumes online, LinkedIn or other social networking activities, thank you letters and other administrative tasks should be done any time besides 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Play matchmaker
What better way to leave a lasting impression than to introduce two people whom you believe would benefit from knowing one another. It could be a personal or professional interest these people share. Send an email and address it to both of them. In the body of the email, indicate how you know each person and why you think they might enjoy meeting each other. You may even want to include in your email a link to each of their LinkedIn profiles. Your job is done. They can decide to contact each other or not.
It is a new week! Try and incorporate at least one new strategy! It might just work!
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.
