How to get a NEW Job in 2016!

Job Searching in the New Year

 By Robynn Storey, PHR (Owner of the #1 Ranked Executive Resume Development Company on LinkedIn)

Executive Resumes *  Personal Branding Strategies * LinkedIn Profiles

Affordable…Efficient…Strategic…Successful

We have all done it, in fact, according to “Details.com”, 45% of us do it.  Make a New Year’s resolution that is.  But, by the end of January, most of us have fallen off the proverbial New Years wagon and have slipped back into our old (and comfortable) ways.  Here are a few tips to help you beat the odds and actually get a new job in the new year!  So cheers to a successful, fulfilling and happy 2016!

 “Get a new job” ranks right behind “lose weight” and “quit smoking” in terms of most popular resolutions.  But if the thought of conducting a January job search ranks right up there with a 10 day beet juice cleanse, read on to make this process less painful and more productive (no pun intended) than the dreaded cleanse.

 *** Job searching is not just about applying for a job and hoping to get a call for an interview.  It is much more complex than that, especially with the number of qualified (and unqualified) candidates inundating hiring managers with their resumes.  The most successful job seekers use a variety of tools to get in front of the decision makers.   

Here are my top 5 tips for successful job searching. 

1.  Have a GREAT Resume and LinkedIn Profile: As the owner of Storeyline Resumes, I have seen thousands upon thousands of resumes and I am always amazed at how smart, successful people present themselves on paper. If you are submitting your resume to a potential employer, you need to know that the only information THEY have to determine whether you are a qualified candidate is the information that YOU provide.  So, do you really want people to think you are a sloppy, uncoordinated, messy or unorganized professional? Probably not, so while it great that you the top ranked sales person in your company or you’ve landed the biggest deal in company history, but if it is not listed on your resume, it doesn’t exist.  In addition, these days, LinkedIn profiles and resumes go hand and hand - we call it personal branding!  If your resume is good but your profile is bad, chances are, you are not getting the kinds of responses you want.  About 93% of our clients get their next job from using LinkedIn.  So get with the program and follow the crowd, and get that profile in tip top shape.  Getting professional help is not an act of defeat; it is an act of intelligence.  It is our job to know market trends and hiring preferences, which is why our clients find new jobs 2 months faster than the national average.

2. Customize Your Job Search: There are so many sites out there giving advice about how to “get the interview” and one of the things they recommend is to “customize” your resume and cover letter.  While this may be possible for some people, for most of us, we don’t have time to do it.  Busy, working professionals with families and full time jobs do not have hours on end to customize each and every little resume and cover letter we send out.  I know there are days when I don’t have time to both return phone calls and tie my shoes (thank goodness for flip flops), so for many of us, this is not an option.  I am a huge fan of customizing your job search – rule of thumb, know what type of role you want, know what type of company or industry (vertical) you are want to be in,  and send that resume out!  A great, well written resume and/or LinkedIn profile will always be better than some half-as* effort to create a custom cover letter to someone you don’t know and does not know you.  If you meet 75% of the criteria for a job posting, you should apply.

3.   Use Your Network: As a Hiring Manager, I was much more likely to interview a candidate that was referred to me by someone I knew in the business world, than I was to pluck a resume off the pile.  Why?  It was simply easier than perusing through hundreds of resumes.  That is not to say that the particular candidate got the job, and I would very well find myself going through those resumes regardless, but at least it was a chance or an opportunity to find the right person.  It is simple – candidates that network their way into interviews, get more interviews than people who rely on just sending out their resumes alone.  Call your friends, you uncle’s cousin who works at that Fortune 500 company or better yet, connect with your peers, friends, acquaintances and the nice folks you met at that last tradeshow on LinkedIn.  It is the very best place to peruse opportunities and find a connection to someone who can introduce you to that recruiter or hiring manager. 

 4. Be tenacious, not obnoxious. Get a return email or call from a recruiter, call them back!  Then call again a week later to check in and see the status of a particular job opportunity. One call or email is enough, calling every day will not get you any further and may eliminate you from contention.  Job searching is like dating…being desirable and a little mysterious is always better than being too eager. 

5. Know who you are. You heard me correctly, know your strengths, be able to confidently express your value and ask for what you deserve.  Jobs are about a lot of things, including money/salary/compensation.  Do you know what you are worth?  Heading into a job search with a clearly defined number is half the battle.  Pick a range and stick to it, any jobs paying less than what you are worth are not worth it.  Moving backwards in salary and compensation is never a good idea, even for what you might consider a “great” opportunity.  Unless you are independently wealthy or just inherited a few million dollars from Uncle Alfred and can afford to take a job based on something other than a paycheck, know what salary you are worth and set up your job search around that number. 

 Bonus Tips:  Put your picture on Linkedin...a nice, professional looking headshot that you can easily take with your smart-phone.  Not the one of you at that wedding or with a bunch of other people.  This is business networking folks, not social networking (you know what I am talking about). 

 Need Help?  Call me today (seriously, I am in the office and will answer the phone). 

Robynn Storey, PHR – www.storeylineresumes.com – 1.877.276.1027 or Direct 724-832-8845. 

 Not sure if your resume is up to par? Email it over – storeyline01@comcast.net and we will take a look!