Are you lost in the jungle of corporate postings and long applicant queues? Do you feel tired and unsure of what you should do next? Alright, listen up! Here at Best 10 Resume Writers, we aim for you to succeed in your job search. For you to do that, check these pieces of job search advice and get the most out of it to fuel your career!
Valuable Pieces of Job Search Advice from Best 10 Resume Writers
1. Identify Your Competitive Edge
This is the very first thing you must know in your job hunt: What do you have that others don’t? A simple query, but definitely one of the hardest to answer. The truth is, employers will ask you, “Why should we hire you?” You should not just give a generic answer that can describe another person. The trick here is to recall your past achievements, expertise, and skills. While any company can find a person who has “good persuasive skills,” it is rare to find an applicant who has “won intercollegiate debates for three consecutive years.” A good first piece of job search advice is this: the statement of your achievements, not your skills, will explain why you are outstanding among the rest.
2. Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Here’s what everybody does: they look for job ads on newspapers, online postings, and flyers then they’ll apply. It’s the reactive way to get a career. And guess what, it makes their chances pretty slim. But how about companies that are still trying to decide whether to hire or not? Seldom do people go in their place and sell themselves. Why not try this quirky piece of job search advice: Come to an office where there are no posting for the career of your choice, tell why they need you and how you can help them, then inform that you’re available should they decide to open a post that suits you. While it takes guts to do this, you have better chances than those people waiting on the long queue to the recruitment office.
3. Selling Online Works, Searching Online Don’t
While it is very true that employers will look you up in Google and social media sites, that doesn’t mean that they can find you there just when they need it. First, you are being searched by the employer because you applied to them and they want to find out more about you. Second, you can’t expect busy people to respond to online applications too quickly (if at all), especially when there are many job seekers who are making efforts to meet them personally. Here’s a tried and proven piece of job search advice: don’t get lazy, drop by their office and shake hands.
4. Customize your application
There will be lots of reasons why you should make your resume targeted. Best 10 Resume Writers advise all job hunters to create a special and customized resume for each company and post they apply to. Some skills you put in one application may not be applicable for a different post and job description. When you heed this valuable piece of job search advice, you will not only bring out your competitive edge, you will also appear as a potential fit for the post. In this age of tough competition, one cannot afford to be a cookie cutter, generic applicant. Just qualifying isn’t enough, you need to show potential.
5. Ultimate Job Search Advice: Grow a Network
Your network is one of the most powerful gears to find a job that best fits you. You may grow your professional network by keeping in touch with the people you meet along the way, like asking the employees of a prospective company if you could add them in LinkedIn. Interaction is very important in creating professional ties, so better communicate with them carefully yet constantly. When they know of a good post that might suit you, they will definitely inform you, sometimes, even recommend you. Be genuine in your intent to them. There are lots of job search advice you must hear, and yet this one is what Best 10 Resume Writers believes is the key to a successful job search: build yourself a good network is making things mutually beneficial for both sides.
Do you need more job search advice? Head to our resources page or check out the related articles below.
Image Source: Scott Murdoch from Burst
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