The Essential Job Search Checklist

iStockphoto.com | Ralf Geithe

Here is a Job Search Checklist we hope will help make your job search easy this summer, especially when the intoxicating sunny weather and cold drinks are too much to resist.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing this month, think of your job search as a multi staged space flight, and during each stage you have a checklist that gets you to the next stage – from Pre-Flight to Splash Down in the ocean, and for our purposes let’s say that ocean is the Caribbean.

Stage 1: Pre-Flight

1.     File for unemployment (if applicable).

2.     Update your resume.

3.     Update your LinkedIn and/or other professional networking profile(s), especially your photo.

4.     Develop your professional story. Write it down. You will need it for your Cover Letters and interviews.

5.     Upload your new resume on as many Job Boards as possible (Monster, Indeed, Glass Door, LinkedIn, and CareerBuilder) and create job alerts.

Stage 2: Launch (Applying)

1.     When you discover a job opening, carefully study its responsibilities and requirements and match it to your qualifications.

2.     Write a Cover Letter. Use the professional story you’ve already written, then tailor the rest to the specific company and opening.

3.     Apply. Make your resume as Automatic Tracking System (ATS) friendly as possible, and, “no”, there isn’t any way around the laborious online application processes.

4.     Reach out to people in your professional network for help, opportunities, referrals, and/or references.

5.     Have professional interview clothes ready to go.

Stage 3: Interviewing

1.     Show up on time, professionally dressed.

2.     Bring multiple copies of your Cover Letter and Resume.

3.     Have an Elevator Pitch ready and rehearsed for the classic interview opener, “Tell us something about yourself.”

4.     Have a list of well-researched questions to ask the interviewers.

5.     Post-interview, send hand written thank you notes to each of the people involved in interviewing you.

Stage 4: Re-Entry

1.     You have a job offer! Congratulations! Refer to this list of Champagnes for appropriate action.

2.     Research the fair market value for the job position that you are being offered.

3.     Negotiate your compensation package.

4.     Thoroughly review any employment contract and, when happy, sign it.

5.     Review and update your Career Plan, as necessary.

Stage 5: Splash Down

1.     Start your new job.

2.     Update your LinkedIn and/or other professional networking profile(s).

3.     Create an Individual Development Plan, either through your new company or on your own.

4.     Take advantage of any ongoing education, training, or certifications offered through your new company, or consider investing in updating key skills related to your field on your own.

5.     Maintain ongoing communications with people in your professional network, and develop the new connections you make in your new position.

Easy, right?

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

Tips & Tricks For Finding Your Next Role By Using Job Boards

iStockphoto.com | Deagreez

The ways in which technology have transformed the modern job market is a double-edged sword. Online job boards are a perfect example. Employers now have unprecedented access to a worldwide database of job applicants, and, in turn, job seekers have an expansive landscape in which to operate, from global job listings to professional social networks.

The tradeoff is a seemingly impenetrable and impersonal wall that exists between those hiring and those looking for a job. But if you know how to use them, the job boards can be an integral tool in your job-hunting toolbox. Here’s a quick run-down of the five most prevalent online job boards:

Monster and CareerBuilder

Pro: Historically, these are two of the largest job boards for entry/mid-level job openings and many employers “mine” resumes from its database.

Con: They’re not as dominant as they once were, so employers have reallocated their recruitment spending in other job other places.

Glassdoor

Pro: Traditionally known aa site featuring company information and job reviews from former employees and candidates, Glassdoor also features a resume and job portal. Many companies have migrated to the site to manage both their job postings and online reputation.

Con: Employers may still view Glass Door as a company/job-rating site, so the reach is still not as great as some other online job boards.

Indeed

Pro: Indeed.com is flush with job postings, probably the most of any online job board. It also has pretty advanced integration with employer Automatic Tracking Systems (employer resume and job posting systems); this makes it very easy for employers to post jobs on Indeed with the click of a button, and pretty inclined to do so.

Con: With more jobs, there’s usually more candidates applying. That means more competition to get noticed.

LinkedIn

Pro: Without a doubt, LinkedIn is the most influential professional networking social media platform and portal for higher-level job openings, and is mined by employers for talent.

Con: Like any social media platform, LinkedIn’s main currency is its user profiles, which include work history, so it’s important to have both a great resume and user profile if applying for open positions on the site.

Tips & Tricks for Succeeding on the Job Boards: 

1.     There are many smaller, more specialized online job sites out there. Seek out boards that focus on particular business or technical disciplines, as employers may be using them as well.

2.     The wider you cast your net, the greater the chance you will catch your dream job. Therefore, it makes sense to comb a variety of job boards in order to reach the broadest potential employer base.

3.     If you are not employed and are actively searching, make sure that you are also posting your resume on every available job board.

4.     If you are gainfully employed, and do not want your current employer to know you are searching, be wary of uploading your resume to a job site, as your company’s HR department may stumble across it if it’s designated as searchable.

5.     Many job boards to which you upload your resume have a “private” designation, where it’s there for you to apply to jobs but not readily searchable in the database. If you want your resume to be seen by recruiters when you upload it to an online job site, be sure to enable make it searchable.

6.     While it can be beneficial to upload a resume to the online job boards because recruiters can mine it, please bear in mind there’s no substitute for being proactive in your search. And as you apply to specific roles, tailor your cover letter and resume unique to the individual positions for which you are submitting your candidacy.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

Build Your Career Plan In 5 (Relatively) Simple Steps

iStockphoto.com | CurvaBezier

There is an old saying – “If you don’t know where you want to go, any bus can take you there.”  Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? In conjures up a whimsical journey. But as far as your career is concerned, a little more planning is recommended.

 Everyone should have a career plan. You don’t have to have it all figured out, but you should have a general sense of direction and career self-awareness. The advantages to having a career plan are:

• A documented but flexible career plan, periodically calibrated and revised as necessary, will give you a better understanding of what your next steps will be and how/when to make them.

• A career plan will help you develop transferable skills that should increase your future options.

• If your decisions are guided by a career plan, you can develop strategies to better help you realize your objectives.

Here are five steps you can follow to help create and document an effective career plan:

Step 1 – Find a Mentor

One of the greatest things you can do for your career has an element of luck to it – find a mentor. A mentor is typically a senior-level co-worker or someone highly experienced in your field; a mentor’s perspective can be instrumental in helping you think about your long-term career plan. It’s important to have a sounding board other than your manager, or managers, who may not be as invested in your development or future. You can benefit from a mentor’s advice and help.

I mentioned the luck aspect, but there are options for those who would prefer to be proactive about a finding a mentor rather than leave it to chance. Independent mentor groups/services exist to help you do just that. Think of them as Big Brothers/Little Brothers for professionals. A quick Google search for “business mentors” brings up Score, MicroMentor, Business Mentors, and Small Business Development Centers as a few potential resources.

Step 2 – Build an Individual Development Plan (IDP)

An IDP is a tool you can use to identify development opportunities within your company, to help you develop transferable skills and hold yourself accountable.

While related to performance appraisals, an IDP is usually outside the scope of your job responsibilities and any specific deliverables or assignments. An IDP lays out your goals and tracks personal development, not the professional requirements of your job. However, like performance reviews, quarterly check-ins with your manager about your IDP progress are not only beneficial, but a necessity if you are going to monitor, review, and adjust your plan.

If this is not a formal part of how your place of employment operates, develop an IDP on your own.

Step 3 – Join Professional Organizations

Belonging to industry groups has obvious benefits and chances, are there is one that fits your needs. In professional organizations, you can expand your network, learn about new opportunities, be up to date on industry news, and maybe even meet your mentor. Some organizations, such as the Project Management Institute, are also training and certifying bodies that offer programs and certifications that will help further your career.

Step 4 – Always Be Training

If your company is serious about developing its employees, congratulations! Take advantage of the continuing education they offer (or mandate). Any formal training, certification, or program is an asset, and some of what you learn will be transferable skills you will use no matter where you go or what you do.

If your company does not offer such opportunities, or you are searching for work, you should seek training out. Get certified. Research what the marketplace wants and invest in your skills to match it. If every job you’re looking at requires Salesforce, and you’ve never touched it before, learn how to use it!

Step 5 –Document Your Plan

There are no rules and regulations to document your plan. The only instruction is to do it. Here are some tips to get you going: 

• Start with a plan that focuses on your current position (or your last one if you are a job seeker).

• Add to that until it’s a 2-Year Plan, then a 5-Year plan.

• The strokes will get broader the further into the future you go, but they will be there, distant markers beyond the horizon line to direct you.

• Monitor your progress, and make adjustments.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.