If you are in the market for a new job, you may find yourself day in and day out replaying the same routine. Searching job boards, perusing through today’s newspapers, and posting your resume on different sites has become a routine you now dread. Job searching techniques that were once upon a time considered to be effective can now be placing a damper on your outlook in securing your next job. In today’s job market it takes much more than those old techniques to land the job you are seeking. In this economy, it is rare a job will fall right into your lap. Nowadays, it is essential job seekers are prepared to put in more work, are willing to exert more effort, and are aggressive in their job seeking strategies.
Therefore, job seekers may find themselves wondering where the jobs are and struggling with identifying ways to find these jobs. There is no mystery, the job market is finally picking back up after years and years of a failing economy. In the most recent ADP report, approximately 158,000 jobs were added by private sector employers during the month of October. However, job seekers are challenged with the task of locating job opportunities. Did you know approximately 80 percent of openings are not listed? As a result, job seekers are discovering new approaches to learn about job opportunities. Implementing a few creative and innovative approaches can give you the competitive edge you need to land your next job.
Tap into the Benefits of Networking
You may have heard the saying, “it’s not about what you know but who you know”. This has never been truer than in this job market. It is essential to broaden your job search, by tapping into all your options. Begin by making contact with former colleagues, members of your church, and other professional organizations. In addition to these resources, social events also provide great networking opportunities to learn about current and upcoming job openings. Additionally, obtaining a referral from individual’s you know can get you one step closer to obtaining a job. A recommendation from a current employee can be very advantageous. In fact, 26.7% of new recruits come from employee referrals.
Spice Up Your Social Networking Skills
Have you implemented online social networking into your job search? LinkedIn and Facebook have become popular avenues for job seekers. Actually, social networks have become credible sources for job seekers to become informed about employment opportunities.
Discover the Advantages of Online Company Websites
Within your job search you will find not all employers post job openings on the traditional job board websites such as Monster or CareerBuilder. Instead, many employers will use their online internal websites to post openings. One benefit to this approach is that it alleviates the middle man. So be sure to do your homework. Oftentimes, your local newspapers will publish the top employer’s in your area. This can give you a starting point to identify employer’s you can research to discover possible employment opportunities.
Although the traditional job board approach was once viewed as the most effective approach it is now considered to be a passive approach to finding a job. This is not to suggest the old techniques cannot be effective if implemented appropriately in your job search routine. However, the current job market requires applicants to be competitive, innovative, resourceful, and creative if they really want to find the right job. You can obtain the leverage you need by going above and beyond the traditional job searching strategies and implementing these effective approaches to land your next job.