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Secure a New Job in 2015

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The holiday season has been hard for most job hunters as they reflected on the last 12 months while they were seeking a new solution to an old problem. I received a number of emails and even a few calls from clients who worried about 2015. I went away for a few days to re-charge my batteries but I couldn’t help but reflect on some of these messages and decided to make some blog notes.

Early in my career, when I worked at Optus, my favourite mentor was my Managing Director, Allen Lew. He once told me a great story to help me through a personal problem.

The Story of Blind Men and an Elephant

Three blind men meet and are asked to describe an elephant. One says that an elephant is long and skinny like a snake. The other says that the first doesn’t know what he is talking about, and says an elephant is like the trunk of a tree, round and thick. The third says they are both wrong, that an elephant is wide and circular like a giant disc. In some versions, they stop talking, start listening, and collaborate to “see” the full elephant. When a sighted man walks by and sees the elephant, they also realize they are all blind.

It doesn’t take you very long to figure out that each of the men is talking about a different part of the elephant .The men are blind, so they fail to take in the whole elephant. Because their experience was limited to a certain part of the elephant, they assumed that the elephant was the part they could see. Why – am I telling you the Elephant Story? Because I want you to get creative in 2015.

Being Creative

Being creative is often like being a blind person. You are dealing with a problem that you cannot see. You talk about it, you look at it, and then you try to solve it by understanding only the parts that you can see. The problem is that you can easily get in a rut, and start seeing the same problem and offering the same solution. What happens, though, when, either by choice or by circumstance, you need to come up with new solutions to find a job?

Opening New Doors

To come up with a new approach to an old problem, and to open new doors, you often need to look at the problem differently. If you do the same things, you will get the same results. In my experience, when a new solution was required, the best thing I could do (whether I was stuck or not) was to change my perspective on the problem. The only way to achieve that was by talking to other people and seeking expert insight, help, and advice. Most of the advice I received would use the “Start with Stop Doing this…” method.

So here is what you should do to improve your job hunting results in 2015?

It All Start’s Starts with STOP

If you are like most job hunters out there, then you are probably your own greatest enemy. You have searched and applied for a while, you start to doubt yourself, you start to complicate your life with more application ideas, you cloud your mind with unimportant thoughts and negativity, you eventually even punish yourself with procrastination, hate yourself, and then feel sorry for yourself, because “outside forces” are making your job search experience a living hell.

Surely your situation sucks because those are the cards that you’re dealt, but most job hunters — especially those who are better off financially and don’t live on the streets — tend to make their very own lives more difficult. But there are things you can do to stop the miserable cycle that you have found yourself in — a cycle that I know all too well, because I deal with job hunters’ stories every day. Here are 10 things that I suggest you stop in 2015.

1.  Stop Procrastinating.

Problems don’t go away on their own. You can either make them go away or live with them. If you know you can’t live with them, then don’t procrastinate because the weight of them on your mind only increases over time. Get help!

2.  Stop Lying to Yourself.

People will lie to you left and right throughout your life; don’t add to the pile of lies. It is one thing for others to be lying to you, and an entirely different issue if you’re lying to yourself. You have to be able to rely on yourself and on what you believe. If you lost faith or belief in yourself, get help!

3.  Stop Relying on Others.

People have their own lives filled with their own headaches, problems, mishaps and successes. Friendship is great, but often doesn’t weather the storm. Be self-reliant. Be independent. We all find ourselves alone at several points throughout our lives, and most friends don’t like to deal with us when we are unemployed. If you find yourself on your lonesome, and don’t know how to deal with it because you are used to having constant support, then you will drown. Get help!

4.  Stop Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Expecting Different Results.

At the same time, don’t keep making the same mistakes and expecting different results. If you tried something one way and it didn’t work, then guess what will happen when you try again exactly in the same manner? Failure is only good if you learn from it. Otherwise it really is just failure.

5. Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself.

Life is tough for everyone. The richest of the rich have problems. The poorest of the poor have problems. We make problems for ourselves — they don’t exist outside of us. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, and start interacting with the world around you. Go out – get away from your online gadgets, meet real people, start to network, join Meetup Groups – do something new.

6.  Stop Making Excuses.

I understand that the time isn’t right, the place isn’t right, and the stars have yet to align perfectly. The setting will never be perfect for anything. Perfect is not the alignment of outside forces; it’s making havoc the perfect opportunity. Stop making excuses, and start making opportunities for yourself, even if you struggle with it – join a group – volunteer – leave your house. Get help!

7.  Stop Worrying.

Sh*t happens. Then it happens again. Then sh*t won’t happen for a day or two…and then it returns with a vengeance. The more responsibilities that you have (children, mortgage, and finances), the more you have to potentially worry about. The key is not to procrastinate, and approach all problems logically. The only thing worth worrying about is your own laziness; everything else is out of your control. If you worry about things out of your control, then you are setting yourself up for a mental breakdown.

8.  Stop Overloading Your Schedule.

Doing more does not necessarily mean getting more done. It’s all about efficiency. Divvy up your time for all the things that you MUST do, and if you run out of time, spend some of your money to find someone who can help you to solve some of the MUST DO’s, and then divvy up the rest of your time for the things that you WANT to do. Just make sure to be clear on what you need before you start going after what you want.

9.  Stop Trying to Impress Others.

It’s not worth it. The only reason you should ever try to get on someone’s good side is if you need them for something — and only in business. When it comes to personal relationships, you can’t do anything more than be yourself. If they don’t like you for who you are, then they will never truly like you. Move on – see point 1.

10.  Stop Wishing You Were Someone Else.

Make sure that you know who you are, and do all you can to develop — not just change. People don’t change overnight, they develop and grow. You are an individual because you are a human being. You have the potential to do anything you want, including finding a new job. Figure out what it is that you are really able to offer to an employer and go after it. Stop applying for unrealistic jobs, and stop the copy, paste, send shotgun approach. You are only making things worse for yourself, and all those other job hunters out there, as you are adding to the ever increasing job application spam.

I know, this is eventually not what you wanted to read today. You can choose to continue to go about your job search the same way you did in 2014 but remember, they won’t open any new doors.

Try something new in 2015, get creative, or get help, just don’t go back to doing the same thing over and over again

and certainly remember to hunt wisely!

TheJobSearchCoach

Uli

Stop Dreaming! If you want a new Job in 2015

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Welcome and Happy New Year! Are you dreaming of getting a new job in 2015? Someone once said to me in my career that people who have dreams have goals. I agree, but if you dream too much and have your head in the clouds, then you will never get anywhere. I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams. Get them out of your head if you want to get a job in 2015.

If you want to get a job in 2015, I suggest you get real and let go of some or all of these typical job hunter dreams: get them out of your head now!

Dream # 1 The most qualified candidate gets the job. 

Seriously, when did you last apply that practice in your own world? Get real. For realistic people this is simply not how it works. I know, because I hear this at least 20 times each week and it is pretty clear to me that it’s hard for so many job hunters to let go of this dream. If you can manage to think differently about finding work and accept that it really means that you have to get a job and do a job, and that they are two different things, then you will get interviews and jobs.

Dream # 2 They will read all of the data in my resume. 

There’s only one definition of a good resume—it’s the one that gets you the interview. The vast majority of submitted resumes have evolved into ‘data dumps’ and in doing so, what’s been lost to the is the time tested value of telling your story. It’s the story, not the data, that engages the reader and communicates your value. Get it wrong and the reader will not consider you. Facts, figures and numbers, only matter when they form part of a larger story.

Dream # 3 Just work harder. 

This is probably the most evil and most common of all the job hunter dreams, because it can lead to blaming the victim. Not a single week goes by when I don’t read or discover yet another encouragement from self-professed recruiting experts, who tell job hunters to “just work harder.”  This unspoken judgment that hard work is all that separates the employed from the jobless is absolute nonsense. Never mind the irrational system we have in place for connecting people and jobs. Never mind luck, chance, connections, age, sex, race, disability, experience or sometimes even talent. Just work harder. Simplistic solutions like ‘work harder’ can feel good because they create the perception that the problem is solved. But it’s not. The dream remains. What you really need to do is search and apply smarter, not harder. That’s how you get job interviews. Call me if you want to know more; simply follow my blog or contact me during our Pro Bono Friday sessions or attend our seminars.

Dream # 4  Network, Network, Network till it comes out of your ears. 

Ask any job hunter or hiring manager what networking means and you’ll get a different answer each time. The word ‘networking’ has become so overused, that it has started to lose its real meaning for so many job hunters. To them, it actually means NOTHING because no one has an outright answer. Networking isn’t everything and it certainly is not wrong; it’s just not enough. And when it’s put forth as ‘the answer’ it becomes a dream. What’s worse is that it becomes a focus on the wrong thing. Networking is not the magic key to a new job.

Oh, and while we are on that subject, just knowing someone, or knowing someone who knows someone, will not get you a job either. You need to do much more than just ‘know someone’. This is probably the weirdest and hardest job hunter dream to challenge or even to dispute because sometimes it’s true! But more often than not it’s really just a start, especially if the connection is only online or simply weak. What’s weak? For starters, so many LinkedIn users believe that networking via their mouse clicks is a connection or a lead to a new job. Need I say more?

What’s even more important than knowing someone via a few mouse clicks or Facebook connection tabs, is actually being a part of something.

Being an active, visible and regular contributor to a community—any community— is real networking. Because it’s from these communities that the genuine connections required to find work are found. You have to put something in to get something out. A mere endorsement or a commentary post in a LinkedIn group does not make you a valuable networker.

Dream # 5  Be honest. 

We are all for honesty. The problem is the job hunters who confuse including EVERYTHING in their application versus simply including what matters. No small task. And it means something different to every individual. Most job ads are short and simple. So many jobs today are very narrowly focused. That means that the focus in your application has got to be on what matters, NOT on telling your life story. I just looked at another 8 page resume. I am not kidding. 8 pages?!

Telling what matters is what counts. Bottom line? Instead of a focus on being honest and including everything, change the focus to reading and LISTENING and speaking to what’s needed and what matters the most. Less is More!

Dream # 6  Go to LinkedIn and you will get a job. Yeah—dream on!

It is like saying, “Google Translate will solve your language problem.” Get real—LinkedIn is a database. As one of many tools, it might help you find work. But it’s a database, not a magic online kingdom. There are at least 10 alternative sites who do more for you depending on your industry and job search segment.

Dream # 7 Job Boards will do the work for you.  

There are lots of published speculations on the percentage of time job board’s lead to jobs and they range from 5-15%. Is that really true? Maybe. Maybe not. What’s consistent is that the numbers are never more than 20%. What is larger than 20%? The dream that online job boards will do the work for you. Approximately 70% of all job hunters focus their job search energy on online job boards hunting for less than 30% of the actual job opportunities.

Dream No. 8 You just need to get past the Gatekeeper. 

Yep—the gatekeeper used to be the receptionist or the protective ‘HR guy’; nowadays the first gatekeeper can be resume parsing systems and software. The idea is the same. The dream that if you could just get  past something, or someone, is a silly idea. Wake up. Job hunting is about doing things smarter—not harder—and with consistency.

If you want to get a job in 2015, get your head out of the clouds, focus on what really matters and remember to hunt wisely!

TheJobSearchCoach

Uli

Should You Trash Your Resume?

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Are you back in the Job hunt? Are you using the same old resume? Time wasting and lousy resumes are the greatest enemies in a job search. The longer the hunt for a new job takes, the greater the frustration, feeling of failure and the possibility of making more search mistakes with useless resumes and strategies. This happens because most job seekers ignore the changes in recruiting practices and therefore fail to score interviews.

Our team at TJSC speak to many job seekers every week. Sadly, the internet has created online job board or LinkedIn junkies and caused a lot of people to adopt a quantitative approach to their job search campaign. The majority of job seekers are still not aware of the fact, that only between 15 – 30 % of all job openings are placed online. The rest of the jobs are somewhere else!

Yes, I am not kidding.  This is what the experts and bloggers will tell you when you search online and in webinars and slide shares but, despite all this, many candidates are hooked on online portal searching. They take the ‘hope and fear’ approach and shoot out a huge stream of ineffective applications to openings posted on job boards and company websites and hope that at least one will yield a response.

No wonder so many end up with a job they hate – or a company without a future, and no wonder many candidates contribute to ‘long term’ unemployment. Clued-in job seekers review their toolkit and adjust it to the job market and seek professional help when their own tools or job seeking efforts produce no results.

I just found this Infographic from last year of why you should ‘trash’ your resume and turn to effective solutions so you can job search with the right tools and achieve results. Check it and maybe change some or all of your resume content the format or the whole  Look & Feel. Do it soon, don’t start 2015 with the same old mistakes and remember to hunt wisely! Uli 

TheJobSearchCoach-should-you-trash-your-resume-IG

Passion is Bullshit

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My client Michael Z believed that Passion is Bullshit – and I agreed. Apologies upfront. I know, closing the blogging year with such a controversial headline might not be suitable for everyone. My business partner and I just met in the office to clean up old emails, discuss strategy and prepare for the New Year. We had just finished, opened a beer reflected on our most memorable client of the year. Here is my story of my Most Memorable Client of 2014.

In early November of this year, Michael Z – name changed – was referred to me for 1on1 job search coaching because our Booking Coordinator, Susan, thought he would be a hard case to service. What was Michael’s problem? Simply put, he had lost his mojo — he kept telling himself that he had lost his passion for the job.

Michael had been unemployed since May 2014 when he was made redundant from his position as Customer Service Manager for a big Australian retailer and things had been going downhill since then.

I met with him for a 45 minute skype session and a short while later for a second personal 1on1 session in our Melbourne office. I realised right after the first session that Susan was right with her first assessment. Michael was really feeling down. He truly had lost his energy and his belief in anything he ever thought had made his work life special. He had lost his passion.

He kept referring to his “loss of passion” at the start, during and the end of nearly everything he explained to me and, no matter what angle I took to engage Michael in a different kind of mindset, our sessions went nowhere. He was convinced that he had become unemployable.

So I agreed with Michael that Passion is Bullshit and told him to give up.

I am not kidding. Why should I tell you to think differently if all you want to hear is that Passion is Bullshit?  Because Michael was right! He was stunned, since he obviously expected something else for his booking fee.

We shook hands and I offered to refund his fee but only if he did one last thing before he gave up. All I wanted him to do was to read a book by Scott Adams and call me when he was finished and if he still felt like giving up, I would fully refund his booking fees.

The Book is titled: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

Yep—I am not kidding, it occasionally helps to refer clients to other specialists. It worked, Michael is fine now.

It took him 4 days to finish the book and only another 3 weeks to secure a job interview and find a new job. Nothing has changed. Michael still believes that Passion is largely Bullshit—but Michael has learned that it is he who has to deal with the truth. His problem was not job search related. His problem was, loss of faith, believe and mojo. Not Passion.

So if you are stuck with this type of problem, don’t give up—there is a job for you out there, just try to deal with the truth. Try the book – it is brilliant and fun to read, very uplifting and so true. If you are stuck with job search matters contact us.

Have a great NYE celebration, be safe and Look Out for your friends and family and when you go back to the job hunt in 2015 always remember to hunt wisely!

Your Job Search Coach

Uli

Why you will never get a job interview: Job application mistakes

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Job hunting sucks. We all know that, but silly job application mistakes can be so frequent that I struggle to be patient sometimes.

There are the basic mistakes like lengthy resumes, useless “objective/mission” statements, lies and then there are the BIG blunders like embarrassing email addresses such as [email protected] or letting your online profiles be public instead of private.

Our team at TheJobSearchCoach regularly (and discretely) share some of the funny and not so funny moments of our coaching experiences. I could probably write a book’s worth of funny and sad material on mistakes job seekers make, but that would make for a very lengthy blog post. So for now, I’ll start with the 3 most common job application mistakes that really hurt your chances of getting an interview.

Do you recognise any of these job application mistakes?

 

#1 You don’t have a proper LinkedIn profile

Seriously guys, we are approaching the last days of 2014 and you are job hunting without a proper LinkedIn profile? For white collar job seekers, that is one of the BIGGEST job application mistakes you can make.

I am amazed how many of our clients have a LinkedIn profile with no content.

First of all, LinkedIn is the leading place for hiring managers to cross check your application and resume information – to check you out so to speak and to find and hire employees. So, if LinkedIn is one of the first places where hiring professionals go to cross check or hire new employees, what possible excuse do you have for not having an up-to-date profile?

Recruiters and hiring managers almost always look up your LinkedIn profile. Why? Because they don’t want to waste their time. Simple. They’re looking for more information in addition to your application to better decide if you’re the right fit for that first step in the recruiting process. You guessed it … the interview. Not having a proper LinkedIn profile puts you at a disadvantage.

Do you want to be perceived as a candidate who understands how to use social media and is therefore be categorised as tech and social media savvy, or do you prefer to be stereotyped as one who doesn’t? LinkedIn is a social media site and when a recruiter cannot find you or check you out on LinkedIn, the first assumption is that you may not understand basic things like Facebook, effectively using the internet, mobile technology, apps or that are simply not social media knowledgeable in general. Invest those 15 or 30 minutes to update your LinkedIn profile and don’t let this silly mistake hurt your chances of finding a great job.

 

#2 You are too lazy to follow up

I know, job searching is no fun – but suck it up. If you’re seriously searching then you probably don’t have a choice so you need to ALWAYS follow up with employers.

After initially applying for a job, following up is a smart and easy way to separate yourself from the competition.

If 250 people applied for a position, you can’t just rely on the strength of your skills and experiences to get an interview anymore. After all, hiring managers spend an average of only 10 seconds looking at a resume. That’s simply not enough time to make an impression. In today’s age, you have to constantly search for ways to stand out from the competition. A simple follow up can accomplish that goal.

You can follow up in two ways: over the phone or online. Most importantly, each follow up must add value. The goal of a follow up is to engage the hiring manager in a conversation, add value to yourself and ultimately create an impression. You can use your communication skills to start any kind of conversation, but the easiest way is to say your name, why you’re calling and ask a good question.

However, following up in the correct manner can be challenging. We all get nervous and you want to really try and avoid saying the wrong thing or accidently creating the wrong impression. So… practice and prepare before you make that call. Contact us if you need some training or coaching. We can help you master this important skill. Also, why don’t you share your own insights, tips and tricks right here in the comment box? Sharing is Caring.

When you follow up, have a conversation and do your best to say things that add value to you as a potential employee. Remember, you may be talking to the person who is in charge of giving you the interview and possibly, the job. If you have a chance to mention your particular skills or experiences in the conversation, jump at the opportunity to do so. Try to sell yourself at any chance possible and mention anything that would make the hiring manager give you greater consideration.

A follow up encourages a hiring professional to think about you, and that’s exactly what you want. You took the initiative to make the call or send the message and created some kind of impression for yourself. If you do this for every job you apply for then you’re very likely to get more responses and interviews.

 

#3 Your contact details

In a perfect world, you would end every new business interaction with “do you mind if we exchange business cards? I’m always trying to expand my network.”

How do people get great jobs?

I’ll tell you how. It’s not who you know, it’s who wants to know you.  If you make it too hard for people to get in touch with you then they just won’t be bothered because you are wasting their time. Get it? I am talking about having your details clearly at the top or bottom of your resume, cover letter and your email message (which is currently likely without a proper email signature).

It’s not that hard to set up a proper signature which contains all the info I would want to find about you. No matter what the document is, your name, phone/mobile, email address and possibly mailing address are must haves. If you are switched on, add your LinkedIn tag. Click here to get your own unique LinkedIn badge (you have to login).

Email is still the most common communication tool. An email signature is simply a few words that are automatically added to the end of every email you send. Most people use an email signature to display their contact details like name and phone number. So don’t forget it when you apply for jobs. You can set one up and turn it off and on as well so you don’t have to worry about including your signature on all your personal emails.

I conclude…

Let’s be honest here, there’s a lot more than 3 job application mistakes that people make when job hunting. Don’t be someone that includes a watermark of a fancy design and only half the required contact details, without a contact phone number or LinkedIn profile, and don’t be someone that expects the hiring manager to read and search through the documents to find your contact details. I’ve seen this many times… Ouch – that hurts!

If you want to get a job interview – follow these 3 steps:

  • Impress me with your professional application documents, including your contact details
  • Prove that you are savvy and connected to today’s world
  • Deliver with a professional Follow Up

If you get all that right, I’d consider calling you for a job interview. Don’t wait – do it and remember to hunt wisely!

Uli

 

How to Escape Stereotyping in your Job Search

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We all know that job searching sucks and one of the big de-motivators during the job hunt is the regular stereotyping. Why do you get stereotyped and how do you avoid it during your job search and job interview? Read more

How to find Hidden Job Market opportunities Part 2

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Hello! It’s nice to see you’re back to read Part II of my blog on the subject of the Hidden Job Market. You should feel better about the subject after reading Part I. Read more

How to access ‘The Hidden Job Market’?

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Is it a myth? Does the Hidden Job Market really exist? If so, how do you access it? Read more

How to Find a Job with Twitter

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Twitter is easy and job searching on Twitter is a great way to get ahead! So get started and we’ll show you how to find a job with Twitter!

If you haven’t heard of it yet, or if Twitter is all new to you, don’t get stressed out. Not everyone loves gadgets, plus not everyone wants to be on social media 24/7.

That being said, if you are job hunting or job seeking, then Twitter is the perfect free social media and micro blogging service to promote your personal brand. It’s also the perfect tool to complement your online presence on other sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Sign up for Twitter:

Just go to Twitter to sign up for your account. Ensure that you create a username that is professional, and that will attract employers you want to tweet with. Not Molly55 if you know what I mean.

If your name is taken, consider any combination of your name and your industry or what you do. As with LinkedIn, you will want to put a nice photo up on your profile, and you might want to customize the background image as well.

Don’t forget to fill in the micro biography – keep it short & simple. You don’t have that many words so be precise and tell the world what you do, how much experience you have, and what your major achievements are. I recommend that the URL link be directed to a professional profile on LinkedIn or similar site while you are in job search mode.

Don’t use a private account

When you make your account private, by definition, you make yourself less visible. I wouldn’t advise it. If you’re worried that your personal tweets will make you lose you a job or stop you from getting an interview, either get a second Twitter account or don’t post personal tweets while you’re on the job hunt. You know my advice when I sign off, “hunt wisely!“

Make use of your bio

Some industry (social media specific) hiring managers, and some of the more clued in recruiters know how to find great talent by searching for people looking for jobs via social media. We regularly advise our JobSearch clients to sign up for Twitter. One of our most recent clients tweeted “looking for FT/PT/#freelance roles in social media” and was snapped up within days. He had followed and retweeted related content and regularly contributed with his own tweets.

Once the recruiters found him, they knew the role he was seeking by reading his bio, and the rest was easy.

Learn how it works before you start to tweet

Just like when you first signed up for Facebook or LinkedIn, it’s best if you play around with it a bit to familiarize yourself with the functionalities. The big difference is that Twitter is not as personalized, you can choose to follow anybody and anybody can follow you. You will also find that Twitter is much easier to use than most other social media sites, so you should be able to grasp the basics within a half an hour or so. Twitter is all about reading and tweeting short messages.

Who & how to follow without becoming a stalker?

Before you follow anyone, make sure you have completed your profile. You don’t want to follow people and create a poor first impression with your profile. Once your profile is complete, start looking for people who might have a job for you. Consider recruitment companies, HR departments, line managers, and owners/operators of new social recruiting sites. They are all on Twitter and will be tweeting new job offers and leads for opportunities.

If you follow them, they are likely to follow you and pick up on your tweets. You can actually search Twitter for tweets containing words such as vacancy, new jobs, requirement, etc. This way you can target the Twitter folks who have jobs available.

TwitterJobSearch.com is a really cool site that compiles all the jobs on Twitter, it is global (yes I am not kidding, they even cover Australia & New Zealand) so just type in what job and location you are looking for, and if you want any other suggestions, check my regular tweets at @ulrichschild. 

Tweeting

Tweet about interesting stuff. Share the ups and downs of your career, life, friends, and family. Retweet interesting tweets from others. Embed these tweets in your job search about once a day, just give your followers an update so that they get constant reminders that you are looking for a new opportunity. If you post links, always use URL shortening services. Your followers will love you for it. Naturally, as with LinkedIn, don’t ever spam out any tweets and don’t stalk your followers.

Twitter – Tweet Tricks & Tips

Now that you are up and running, you might want to look at smart applications to help you tweet. After all, you don’t want to waste all day on another social media solution. There are some great Auto Follow and Repost tools. I recommend that you use them.

Don’t Follow Everyone

I always advise my JobSearch clients to start by following the 10 to 15 companies they really want to work for. The rest are added to a “list” on Twitter; these lists are designed to help you organise the people and topics you are interested in, whether you follow them or not.

Follow Key Members or Influencers

I always advise clients to follow existing employees, (particularly influencers or recruiters) as it is much better than following the company’s Twitter account. Individuals are much more likely to respond.

Increasingly companies are using Twitter to advertise jobs as well as message boards. The character limitations mean they have to be succinct, but there are tons of jobs every day in every field.

Use Twitter Search

Google searching is very useful, but you can’t filter by location. Twitter’s advanced search allows you to specify a location followed by some keywords.

The # HASHTAG Thingo

You can also focus your search by removing keywords or including hashtags. For example, #JobsSydney. This can make finding a local job a lot easier.

What’s the Best Time to do your Tweets?

If you are in Job Search mode, spend at least 10 minutes every day checking your account, about 1-2 times a day, and tweet your material preferably when your followers are most likely to be online (Tweriod is a cool tool to assist you), also catch up on recent direct messages and tweets from people on your list. Retweet the best tweets, and make an effort to respond to as many open questions as you can.

Summary

Remember that Twitter is obviously not a miracle tool for new employment, but it complements your other activities, and if used properly will regularly offer new leads and networking opportunities.

So guys, get out there and do your tweets, please share your experiences with Twitter, and whether or not it’s helped you, and remember to hunt wisely!

#TheJobSearchCoach Zophim Logo

 

TheJobSearchCoach                      Uli

How To Avoid Rookie Recruiters

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A Field Guide To Spotting A Recruiter And Avoiding Rookies  Read more