Landing a job isn't an easy thing today. The competition grows stronger and stronger , especially for the jobs that pay well and/or offer some good advancement opportunities. But despite this fact, job seekers have no choice - because they hate their current work, get laid off or move to a different city people actively look for a job. In this blog article we would like to address job hunting approach when one is not in the market. Some would say that trying to land a job in the market you have never worked in is almost impossible, but at Prime-resume we don't think so. There are some things you should do when trying to change your career and enter a new market.
Practical Job Search Tips
No matter whether you are trying to land a job in your industry or seeking to get your foot into a new one, there is one thing you should always be doing - stay in touch and reach out to your network. It is important to reconnect with your good old friends and ask them if they would be comfortable introducing (or even recommending) you to people in their sector/industry. Try to keep in touch with your contacts so that you wouldn't send the Christmas card and the next time you reach out would be next year. Take time to connect (re-connect) with your network regularly. Also, you can send some LinkedIn invitations to people you have recently got to know.
Over 60% of job seekers get a real chance of being hired through networking efforts. And this works in any industry. With that being said, one should keep resume updated. You can tailor your main marketing document in general to match the requirements of the industry you are going to enter. Unless you know specific position you are going to apply for, there is all you can do. But the thing is that you need to always have an updated version of your resume in case your networking efforts bring up great opportunities. It may well be that you will be invited in a conference or meet people interested in you as an employee; therefore, you must keep your updated resume ready. The same applies to your LinkedIn profile - a great tool for marketing yourself online.
Lastly, start thinking about your personal brand while you are still employed. People usually get desperate in their sporadic job search efforts when they are out of workforce. As a result, all of a sudden they start posting on their social media, updating LinkedIn profile, look for new opportunities, etc... At Prime-resume, we recommend our clients to commit to personal branding while you still have a job. It can never make things worse in regard to future job search; quite the opposite. Often if draws in headhunters even when you are still employed. In other words, don't restrict your personal branding efforts to times when you are desperate for a new job. This way you will be ahead of the game.
