Have a system for following up with employers, recruiters, and personal contacts.
It is essential to have an organized system of reminders to follow up with employers, recruiters, and personal contacts to whom you have sent a resume or email, as well as your phone calls. You can use your Microsoft Outlook account, Gmail calendar, or other reminder tools to track your follow-ups. Tools such as JibberJobber.com and StarWire.com can make this process easier.
Develop a Support System
A job search has exciting moments, such as when you make a great contact, are called for an interview, or are offered a new job. Job hunting, however, also has its challenges. At times, you might find yourself feeling discouraged. After all, change is seldom easy.
In times of increased challenge, you need increased support to stay motivated. Support can come from many sources:
- Professional career coaches, friends, and family.
- A “buddy” with whom you regularly talk about your job search.
- Leisure activities to renew your body, mind, and spirit.
- Spiritual practices.
Your job search can be a season of personal and professional growth that bolsters your confidence in your abilities to reach your career and life goals.
Be Persistent
One of the most significant traits of a job hunter is persistence. The job search strategies in the previous steps will work well with persistence. Many job hunters give up because of discouragement. Job search work is hard enough even when you are using all the best marketing tools and job search strategies. And, the higher your job level and salary, the longer it typically takes to find the right job.
Tom Jackson describes the job search as looking like this: “NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES!” This description should be encouraging because: 1) Everyone will hear NOs during a job search. Don’t take it personally. 2) Every NO is getting you closer to hearing a YES if you use the best marketing tools and job search strategies. 3) If you want to hear more YESes, work on hearing more NOs faster.
The job search strategies you have learned will help you to cut down on your job search time by even 50 percent. Be persistent, and you can find work that you love to do!