Want to be in the 1% of all job seekers?! Use these tips to get a leg up on the job search competition.
Make a Website
Google some of your Facebook friends and see what you can find. In nearly all cases you’ll find their Facebook page, a few unrelated webpages, and not much else. Creating a website, in which you share your expertise, will give you an advantage over your competition because employers will inevitably search your name on Google.
If you happen to share the same name with many other people, creating a website, with a few sites linking back to it, will clear up any ambiguity when an employer searches for you online.
Write
You say in your resume that you have experience in so and so. Why not show off your expertise by guest posting on blogs that are related to your niche? If you want to be a personal financial advisor, offer blogs your content. Your articles will not only rank for your name, when a potential employer searches for you on Google, but may get you some quality job leads as well.
Give Value to Your Social and Professional Network
Rather than talking to people with the underlying purpose of getting a job lead, talk with the purpose of making a friend. Go out and make friends. Meet boys, meet girls, have fun! After all, what’s life if all you have is your job and nothing else? The more real friends you have, the more people you have that genuinely care about you and may provide you with job leads.
Too many people, who are looking to expand their professional contacts, build up a large database of people in their “network”. A year of two goes by and they contact people within their trusted list for a job lead or a recommendation. The person on the receiving end could care less because you have not given anything of value to them in years. Maybe you’ve never given them anything of value in the first place! If you have a network of people on Linked In, provide them with valuable information from time to time. For example, you could share useful online articles that relate to your field of expertise.
Give Your Service Away for Free
If you don’t have that much full time experience (maybe you’re a recent college graduate) any experience will set you apart in the eyes of employers. Rather than waiting for a job to demonstrate your experience, why not demonstrate it right now?
If you’re a graphic designer, offer logo designing services for a local business. If you’re in the field of financial planning, offer a local business or family some free advice. Offering your services for free can get you references, which you can put on your resume. Furthermore, getting recommendations may lead you to lucrative freelance opportunities, perhaps allowing you to forgo your job search all together!
Start a Business
Starting a business shows potential employers that you are a go getter and will go above and beyond the daily tasks that are required of you. Your business will not only impress potential employers, but may replace your full time job.
Of course, starting your own business, in order to find a full time job defeats whole purpose of entrepreneurship. Start a business because you want to work for yourself on your own terms. However, it may take a year or two before your entrepreneurial endeavor can fully support you. Obtaining a full time job can work in your favor because the experience and cash flow from your full time job can help grow your business.
Furthermore, starting your own business may make you realize what type of activities you enjoy doing. For example, if you intend on starting a graphic design business, through the process, you may realize that you like the marketing aspects of your business rather than directly making the design work itself.
Hit the Streets
Although this method relies primarily on luck, you may get some media coverage, which will do wonders for your job prospects. Joshua Persky was made famous in 2008 for utilizing this method.
Don’t Interview
How do you know if an interview is going really well? When the interview doesn’t feel like an interview. You talk about problems the company is having and what you can do to solve them. Rather than the interviewer going down a list of standard questions with a blank expression, the interviewer is excited to have you there because you are a problem solver that can help his or her company.
Before interviews, most people “research” companies by spending about 5 minutes on the company website. Instead of getting facts about their company, find out what the company’s problems are and how you can solve them.
Leave a Reply