No one likes to be unemployed, though many of us have either faced unemployment or will face it sometime in the future. Whether you were blindsided when you lost your job or you knew it was coming eventually, being unemployed means one thing: you are on the hunt for your next job or income source.
Today I want to discuss five things to do if you are looking for a job. While some of these ideas are simple, I think we all know multiple people (maybe even ourselves!) who haven’t taken all five of these actions while they are searching for a new job.
1) Review, update and tailor your resume
This is a good tip for anyone, employed or not. Keeping an updated resume will save you time, stress, and frustration. It’s much easier to update your resume every few months than it is to update it once every five years. Nevertheless, updating your resume is an obvious first step if you are unemployed and looking for a job. Once you have it ready, consider having multiple people review it. I reviewed one of my friend’s resumes about a year ago and I basically told her to change quite a bit. I was surprised to hear that someone else had reviewed it already. At minimum have three people review your resume before you start sending it out.
An additional tip is to tailor your resume. You should be tweaking your resume depending on the job you are applying for. If you have a background in finance and are applying to a financial analyst position, your resume should look different than if you are trying to land a job in operations.
2) Be realistic about potential jobs
When you are unemployed your goal should be to find a job within a few months, if not sooner. Yes long-term unemployment happens, and it doesn’t mean you will never find a job, but sometimes you have to be realistic about what job you are willing to take. The main goal when you are unemployed is to get back in the workforce. You may have to enter at the same level – or below – or perhaps at a company you aren’t passionate about, but nevertheless the goal should be simple: get a job! Once you are in you can move relatively quickly (one reason I’m glad I don’t work in human resources…employee retention seems like a pain). It’s much easier to find a job you really want if you are already employed versus if you are out of the workforce. Be realistic about your expectations and remember the goal isn’t to find your dream job, it’s to find a job that will work for now.
3) Make effective use of your network
The phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” definitely rings true in the job hunt. While many people get hired every single day who have no connection whatsoever to the company hiring them, having a personal contact at a company can only help you. Asking them to make a phone call or email to a hiring manager can potentially be the deciding factor in whether you get a job or come in a close second to someone who has very similar experience, skills, education, etc.
Another way to make use of your network is to start telling everyone that you are on the job search (don’t assume they know) and be specific about what you are looking for. People are much more likely to refer you to a position if you are specific about what kind of job you want. Saying you are looking for a job in “finance” or “management” isn’t going to cut it. Don’t expect people to refer you to a job if they don’t even know what job you are looking for. This is key because you don’t know if that friend knows someone who knows someone…who is hiring for your dream job.
4) Pursue leads
When it comes to careers, blogging, or anything I have an interest in I sometimes have to restrain myself from trying to help people. It sounds funny, but I’m sometimes too eager to help someone who isn’t being proactive. For example, if someone is looking to move from a small business to a large corporation, I am sometimes too eager to start giving them ideas and asking if I can refer them to jobs at my company. The reason I say I’m too eager is because they don’t follow through. They don’t call (or even email) the contact I give them, they don’t send me their resume, they don’t do any of it.
If you really want to utilize your network, make sure you pursue the leads they give you. Your network is the best place to find a job – or get in touch with someone who is hiring for a job you want. If you are given a lead, don’t squander the opportunity.
5) Treat job searching like a full-time job
I know we’ve all seen it: people who are unemployed who seem to spend almost no time actually looking for jobs. Maybe an hour or two a day, if that, is dedicated towards job searching. Especially the first few months, it’s very important that you treat job searching like a full-time job. Whether this is looking at job postings and filling out applications, contacting companies and recruiters, or contacting people in your network, you should be treating job searching like a full-time job.
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If you are currently looking for a job, what proactive steps have you taken recently to further your job search? If you are employed, what tips do you have for others?
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Excellent tips! I couldn’t agree with you more on keeping an updated resume. As a Recruiter, I’m always shocked at the fact that some people haven’t updated their resume in 5 years! The longer you go between resume updates, the more you forget your accomplishments and you find yourself saying “I can’t remember what I did at that job”
ForHerByHer Yeah even a year without updating your resume can be tough. It’s just so much easier to do it every few months.
I think it’s very easy to get into the habit of sitting at home and maybe feeling sorry for yourself. I would agree to pretend like looking for a job is your job. Even if you aren’t actually submitting applications you could be learning a new skill.
Eyesonthedollar Definitely! You should have a full schedule of proactive things you are doing each day to help you find a job.
These are all great tips DC! Thankfully the few times I have been in this situation it was not for very long. I think all of them are key, but I think #5 is vital. You should view it as your job to get a job and set a schedule to accordingly fit with that.
FrugalRules Thanks John!
Really good list DC. Networking seems to be a big one. And as you pointed out in #5, it takes time and hard work to secure a new position. My wife has been looking for a job since we move in 3 weeks. It’s tough…
CashCowCouple I don’t envy her, my wife also is in the market for a new job (though she currently has a couple part-time ones). It’s not a fun process but it’s part of life.
Great tips, DC. Networking these days seems to be key to finding a job. Especially in this environment, having someone recommend you or tell you about that job that might never be widely posted can give you an advantage. I knew quite a few people who get laid off in the great recessions (as probably everyone does, unfortunately) and most them found jobs through networking. It really does make a difference.
TheHeavyPurse At minimum, tapping your network to get an initial job offer can be a huge help if you are unemployed. It might not be the best job out there or your dream job, but at least you are back in the game.
Great tips! Point #4 is something I use to do as well. I learned that sometimes people just don’t want other people’s help.
One of the things I would add when someone is looking for a new job is to see if they can sign up with any headhunters in their city. That saved me a lot of time and I always found great jobs through them. And even if there was nothing full-time available right at the moment that I was unemployed, I would fill the gap with short term contracts that they would negotiate on my behalf.
TacklingOurDebt Working with a headhunter can definitely speed up the process. A recruiter I know said she sometimes places people in new jobs within a week :0
Great tips. To piggyback on the network part, I’d add the tip of creating and constantly updating a LinkedIn account for yourself. It is a great way to get in contact with and network with people that are actually in your field.
KyleJames1 Great idea. A lot of times the next job you get is not based on what you know, but who you know.
Awesome ideas, David. So many jobs, nowadays, are found through your own personal network, so continuing to invest in networking while trying to find a job can put you in a good position to find your next job.
CommonCentsWealth Great point, Jake. Utilizing your network should definitely be the first step if you are unemployed.
When I was looking for a job, I looked at the freebies the job center was offering. There were free classes to get up to date with specific skills such as creating a website, spreadsheet or even making a killer resume, as well as personality tests to determine your perfect job. And there were mentoring programs with someone that would coach you weekly.
RFIndependence Great tip! I forgot about all the benefits that job centers offered to people who are on the job hunt.
I think an important part of any job search is to recognize where you are failing to move to the “next step” in the process. For example, are you getting lots of interviews? If not you may need to work on your resume. Are you getting lots of interviews but no call backs? Time to do some mock interviews. As soon as you can identify your failing point you can spend time fixing that area and move on to the next.
ayoungpro That’s some really solid advice! Definitely good to evaluate how the process is going and see if you need to make any changes.
It’s important to understand the ‘why’ behind your unemployment.
If you left your previous job – ask yourself :”why?”
If you’ve left because you were unsatisfied with the chances to progress within your company or industry – it’s time to start looking at new sectors to work in.
Maybe (like many people and myself) you’ve worked in a public facing role and disliked certain face-to-face interaction with customers.
That isn’t a bad thing though! If you don’t like face-to-face roles in retail you can always try the warehouse end of things or a phone-based role.
On the other hand – if you become forcibly unemployed you again need to ask yourself: “why?”
Perhaps your sector is stagnating or worse – shrinking.
If that’s the case you need to assess/reassess what sector/s you can then move into.
Knowing the ‘why’ behind your unemployment is crucial – once you know this, you’ll then know how you want to move forward with your work and your life.
Happiness through regaining and then retaining employment is a life-long battle, but it gets better when you start to be more honest about what you want from life.
Totally agree with your main philosophy though DC – actively (not procrastin-actively) search for work and be as relentless as possible to secure re-employment!
DHilsden Thanks for the long and thought-out comment! The “why” is definitely important. If you don’t know “why” you want to work in this or that sector or why you DON’T want to work in a certain area (or why you shouldn’t), you may make a bad decision and find yourself in the same spot a year or two down the road.
A lot of people just don’t put in the work necessary to find work. I’ve found too many people think that it should be fairly easy and wait for opportunities to drop in their lap. You’ve got to go and find it!
Great tips :-) . Building an effective resume and Building your network are the most important of all. By the way i liked the last point of yours “Treat Job searching like a full time Job”.
Good solid advice. I left a job after 13 years and decided I did not want to go back to exactly what I was doing before.
I learned alot about how to do a job search especially if you are looking at doing something different. First, it is very difficult to change both the industry you were in AND the job at the same time. Changing just one variable will help you get a job faster. For example, if you were in the financial industry in training, you can either move into a new industry and stay in training or stay in the financial world and look for another role.
I moved from working in online training and development for a consulting firm to being an online social media moderator for a bank. I use to be in banking in my 20’s but not recently and my new moderation job related to my many years of working with customers.
Very happy!!!