Ten Ways To Supercharge Your Job Search

Forbes

7 days ago

job search concept, find your career, woman looking at online website by laptop computer. People ... More searching for vacancies or position on the internet, recruiting, finding jobs. Unemployed and poor economy
The average job search today lasts 24 weeks.
As an independent career coach for 28 years, I can promise you that job search success is no accident. With job searching on the rise, you might want to check to see if you're in a mentally good place.
Here are the ten most common reasons for succeeding in your job search.
Success Reason One: Think positive. Nobody ever got anything accomplished with negative thinking, which is all you need to understand in sculpting your attitude. And while there are many factors beyond your control, attitude is certainly the one that's not. This is the absolute top choice. Is this easy? Of course not. Is there any other way to do this? Of course not. And that settles that.
Success Reason Two: Get up an hour earlier. It's too easy to get into a rut but it's also easy to stay out of one. Getting up even earlier than you did when you were working is part attitude (see above) and part discipline. I don't have enough space in this and three more columns to spell out all the benefits of making yourself do this, but you'll find them all when you do. In essence, does the early bird really catch the worm? Every time.
Success Reason Three: 'One more call.' When you think you're done for the day, make one more call. That's five more calls per week, but if you divide the day into four time periods and do this for each – before coffee break, before lunch break, before mid-afternoon walk, and before day's end – that's twenty more calls per week. Adds up, doesn't it? Take it from an old salesman who understands the numbers game. This is where you gain advantage.
Success Reason Four: Who else? While you're networking, keep thinking 'Who else can help me?' On the other side of the person with whom you're networking is a whole new network. There's always someone else. Always.
Success Reason Five: Widen your thinking. What else are you capable of doing? A waiter can become a concierge. An accountant can be a business manager. A nurse can become a medical equipment trainer. While this is admittedly a tough time to making leaps like this, there's no doubt it's possible with a little creativity and initiative.
Success Reason Six: Increase your options. Don't define your job search just by your past, by what you have done; think in terms of what you can do. In other words, what are your transferable skills? Even in the worst of all job markets, there is always a demand for these: communication, interpersonal and team building, creativity and creative thinking, analytical thinking, design and strategy, research, management and administration, ethics and value setting, leadership, and technology. You have some or nearly all of them – and this is what gets many candidates hired. So don't limit yourself.
Success Reason Seven: Keep your antennae up 24/7. Every minute of every day is an opportunity to find an opportunity, to meet new people, and to connect. Networking happens everywhere, not just professionally. Yes, you want to find your formal networking functions, but networking also happens while shopping, at backyard barbecues, at the dry cleaner, during a ball game, at church, at the swim club, and while volunteering. You never know where you can hook up, so every minute of every day is critical. Stay alert.
Success Reason Eight: Expand your resources. The job boards are good, but there's so much more. Learn and use valuable databases in your public library. Read the rest of the paper or trade magazines. You won't find job listings; you'll find job clues! Industry or professional associations come into play here – big time.
Success Reason Nine: Temp, Contract, or Interim. This only gives you a paycheck; it's a smart job search strategy. Millions of people a day go to work as a temp, contractor, or interim, and many eventually get hired. It gets you into companies you'd like to work for, and temp jobs are found 'from the mailroom to the boardroom.' It can be long term, it's a great opportunity to sell yourself, to 'try before you buy,' and is in many corporate budgets. This is a no-brainer.
And Success Reason Ten: Act; don't react. The American workplace will never again accommodate the passive job seeker, so be proactive and make things happen. Plan, do your research, target companies, network – and declare victory in advance. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu, Chinese military strategist of the 4th century BC, said 'Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war and then seek to win.'