Guidelines to Landing Your Ideal Job

Guidelines to Landing Your Ideal Job

ideal-jobThe Department of Labor released the latest hiring report nearly a month ago, announcing that the total number of open jobs available hasn’t increased in the past six months.  With the holiday season just around the corner, we generally see an increase around this time of year.  However, the payroll company ADP reported that with their most recent survey, private employers added slightly fewer jobs than previous estimates.  Their data suggest that the economy has been growing too slowly to rapidly boost hiring.  The good news is that the economy is, indeed, growing.  Unemployment rates are slowly declining and things are starting to look up in the job market.

Because of the massive amount of competition still out there, job seekers need to be at the top of their game in order to land meaningful jobs.  The best thing any job-seeker can do to get a better job is to be more thorough, more savvy, and more aggressive.  Here are some guidelines to help you land the job you’ve been waiting for:

  1.  Network for referrals.  Being referred for a job is far more effective than sending in endless applications that you may not be a perfect fit for.  Don’t apply for jobs unless you have the skills and experience listed on the job description.  Applying directly to job postings should represent less than 20% of your job search efforts.  Networking should represent about 60% of your efforts.
  2. Pad your resume with performance based accomplishments.  Give concrete examples of your career accomplishments, strengths and skills.  Give examples of how you have turned weaknesses in the past into strengths, and how you have grown and continue to grow.  When you go in for an interview, have a handful of brief (two minute) stories on hand that prove your strengths in a concise, clear, logical and compelling way.
  3. Find a talented recruiter.  Often, recruiters will look at your resume and put you into a generic category with more than a handful of equally qualified job seekers.  When jobs come up, they throw a bunch of those names in the hat and use the shotgun theory to gain their success (one of them ought to be successful).  Don’t waste your time with one of these recruiters.  Find one that is truly talented and able to find jobs that are great matches for you.
  4. Raise concerns before the interview is over.  Ask your interviewer what the next steps are.  If they hesitate or give vague answers, you are probably not the candidate for them.  If this happens, it’s okay to ask what the interviewer’s biggest concern is about your background.  This will give you a chance to address the concern and prove that you can handle the job.
  5. Keep a positive attitude.  Don’t go into an interview with a sense of desperation or inadequacy.  You have spent a lot of time gaining the knowledge and experience that company’s value.  Maintaining a calm, positive outlook throughout the interview can show an interviewer that you’re enthusiastic about being a part of their company and give a great first impression.

 


At River City Staffing we help you develop your interview skills before that perfect interview. We work with you in a mock interview setting and help you along the way as we review your resume and hone your interview skills. Apply for a job with us and request a mock interview and resume review.

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