As the "eternal job seekers" that we all are now, there are certain activities that will provide us with some knowledge and experience that will enable us to better compete in today's job search.
All of them are important for different reasons. I frequently hear people say they are doing everything they know how to do to look for a job and what that means is they are just looking at the job boards. How sad. These same full time job seekers are spending a lot of time doing this too, sometimes 20+ hours a week. Consider all these things listed below...most are written about in more detail in past posts here. If there are other worthwhile activities, please let me know...
Job Finding Activities
Role playing for interviews
Attend Seminars and workshops
Create Marketing Plan
Explore new career opportunities
Read newspaper/publications
Set up networking meetings
Networking
Use local One-Stop
Real interviews
Contact college/university
Contact people in target jobs
On-line networking (LinkedIn, etc)
Create interviewing preparation folder
Draft Thank You letters and Cover letters
Attend Job Club
Watch the news
Check all "job posting boards", creating alerts (use indeed.com, etc)
Internet research on companies
Volunteer with organizations
Informational interviews with peers
Contact search firms, contract houses, agencies
Look for new companies to add to target list, research materials, industry information
Attend Job fairs
Networking events
Applying for jobs online
Blog
Attend Professional association meetings and volunteer
Church or religious groups
Basically, what I am hoping is that you will carve time into your week to be pro-active in finding opportunities, rather than re-acting to the slim and dismal opportunities posted on the internet. Get creative and get out of your house. You will never find a job there, unless your house is filled with Hiring Managers.
Linkedin was added to the About.com Top 10 Employment site list with 2 other sites but linkedin is still the only social netwoking site on the list. The 3 newest job sites on top list are:
www.linkedin.com (professional networking)
www.indeed.com (aggregated job listings)
www.realmatch.com (matches you to the perfect job)
Good luck to all those searching for jobs in these tough times.
Posted by: James | December 06, 2008 at 03:14 PM