Accelerate Your Job Hunting Success by Eliminating These 3 Common Mistakes

Many people feel that in the current economy, landing a job or securing a promotion is a very difficult, grueling and exhausting task. Some would even say it is nearly impossible. This may be the story for some but it certainly doesn't have to be your story. You just have to change the way you market yourself in the current economy by creatively crafting your job search, your resume and your interview techniques so that you stand out from the crowd. You can start positioning yourself for job hunting success by avoiding the following 3 common mistakes.

Mistake #1: Searching for jobs the old fashioned way:
Gone are the days where you scour the newspaper want ads or online job boards for open positions, complete the application, submit your resume and then get the job. With this method, you, the job seeker, relied solely upon the companies to post open positions for all to see. The employers were the initiators and you were the reactors. However, in the new economy, the job hunter must take full ownership of the entire job search process and it is now your responsibility to be the originator. As a new millennium job hunter, you must be in the driver’s seat when it comes to your career path and success. You can take control of your job search by first, taking a good long look at yourself. You should know what your career or job objective is; know the value you bring; and know the type of company you want to work for. In the meantime, you should be crafting an online and offline personal brand that will accurately and effectively portray you as an ideal applicant to potential employers. And finally, you should develop a strategic job hunting plan that will give you the most bang for your buck; by making the best use of the time you have available and ensuring that your plan includes techniques to help you tap into both the open and the hidden job markets.

So You Do This Instead: Be strategic with a job hunting plan and vary your search to reach all relevant markets.

Mistake #2: Sending out ineffective resumes:
Employers may receive upwards of a hundred resumes for even one open position so they are looking for easy ways to screen them and show at least half to the trash bin. One of the main reasons resumes are given the boot is that they lack relevance to the position or the company. The objective or summary of qualifications, the experience listed, or even the main words used have little to do with the position being sought. So, make sure that when you apply, you have tweaked your resume to ensure that all of the verbiage aligns with the position you are applying for. Another way to get shown the bin quickly is to send a resume containing typos or grammatical errors. I know you have heard this a thousand times before but you wouldn’t believe how many resumes are received by employers with key words used or spelled incorrectly (even in the age of spell check). So, it’s worth mentioning again if it will help even one person stop and give their resume a once over before pressing the send button. Even one careless error can get you eliminated so make sure you check it twice and then have someone else check it again. The last thing I want to say about resumes here is to make every effort to avoid allowing your resume to get lost in the black hole of job bank databases. If it all possible, try to get the name of a contact, preferably a decision maker, to send your resume to them directly or better yet, try to speak with the person so that they are expecting your resume. However, if your efforts to get a contact fail and you must rely solely on the job bank to access a particular company, make sure that your resume is rich with relevant keywords for the position you are seeking and highlights the value you bring.

So You Do This Instead: Ensure that your resume is relevant and highlights the value you bring.

Mistake #3: Not gathering enough information before your interview
Oftentimes, when people finally land the interview, they are thrilled to be able to put a halt to the job search and begin preparing for the interview. They typically prepare by anticipating some of the questions they might be asked and thinking of good answers to them. They begin by pondering answers to questions like; what are your strengths and weaknesses? Tell me about yourself. Why should we hire you, etc? They really start focusing on themselves and what they have to offer. In the meantime, they stop researching and learning about the company. But, this is the time when you must dig deeper into the company as well. You want to learn about their goals and objectives, the culture and work environment, the potential opportunities for advancement and any recent company news. This will give you the ability to share exactly how your personality and work ethic fits within their culture, how the knowledge and experience you bring can enhance the company’s bottom line, how your strengths match their needs and how the opportunities they have align with your career goals. You want it to be evident that you did your homework and that this is the company that you want to work for, not simply because you need a job but because it is a great fit and mutually beneficial.

So You Do This Instead: Be prepared to share why they should hire you by showing how you fit into their company. This requires you to be knowledgeable about the company.

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If you know of someone who is looking for work, is preparing to change careers or is under-employed, share the wealth by sharing this article with them.