How To Make Your Job Search More Successful By Improving Your Hire-ability

Regardless of whether you're just starting to look for your first job or you've been involved in a long job search for several months, it's very important to make yourself as hire-able as possible. This is something you can do even if you don’t have a lot of experience. So if you’re ready to kick your job search into high gear, here are some tips to consider …

Start Your Own Blog

One way to make yourself hire-able in the eyes of recruiters is to start your own blog. There are quite a few advantages to taking this effort. First, your web presence is improved, which can be very important in many modern industries. Second, it helps show employers that you have knowledge in the field you’re attempting to make ground in (even if you don’t have experience). And third, it gives a ton of resources to offer prospective employers in the event that they ask for details about your background.

A blog is the perfect way to not only showcase your knowledge, but build knowledge as well. It’s the perfect transition for those trying to switch careers, or those entering the professional world for the first time. There are numerous websites that offer free tools for starting and managing a blog, so it's a great way to get your job hunt headed in the right direction without a money investment.

Get a LinkedIn Page

Another great way to make yourself stand out among your competition is by signing up for a LinkedIn profile. You’ve probably heard of this great site for professionals, but if you haven’t, you’re really missing out. You can make a virtual resume on the website, which can then be easily searched by any employers that are looking for someone to hire. But you can connect with other professionals for networking purposes and have those you’ve worked with before give you recommendations.

A LinkedIn account and a well-set up profile page will greatly improve your credibility with hiring managers and job recruiters. Build up a decent page that shows why you're a good candidate for any position, and be sure to link to your blog.

Obtain a Professional Email Address

If you don’t already have a professional email address, now is the time to get yours. While sourapplebubblegum@unprofessionalemails.com might have been a great address during college, but you need a new address that shows your high level of professionalism.

The standard route to take when choosing your professional email address is to use some variation of your name like johndoe@yahoo.com, jdoe@gmail.com or johnd@hotmail.com. But if you really want to look impressive, you could register a domain under your name then sign up for an email address through your own account (ex. john@johndoe.com). This way, you could post a quick resume on your site, point to your LinkedIn page and blog, and have the ultimate professional email address.

Sometimes it’s not easy to think of ways to get your foot in the door when you don’t have a great deal of experience in the field you’re pursuing. But taking free or low-cost steps to build your experience beforehand could make you more hire-able then you could ever imagine.