In my career I have held over 60 short term positions as either a contractor or a full time hire. These covered several continents, most industrial sectors and a range of managerial areas. (Including grape picking and selling cars)
It also paid for me to travel around the world a few times...so I know a little bit about getting a job...
Here are the top 7 things that I think will help you to land a great job, even if the market is turning south these days. (I advise you to have a look through the links at the bottom of this post also. Some good additional information there.)
1) Your network is King! Not a shotgun approach, not every person and their dogs. But everyone who matters! If you are in IT then connecting to me on LinkedIn is going to help you get absolutely nowhere. But getting to connect with IT directors, project managers and significant consulting firm leads will help you no end.
I am going to have to do a series of posts on Career Hunting via LinkedIn. It seems that the tools and techniques you have available to you are not well known of used.
2) What is going on in the market? Who is looking for which skills and why? What are the upcoming projects in your industry. (There are STILL projects going on, do not believe anything to the contrary!)
Tuning into the job market means that when you see a job ad you already know who it is for, what project or initiative it is part of, and through your network you are likely to already know who the hirers are.
If you are looking for work then start scanning everything from the business news, to job ads, through to news on tenders. If you don't know whats going on then you are going blind into the job market. (This is a career changer!)
3) Take a short term view. If you have 6 - 8 months worth of funds to support you while you hum and har over every job ad then you can wait for the perfect role to appear. But if you are like me then you don't.
Take the role that is open now. Job hunting doesn't stop just because you have a role. You can work your way into the next steps.
4) The best time to look for work is when you don't need a job. NOT when you are in a desperate situation.
5) Take a longer term view. Every role, every job, every contract is another weapon in your arsenal. Something else bringing you experiences, track record builders, relationships and skills. Make sure that even a temporary role contributes something you are going to need to get to your 5 - 10 year goal of being the grand poobah of whatever it is you do.
6) Build up your recommendations on LinkedIn. A fantastic trust based asset . Not from too many peers - but from people who others in your industry will respect. From people who will be seen as a trusted source of recommendations.
7) Remember where you stand. You are a scarce talent . You are giving them the opportunity to access this scarce talent. Make sure your CV represents the scarcity of what you do, and make sure that your conversations subtly stress the scarcity of you.
Related Posts:
Turning your LinkedIn profile into a Powerful revenue generating tool
The newest Trust Based Asset - LinkedIn recommendations!
The Snowball Effect of Trust Based Marketing
Are they hiring you or are you giving them access to scarce talent?
