Background
My client writes “What can I do TODAY to get some successful job search tips?”. Please keep reading as we have another 80s movie reference.
You got it. My top 4 most successful job search tips…
1. Increase Your LinkedIn First Connections
You don’t want to increase your 1st connections for the sake of it. You want to increase your 1st connections to get 2nd connections.
So why are 2nd connections so important? They are contacts who can get you informational interviews if you know how to ask them.
Informational interviews present you an opportunity to find out if the employer could use your skillset. It allows you to get on the inside and reduce your reliance on applying online to that big black hole.
If you invite me and I accept (and I will), you now have picked up my 18,000 1st connections as your 2nd connections. If you don’t think one of my 18,000 1st connections can help you land that job or knows someone who can, please think again.
2. Increase Your LinkedIn Social Media Presence
Thought leaders get hired. Thought leaders’ blog. Starting a weekly or monthly blog post on LinkedIn is a great way to stay “top of mind” with your network.
Networking gets you jobs. Networking = staying top of mind = frequent blogging. Marketing experts know that it takes at least 7 impressions to get attention. Start today.
It’s not that hard. Think about key trends in your industry that your network cares about. Think about comments you can make regarding these trends.
At a minimum, find someone else’s blog about these trends and re-share it with your network. However, be sure to give your opinion on the subject for a personal touch.
3. Limit Your Social Media Consumption
Media is so seducing. Sex, death, panic, and money are all topics that sell well. The problem for a job seeker is that these topics just create additional anxiety. Not like “not having a job” or “having a job you hate” isn’t bad enough.
Social media is not negative. However, when you focus too much on the negative, it becomes dangerous for your mental and physical health.
Check out 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health in a recent Forbes article. Just look at the problems Facebook is now having with, well, its business model.
4. Identify Your Value Add
The biggest issue my clients have is not being in touch with what makes them truly special. They cannot easily enunciate what they can do better than most of their colleagues.
However, how can you can find job search wins if you’re not sure what you can contribute to the bottom line of a target employer?
Don’t think you have anything special to offer? Think harder. What if you could walk into an interview and give real answers to the questions asked instead of slinging the bullshit?
Think about why you buy the products you buy. Amazon is one-click to almost anything. Trader Joe’s is about great food at a relatively low price. Starbucks sells “community” dressed up as coffee.
I only shop at Trader Joe’s, but that has nothing to do with this article.
Ask yourself:
- What can I do better than almost anyone? (Movie Breakfast Club and Molly Ringwald lipstick scene anyone?)
- What have colleagues told me I do really well? (If you’re not sure, ask them)
- What area of work do I enjoy most? (“vacation” is not allowed)
- Where do I honestly want to be in 5 years? (Not the interview answer, the real answer)
Bottom Line
We all like immediacy. These 4 successful job search tips will help speed up your search 3x!
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