So how do you accelerate the process of getting a job? I recently asked a group of professionals who are currently transitioning to their next job what was and wasn’t working for them in their job search. Here are the findings.
When asked what is working, networking jumped out as the overall winner taking a staggering, but probably not that surprising, 56% of the vote. There were four other suggestions that all scored in the 10% range. These were: using recruiters, directly applying to job board postings, government contract listings and constantly changing the way you work.
Conversely when asked what is not working the results were equally polarized with a full 50% saying that they get the least value from the job boards. Interestingly 25% reported that they felt the jobs they most recently took had been a bad idea! Recruiters and not getting out enough both scored 13%.
There were a couple of additional helpful tips that came out of the discussion.
- Never underestimate the value of a random conversation. Talking with person A can lead to a connection to person B who knows about job C.
- The LinkedIn weekly summary is valuable. You can see what has happened in your network recently and it offers you a chance to reconnect with people. Do answer questions and update your status every week or so to ensure you pop up in other people’s weekly summary.
- Don’t ignore Facebook. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends but is also a great tool to research people before you meet for interviews or have phone screens. You can check out your prospective manager’s haircut before you even meet!
Good hunting.
