Top 16 Career Hunting Tips

Living the adventure leads to first-hand knowledge and understanding. What have I learned from ten months of searching for a new career? What follows is a list of key ideas from all of the postings on this blog to date. Some come from first-hand, recent experience; some are from career counsellors, workshops, articles, workbooks, and other career websites and blogs. Every person’s life and situation is unique, so not every tip will apply to you. The hope is that you can learn from other people’s mistakes and successes, and use these tips to steer you along your path to your own success.

Top 16 Career Hunting Tips:

1. Cherish your dreams. Before you act on them, temper them with reality.

2. Be careful what you post online. Many employers are now researching potential employees by checking MySpace, FaceBook, blogs, etc.

3. Tailor your cover letter and resume to match the expectations of each employer. Do your research; know your target audience.

4. Don’t count on “transferable skills” to make a big career change. Be realistic about your actual training and experience.

5. Plan to get a Masters degree if you want to become a manager or decision-maker. Employers have LOTS of candidates to choose from, and they will pick someone with the best qualifications for the job.

6. Keep current with technology, including blogs, social networking, and whatever else comes along. Many employers are looking for people who stay current, and there are Human Resources people scouting for talent online right now. Don’t have a presence on MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter or LinkedIn? How are they going to find you?

7. Use MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc to find people you know who work for the company you want to work for. Ask them if it is a good place to work, and ask specific questions about things that are important to you.

8. Key qualities to cultivate personally: Agility, Persistence & Timing - Agility to respond quickly to new opportunities; persistence to get the job done; and timing to connect effectively at the right time.

9. Your resume should be focused and tailored to match each position when you apply. I spoke recently with an employer who received 120 applications for a single job. As you can guess, she quickly eliminated the resumes that weren’t good matches, short-listed the best matches, interviewed three or four of the best, and found one perfect match.

10. Your network of friends and acquaintances is your most valuable tool! Most jobs connections are made this way, and most jobs are never advertised because candidates are referred by someone who knows them. If you move to a brand new place where you don’t know anyone, it is important to start building a new network right away. Consider these network-building possibilities:
- do some volunteer work for the target company if this opportunity exists, or for an organization where like-minded people get together
- join the Chamber of Commerce or suitable business association
- volunteer to work on a fund-raising or political campaign
- attend workshops, seminars, conferences or conventions
- go to community events sponsored by the target company or where like-minded people get together
- where do people in this industry meet socially?

11. Do your homework BEFORE you resign from your current job. Depending on your location and the local job market, you could be in for a long wait before you land a new job. Being well-informed and well-prepared will put you ahead of the casual job hunters.

12. Persistence, Patience and Planning are keys to success. Persistence and patience are necessary because the job market is tight and most jobs have many applicants. Planning will help you if you do your research and make a realistic plan based on your research.

13. Location and Timing are two more keys to success. Needless to say, you need to be in the right place at the right time. This is where your planning and research pay off.

14. “Pick a Square” – know your strengths, training & experience. These are the key things an employer scans in a cover letter and resume. You have 15 to 20 seconds to highlight these three key things before the employer moves on to the next resume in the pile. Put them up front in bold type, and be sure your statements are accurate and can be supported by documentation and references.

15. Have a backup plan and exit plan in place, ready to use if the main plan doesn’t work out. You might need help from friends and family, but good friends and family do help each other out from time to time. (Be prepared to repay the favour someday.)

16. Consider taking new training to prepare you for your career of choice. Would it give you the edge you need?

An obvious question is sure to be hovering in some readers’ minds. Why should I consider your advice when you haven’t landed your own dream career yet? I have three thoughts on this. First, I hope that other people will be able to learn from my mistakes; second, this collection includes many tips and bits of information gleaned from current research and articles; third, that everyone’s career hunt will be unique, so choose the tips that apply to you.

My career quest is not over yet. I will post more as I learn more.