Some of you have been out of work for more than a year or you may have just been laid off.  Others may be contemplating a jump from their present place of work but fear going from the pot into the fire kind of situation.  Read on.  I’ll teach you the best tips on how to get into a job you actually want.

First, I’ll need you to put down your disdain for the job search, your ego around your credentials and actually look at yourself.  The economy is only part of the reason why you don’t have a job.   The other part is you.  What can you can change?  What can you do better?  These will always be questions that need answering but more so now given the increased competition for 1 position.  So leave all that at the door.

Don’t Burn Bridges

Some of you will and I get that.  If you can help it, stick it through to the last hoorah.  I can’t say more other than to be professional where it counts.  You never know who you’ll come across in your next job and I can tell you stories for days where Im concerned in my present gig.

If you live in a small city or town where information flies or if you’re using a recruiter, people talk and the last thing you want to be is on some informal blacklist.  It happens more often than you realize.

Burned/Burning Bridges Already?  Find One Person Who Will Serve As A Reference

This is a tremendous lifesaver as the pressures of hating a job or impending layoffs start to increase.  Be sure to maintain discretion when doing this and ask the person to keep your request confidential.  Always have an ace in the hole that can help get you out of your situation by serving as a reference and salary verification.

Check, Recheck and Revamp Your Resume

I can’t stress this enough.  I happen to review resumes at my current gig and this seems to be an ongoing issue with job seekers.  I don’t care how desperate you are, you need to check and revamp your resume at least 1-2 times a year.  Forget that, every time you send it out, check and recheck it again and again.  Don’t send a resume using the wrong parts of speech ie using “Manage interns” instead of “Managed interns” for an old position and vice versa.  There’s also the language used that makes me cringe, you aren’t talking to your best bud at a bar.  Don’t use “I” in the bulleted area of your resume.  For example, the following person submitted their resume for a clinical position with my office but she listed her recent occupations as being a…..wait for it…..a cook for family reunions?  Then she listed in the bulleted list of tasks and duties:

• I helped cut the yams, carrots and cook the meat
• Cooked and baked cakes for family reunions

Imagine my face.  Screw face at best.  Needless to say I didn’t call her back because not only was she unqualified but even if I were hiring for a cook, her resume lacked a certain element of professionalism.

You need to format the resume in a way that forces that piece of paper to speak to your background, education and experience.  Font, type space, shading and spacing all play a role in addition to the content and how it is placed.  I’ve used this website in the past to give my resume a facelift ie resume redesign.

Update Your Skills

Are you still boasting C++ (computer programming language) and A+ (basic computer certification) on your resume?  Meh.  Take a class, workshop or do a presentation on some emerging issue or technology in your field.  Write a white paper to showcase your knowledge on a particular subject.  You are competing with new graduates in the field who already have this down and you’re looking really silly if you don’t have current and relevant skills on your resume.

Peruse The Resumes of  the People Who Are Where You Want To Be

This has been really helpful to me.  You can do this on Craigslist by typing in the keyword you’re looking for (“senior manager”, “director of…” etc) and you’ll see the resumes of people with the jobs you want.  Tip:  This is also a good way to size up your competition.  Similarly, you can read the bios of people heading the organizations where you hope to work one day.  I always do this because I like to watch the trajectories of people’s careers and see how they unfold.  This is also why I don’t necessarily believe in “just for now” jobs.

Indulge my digression: I happen to disagree with Penelope Trunk on dissing grad school for a mediocre job in favor of work experience. She’s written a couple posts on this over the last year and it really grates my nerves.  Personally, I went back to graduate school and currently make 4 times what I did right out of college.  And, no I couldnt have subbed that time in grad school by continuing to work because my job requires a license, coursework and experience.

Specifically, she says that an MBA is a waste of time, which is BS.  Tell that to my husband and his colleagues who now make 2-6 times their Bachelor’s level salaries.  Furthermore, she offers no empirical data to support her position.  Dude, if you’re gonna give career advice, at least have some data to support your position on MBAs being a waste of time.  I generally like her work and advice, but this piece right here is where I have an axe to grind.  Bottom line, if going back to school will help your cause then do it.  Work out why it may or may not work for you, not based on jaded generalizations.

If I were to take one then it wouldn’t go on my resume.  I need the recruiter to see that my career trajectory was focused with some thought put into my next steps along the way.  Sorry but McDonald’s aint teaching me jack.

After doing this, create a dummy resume that depicts where you want to be in the next 1-5 years starting with your most recent position.  I believe in the Law of Attraction so this is where this advice comes from.  I’ve done that and I will admit that it works. Why?  Having a purpose with no vision won’t get you where you want to be professionally.  So as you think about your career, create and maintain your vision and use that as the place where you operate from in deciding next steps.

Volunteer, Yes You Read Right!

I know, this sucks.  But perhaps once a week.  This is built in networking believe it or not.  Companies are strapped but the economy is on the upswing and when they feel good about hiring again, who do you think they’ll look to when that time comes?  Offer to volunteer your time X hours per week if you’re unemployed and bring them your A game!  I did this early on and it’s helped tremendously in terms of getting the job and my superiors then still serving as references for me today if needed.  In fact, one of them called the other day to offer me her position since she is leaving

Network, And I Don’t Mean Happy Hour

Networking again.  Some tend to see this as a waste of time or feel that they just aren’t good at it.  Look, it’s fact of life that getting the job you want is more about who you know and not what you know.  Get good at it.  Fast.  Get business cards that talk explicitly about you, who you are and what you’re looking for.  Think about it as a shortened resume on one of those fancy nontraditional business cards.  Try VistaPrint.com and Moo.com for a few options.

When people want to know about your background, education and experience without the hassle of requesting your resume at a function, hand them a folded business card!  Brilliant!

Scratch happy hours and attend every related industry event you can think of in your area.  This may be a chapter meeting or company event at a local hotel.  Find someone in your field and have them keep you up to date on various events that happen in the city.  Bring your A game and put your best foot forward at these events.

You never know who is lurking at these events and frankly, should someone important be there, you’re giving them great face while showing initiative.

Stop applying for positions you don’t really want

This wastes your time and the recruiter’s time.  You get the interview and after going through the process you realize that the pay is too low and you really don’t want the gig.  Been there done that and it’s a waste of time.  Make sure you’re looking over the position requirements and actually customizing your resume to fit their needs.  Don’t do resume blasts without thinking about whether you really want the position.  Any job isn’t necessarily a good job.  And, I know that flies in the face of “I have bills to pay…I need to get off unemployment…”, still make sure you get a job you really want or else you’ll be miserable.  Life is too short to purposely get stuck in a job you hate.

Were these helpful?  If so let me know in the comments.  Have I missed anything?