On Monday, March 1, Abby Kohut, President of Staffing Symphony, shared her valuable insights with our group about what works and what does not when searching for a job. She is a full-time corporate recruiter who has spent the last several years helping job seekers with their search strategy.
” The following ideas suggesting creativity in your job search have come from ACTUAL activities I have either witnessed or heard about. These ideas don’t replace your core job search activities but prove that many creative, attention-getting ideas may either work for you or stimulate your thinking about how you might tailor them to your style. The goal is to create memorability for you and your ‘story’….to stand out in the crowd of competitive job seekers and to be a bit different,” shared Abby.
Here is a synopsis of what she shared.
20 Awesome Job Search Tips
- Identify your target companies and set up Google Alerts for each one.
When something is written about the company, send an email to the interviewing manager or the hiring manager. - Go to LinkedIn and download all your contacts into an Excel Spreadsheet. It may take up to 24 hours to access the data. Once you have the emails, please send a brief email to each contact to let them know you are not working now and are open to new opportunities.
- Set up a virtual coffee with your network asking for advice about your job search.
- Consider signing up for LinkedIn Premium FREE for 30 days and spend a lot of time applying for jobs. When you find a job you want to apply for, send an InMail (unlimited with Premium) and let them know who you are connected within the company (this only works for people you know well).
- Please send a cover letter with your resume and put it at the end of the resume. Abby said many individuals do not spend the time putting together a cover letter, and when one comes across her email, it makes the applicant stand out.
- Beef up your education by:
- Attending Virtual Conferences, many of which are free.
- Watching YouTube videos
- Getting certified in your specialty area.
- Reading business books, writing a review as a post on your LinkedIn Profile, and putting the post in your Featured section. You can obtain books in four ways:
- Order them from your local library.
- Sign up for Audible and do a free trial for 30 days, $14.95 after that.
- Sign up for Kindle Unlimited.
- Buy the book.
- Write a white paper or small book about your area of expertise and upload it to your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to include the title and description on your resume.
- Write a blog and express your opinion about something that’s going on in your industry.
- When you are in the final interview process, develop a 30-60-90-day plan for your department’s success and ask for time to present it.
- Develop a tri-fold brochure and send that instead of a resume.
- Go to a place like 4imprint Outlet and find something unique to put your information on or resume in.
- If you apply to a tech company like Google, Facebook, or Amazon, use their main page as your backdrop template. Use their terms to describe yourself.
- Buy one share of stock of the company you are interested in working for and sign up for all their alerts, including when their annual meeting will be. Attend it, if possible, and network with at least one person that works there.
- Go to a busy street corner and pass out your resume.
- Take out a billboard with your photo and phone number, letting people know you are available to work.
- Have someone make a video testimonial about you and post it on your LinkedIn profile.
- Put together your video describing the Top 10 Reasons why someone should hire you. Please create your own YouTube channel and put it on there.
- Since most interviews are on Zoom now, and Abby thinks Zoom is here to stay, she says you need to practice, practice, practice on Zoom.
- Dress for success on your Zoom interview. It will give you more confidence. When picking out what to wear, be sure to match one item of clothing to the company’s brand colors.
- If you receive a rejection letter, be sure to send a thank-you note. This will leave a lasting impression on the hiring team.
Hudson Job Search is Here to Help with Your Job Search
Our Monday night meetings are short seminars on essential job search and career topics at no charge, and all are welcome to attend. Meetings are held throughout the year on the first and third Monday nights of each month, beginning at 7:30 pm. To register, please fill out our contact form.