When It Is Time to Find a New Job

As we near the end of the year, many of us might be thinking about making some changes in our lives. Some it can be a weight loss goal, and others more of a personal goal. Regardless, there are going to be a few of you out there who might be thinking about getting a new job. So, the question is,” Is now a good time to find a new job, and where am I going to start?

Resume

If you are thinking about a new job, make sure you have the foundation set up correctly. You are going to need to have a strong resume. A resume will not be there to back you up in a job interview, rather it will be the one thing which gets you into an interview. Once you are there, they are going to be pulling the information off of that 1-2 page document to ask you questions. I cannot stress enough, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A STRONG RESUME! There are plenty of free sites out there which are willing to help you format it and provide words to use and not to use. Do your research. Take your time. Review. Review again.

Application

There are many different sites such as Careerbuilder.com, indeed.com, and monster.com where you can apply to a mass amount of places. You can also provide your resume to the public through these sites. With this, recruiters are able to see and search for certain skills. They will reach out to you IF they think you might be a good fit for their company. When you finally do apply, make sure you have everything filled out to the best of your ability. I know this seems obvious, but I have seen many applicants who have not finished certain areas of their application and were not considered for the position.

Interview

Interviewing can be one of the toughest things you are going to have to endure in this process. This is your time to shine! Stay calm, and speak clearly during the interview. If you are having a phone interview, make sure you have a set time when they are going to call you. Find a quiet place, where both you and the recruiter can hear clearly. You are not going to want to have dogs barking, street noise, or babies crying in the background. Again, this should go without saying, BUT it has happened. 

When going for an in-person interview, make sure you are dressed up. If you get there and it is acceptable, you can always take off layers. If you think about selling your abilities and yourself, you would want them to think you are only worth jeans and a t-shirt? Next, make sure you arrive early. This will ensure you have the right location and can have some time to collect your thoughts. Greet the interviewer, make eye-contact, and speak clearly. RELAX!

followup

Once you are done with the interview, make sure you have the email for which you can send a Thank You email to everyone you talked to. This is a great piece of etiquette which can often be overlooked for forgotten about. When you send this email back, they can see you are interested and it will also provide a clear line of communication to you if they decide to move forward with you.

don’t give up

Regardless of what happens, do not give up. There is a strong chance you won’t get the first job you apply for. I know this sounds bleak, but it is true. Do the best you can, and hope for the best. If you don’t get it, it wasn’t meant to be. Move on to the next interview. Eventually, you will find the right spot and the right employer who will want to hire you.  A quick frame of reference, I personally had over 165 interviews over a nine-month span. I ended with multiple 2nd and 3rd interviews, as well as 4 job offers. It wasn’t until I found the perfect spot that I realized it had all happened for a reason. Stay Strong! Good Luck!