Tips for Your Job Search

By Jay B. Crawford, Author of What Not To Do When Seeking Employment

Here is some food for thought but, just a chunk of an important topic. 

Don’t use a shotgun; use a rifle approach when you express interest in an employment opportunity. For example, if there are multiple positions listed for one organization do not apply for all of them. You may be a generalist but probably not skilled enough to be as proficient for each position as an employer may require.

For the position you do apply for make sure you are in fact fully qualified. If you are not fully competent you will not make it thru the initial screening process. 

To ensure that you stand our as a potential candidate your resume (not just your cover letter) must reflect your experience, skills and training for the employer’s published position requirements. Not only do you need to reflect your competencies/abilities but, you must include how you fit into the role/responsibilities of the position. 

A resume should not reflect job descriptions for employers but show measurable accomplishments. If information does not fit well under a job listing it probably will stand out better in a skill/qualifications section in the beginning of your resume. 

To best market yourself (which is what you are doing) I suggest you compare an employment announcement with your customized resume for that particular opportunity. Actually, lay the two documents next to each other and cross off each requirement and your respective fulfillment for it. 

Job announcements are generally only one or two pages. If your resume is longer than one or two pages reduce the size of it now. If the resume is too long it probably will not even get read. Take out any information that is not requested in the job announcement. There are many items commonly found in resumes that don’t belong but we don’t have the time to include all of them here. For example, as a recruiter I see objectives on resumes that don’t even fit the position being applied for. Leave it off. Does this type of preparation take time? The answer is yes but, if you are selective in what you actually submit interest in you time will be best spent. Also respect the employer’s recruiter or hiring manager’s time. If you do not follow the instructions on how to submit your interest in a job listing you probably have wasted your time tailoring your resume in the first place.

If you are just starting a job search, or stalled in an ongoing pursuit, my book will give you over 100 more don’ts when conducting a complete job search and obviously provide tips of what to do as well.