The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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How to Breathe Life into Your Job Search

How to Breathe Life into Your Job Search
Every day can’t be the same whether you have a job during your job search or not. It’s dead. It’s an exercise in utility. What’s worse, you are explaining to your family why you are not getting results. If your job search lacks life, you must diversify your efforts until you yield results. You need others to help, but you must have resolve.
If you’re stuck, I have some suggestions you should try. Maybe a few of them are appealing, but none of them are easy. Perhaps picking two or three could help you and then inspire other ways to get results and an

1. Create a blog

It’s important to control the narrative of your career, and a blog is the best way. Sure there is LinkedIn and other platforms, but any of them could disappear for one reason or another. Mostly, it should be the best place to find and connect with you. At least, you can take people on your journey sharing your lessons learned, opportunities found and mapping out what works and what doesn’t. Season your blog with your competencies but also with personality.

Employers and recruiters see many lifeless profiles and blog, let yours be the one that resonates with them.

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2. Lead local workshops/lunch learnings or training

There are all types of opportunities to hone your craft or share your expertise. If you are working, you can see how to lead a lunch and learn workshop for your coworkers. There are some cities with eateries with rooms for a luncheon, and you could be the guest speaker. Then again, there are Toastmasters everywhere with lunch meetings. If you’re not shy and join a small Toastmasters group, it’s likely you can get many opportunities to present.

3. Incessant online/offline conversations

Networking is continuous even with little time. To me, networking is about awareness and opportunity. There is not a place where someone somewhere didn’t make a significant contact where it leads directly or indirectly to a job. You will create both awareness and opportunity as you grow intentional and understand your job search will yield results.

Read Job Search in 2017 is Marketing, PR, and Schmoozing

4. Using creativity, audacity, and disruption to reach hiring managers

Unfortunately, many people who guarantee one document or technique will get you an interview. For most people, creating opportunities whether it’s through an intro using LinkedIn to sending a cold email, it’s reliant on your ability to think out-of-the-box.

Stop saying you’ve tried everything! It’s likely you’ve only attempted a few methods.

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5.Reach out to startups

Start-up companies are more likely to skip the formality of large corporations. There are pros and cons to working with smaller companies, but the opportunity to stand out once hiring is tremendous in many cases. They are harder to find but if you’re targeting companies and not spray and pray resumes all over job boards with no luck, this gives you a better chance. It’s easier to talk to people than engage the large company machine.

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It’s all about your personal brand and what you deliver to employers

It’s all about your personal brand and what you deliver to employers

Personal branding takes time, but it has the best return on investment of your time.

I thought you might be interested in a few job search articles around the web:

  1. If you fail to treat everyone well, there will be doubt how you’ll treat others. This principle applies to your job search. 
  2. Preparing for difficult or even tricky job interview questions is hard. This article does an excellent job in helping you prepare for them.
  3. College grads seem to heed preparation advice many of us have shared over the last few years. USAToday reports this is the strongest entry-level job market in years.

New podcast schedule is starting the fall:

I will be going to a new schedule for the fall. I will publish bi-weekly shows instead of weekly ones. However, I will be posting on the blog three times a week instead of twice.

As a reminder, you’ve heard me say recently on the show my podcast summer hiatus is from July 19-Sept. 12. I plan on to enjoy my summer, but I get lots of work at this time too. I have some projects scheduled to need more of my attention. I will continue to publish the newsletter but will every two weeks.

The Job Lab

This past Tuesday night, I conducted the second Job Lab workshop for the Greater Ashburn Community Development Corporation “Aim to Work” initiative. There were five attendees this session and asking about future offerings. We are looking to expand this effort in the future. I hope soon we can do a Facebook Live so we can provide content for those not attending and reach folks who will want to attend live.

Your Degree is not a Golden Ticket

Just because you got a degree doesn’t mean things will just happen. This is the beginning. This is an article I wrote for Job2Careers that tells why and practical things you can do to make the most out of potential opportunities.

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Job Search in 2017 is Marketing, PR, and Schmoozing

Job Search in 2017 is Marketing, PR, and Schmoozing

 

There is a case for running your job search like a political campaign. There is a lot of communication to clarify your position, show the relevance of your experience, and show you can do a great job. All three reasons are much harder than just applying to jobs online. That is why many job seekers remain stuck because the easiest job search methods take time and investment.

You will need to market to the right employer who is the right fit for you and them. Any hiring contrary to a good fit for both works against you. Your adjustment to the job is critical as you’re there to do the job and learn it without special attention.

Read If Your Personal Brand is Not Disruptive, You Won’t Matter

Being a marketer is a risk. You’re treating yourself more of a commodity. By adding your personality draws attention and conversations will begin.

And that’s what you want: Positive conversations about you when while you’re not in the room. But it’s the result of effective branding.

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If your job search is a marketing campaign or a public relations effort, what does it look like:

1. Job search with a marketer’s heart

The successful candidate is no longer thinking of himself solely as an applicant but a brand. Since successful brands diversify their marketing, so should a job candidate. He or she is thinking about displaying their talent, skills, and personality in front of the right people.

As a marketer looks to segment and targets their audience, a job seeker should target their desired company.

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2. Your job search story has several views

You must learn the way your story looks like from different perspectives so you can tell the same story to different people in different ways. There is something to be said about telling a joke the same ways more than once. Most of us don’t. The joke can still be funny from different perspectives as it pertains to the audience.

3. Know what each employer’s value need is

Marketing is trial and error. Powerful marketing is meeting the need for specific markets and people sharing the positive benefits of the product or service. Employers are going to care more when a need resonates with them, not only for everyone else. Research companies and customize your approach to them.

Here are specific ways a successful candidate uses marketing tactics:

  • Personality differentiates you from the competition, so anytime you can display what makes you a fit for the culture, then this can capture the right employer’s attention
  • Letting people know how conversations are shaping his or her view of the industry. Sometimes this generates further discussion especially on social networks including LinkedIn and Facebook groups
  • Sharing their successes and the lessons from failures, mistakes, or lack of results
  • Giving more than getting is the heart of their existence

Marketing yourself has to become constant even during an inactive job search. We can argue if an “inactive job search” is a thing anymore, but everything is marketing and so is every opportunity. You cannot blindly offer value to a company or individual who does not need or want it. It’s the frustration of job seekers who are still appealing to everyone and meeting the needs of no one.