Whilst it is great news to read that unemployment is at its lowest rate in nearly 50 years, the outlook is not so great for those who are still looking.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there are signs that the job market may have peaked with the number of job vacancies falling due to a variety of economic pressures.
So, if you are looking for a new opportunity, the following could make the difference.
Executing an Effective Job Search Campaign – Tip 4 of 10
Trying to identify and secure a new role is hard enough but launching a campaign without clear focus and thorough preparation will invariably lead to a less than optimal result. Therefore, your pre-campaign preparation should include:
- A Career Search Objective that answers the question, “So, what are you looking for?”
- A powerful CV, Capability Profile and LinkedIn profile aligned to your objective and a comprehensive set of marketing messages.
- The actions you need to take to respond effectively to advertised positions, approach head-hunters and recruiters, make targeted direct approaches and network confidently.
- How to manage the interview so that you optimise impact, credibility and fit.
- How to negotiate effectively to increase the offer and secure other benefits.
Assuming that you can tick the above 5 points, over the next 10 weeks we will be sharing with you 10 things you can do to ensure that your job search is an effective one.
Tip 4 of 10: LOG YOUR ACTIONS AND RESULTS
Make notes following every phone call, interview and referral meeting. Record what was said, what you learned and what the next steps are. Learn from each experience and practice the behaviours you know are difficult for you.
If you are not in employment, bear in mind what your real job is and keep up to date with developments in your industry by reading, attending events and talking with relevant people.
Don’t mistake activity for results. Some tasks are time-consuming but are not particularly productive, so categorise your tasks according to how urgent they are, i.e., the things where there is a target date or deadline and then for importance, i.e., how much it matters in the long term whether you do them.
IMPORTANT/URGENT – These tasks generally get attention – they are both time bound and have long term value.
IMPORTANT/NON-URGENT – These are the ones that suffer, they can be postponed ‘till things ease up a bit’. But generally, your marketing campaign and career management tasks fall into this category.
UNIMPORTANT/URGENT – The temptation is to tackle these tasks at the expense of the ones that really matter. Ask yourself what will happen if they don’t get done.
UNIMPORTANT/NON-URGENT – These are the activities we do to avoid tackling the important but unpleasant ones.
So, managing an effective job search campaign might not be as daunting as you first thought and may not require anything more than a fresh perspective. It sounds simple and it is, it’s just not always easy, especially when trying to do it alone.