We have often heard advices that we need to refresh our professional image and resume if our job search efforts appear stalled. We should take time to review our resume and our overall professional brand. There are many things we could do, such as improving our online presence, resume and cover letter. We may also ask for professional references from previous employers or clients and we should have active involvement in LinkedIn and other similar platforms.
In many cases, prospective employers have seen our resume, but we are unable to receive any proper responses. This could be a cue that we need to give our resume another look. We should check our resume for poor grammar, typos and spelling mistake. These small errors could become definite turn-off, if they are present in a large number.
In general, both our physical and online resume should pass the 20-second test and it is the time when employers are interested in reading in our resume. In this timeframe, employers would decide whether they are impressed with our job resume or not. If they are impressed, it is more likely for us to get called for a job interview.
If it takes rather long for them to call us, there’s a good possibility that our resume doesn’t pass the crucial 20-second test. In this case, we should make several alternative changes and see, which one is the best. In this case, our resume should be pleasant aesthetically, while our experience, education and qualifications should flow properly together.
It should be noted that not all job search services are created equal and we should choose job search engines that allow us to assert some online presence. Some job search services could also be focused on specific industry or career field, such as technology and IT. However, CareerBuilder and Monster are great solutions for us to broadcast our qualifications and resume skills. However, regardless of what we do, there’s still a possibility that our chances of getting noticed are rather low.
Literally thousands of job seekers and even experienced professionals are updating and posting their resumes daily. The job market is highly competitive and we shouldn’t be too general with our career objectives. This could cause us difficulties in landing that perfect job.
We should take time to research the best job search platforms that are not only focused to our career objectives, but they should also allow us to make a proper online presence. As an example, if we seek employment in the medical industry, it is a good idea to choose websites that seem to focus on nursing and medical jobs. In general, we should expand our career and look for opportunities that can land us a job in a bigger organization with better career opportunities.
We should be specific and become more focused in our job search. So, we need to look everywhere for such an opportunity. We may get very little results if we focus on a few job search websites. We should also check our local newspaper for job opportunities in our immediate areas.