3 Things To Give Up For A Successful Job Search (Pt 2)

3 Things To Give Up For A Successful Job Search (Pt 2) 3 Things To Give Up For A Successful Job Search (Pt 2) At its core, job search is about habits: good habits move your search forward in a fruitful fashion; obsolete habits that you used the last time you had to look for a job can make your search slow and painful this time around. While you don’t have to totally commit to, “out with the old, and in with the new,” it’s important to recognize that the strategies you used to get you to your last professional goal may not be all the same strategies to get you to your next level. Earlier in this series, we talked about the need to give up compartmentalizing your search, seeking someone else’s permission, and ignoring your vision for your future. Today, let’s go over 3 more things to give up in order to have a successful job search. Give up the distractions. I know it doesn’t seem like it would be distracting â€" quite the opposite â€" it seems like you’re engaged in good activity. However, give up all the job alerts you have automatically sent to you from the job boards. They don’t match what you want, and 1,000 people applied for any single opening before you got the alert. More importantly, I want to recommend a mindset shift. When you set up those alerts, receive them in your inbox every day, and take the time to go through them and apply, all of that feels like activity. But I want you to stop and ask yourself this: “Where is the productivity?” Those are 2 different things. How many phone or in-person interviews have you gotten from doing this? I’m going to go out on a limb and bet you that it’s zero, one, or in the single digits. Distractions. Spending time on the automated job alerts every day constitutes a distraction from much more effective job search methods that take you further, faster. Replace the old habit with the practice of identifying an organization you’d like to work for, identifying the relevant decision makers, and reaching out to them directly. Give up trying to have it all. No, I cannot make your resume work for the experiential marketing roles you’re thinking about, plus do double-duty in case you come across an opening for a senior operations position. And, beyond the absolute maximum of 2 versions of your resume, no, you can’t have any more. Just stop. I understand your particular set of skills and expertise may apply to more than 1 type of role. 2 types of roles is fine. 6 is not. Focus will fix your job search every time. If you can’t say the key thing you can come into the employer’s organization to do, why do you hold the expectation that he’ll look at your list of 25 areas of expertise and magically figure it out? Let’s not have your message be messy. Your primary message needs to succinctly, clearly articulate who you are, what you do, and the value you bring. That message is the core of your story. It’s your call for the employer to take the action you most desire: for him to inbox or call you regarding an opening that matches. Give up being, as opposed to doing. I’m going to need for your resume to not resemble the following remark: “Self-starter, motivated and productive with an effective combination of directing multiple priorities and generating innovative strategies to meet and exceed performance objectives.” Say what, now? The first 5 words are adjectives. You can say any adjective about yourself that you want â€" they don’t mean anything. However, what does mean something â€" and what the employer is going to write you a check for every 2 weeks â€" is not who you can be, but what you can do. Get to the point â€" pronto. Replace the fluff with substance. For example, “Senior loan officer who consistently drives double-digit monthly revenue growth, and provides leadership to sales teams in order to raise business performance.” That’s a statement about what you actually DO. The distractions, trying to be all things to all people, and hoping to lift yourself up with the self-congratulatory stuff are all old job search habits that are out of touch with what competitive employers are looking for today. If you're serious about breaking out of the old job search habits, and finding out what really works, join us for “5 Secret Job Search Hacks For The Age 50+ Job-Hunter!” You'll see immediately how to make your LinkedIn profile the one that recruiters will find (translation: they come to you; not just you constantly put your resume out there.) We also go over what to do when your network's just not working for you anymore. Plus, I lay out the simple steps to bypass HR and directly reach the right decision makers. Register for the free presentation today.