Do you know what motivates you?
Are you tailoring your CV every time and still not getting an interview?
Perhaps you can cope with this once or twice but how does it make you feel after receiving multiple rejection letters?
How long does it take for you to pick yourself up rather than just giving up?
It is important to figure out your answers to the above to ensure an effective and efficient job search.
Here are a few steps to help you stay motivated in your job search:
- Don’t send out hundreds of CVs and applications.This often happens when you feel that you really have to get a job, you just fire out your CV to anything and everything in the hope that someone invites you for an interview. Even if you try to tailor your CV to match the job description each time, a clear lack of focus will become apparent to recruiters and hiring managers. The solution – know the type of work you really want, re-think your career aspirations then make a plan and stick to it. This focus will come across much clearer on your applications and will be picked up by hiring managers therefore increasing your chance of being invited for interview.
- Don’t ignore the hidden jobs market. If you have only been applying for advertised jobs then you are missing 70% of the jobs market! You need to expand your network and build and maintain relationships if you are to access the hidden jobs market.
- If you are using recruitment agencies, make sure that you communicate clearly with them so that they fully understand the type of job you are looking for. Agencies get paid for filling vacancies and may put you forward for positions that you just aren’t interested in. This lack of interest will come across in the interview and will not result in a job offer. Choose a couple of agencies to work with, make sure that they have a clear picture of your experience and skills so that they can sell you to their client and try to be in regular contact with them so that they don’t forget about you. If you don’t think that one particular agency is helping you, there are lots of others you can approach.
- Focus on what you can do today rather than thinking about how you ‘should’ have done things in the past. Dwelling on the past negative results of your job search will not help you get a job. Set yourself achievable daily job search goals and stick to them. Stop telling yourself that you are not good enough when you receive a rejection letter. Its human nature to struggle with rejection however think about what went wrong, ask for feedback as to why the recruiter didn’t think you were the right candidate then learn from your analysis and the feedback you get so you can do better the next time.
- Speak to someone who can give you the motivational support you need to keep going.
As with all goal setting, break your job search down into bite size pieces. Each small step achieved will get you that bit closer to your ultimate goal and will help to keep you focused and motivated.
© Anne Galloway
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Anne Galloway is the Careers Consultant for those who want to put the fun and passion back into their working week. Find out how Anne can help you along your path to career success at www.power-to-change.eu