Job Search Strategies

Seeking a job in today’s job market is just a tricky thing. As a country, we have been told that our economy is improving, and then it is not, and then it is and really, we don’t know. The job market has reflected this. There are many skilled positions available, but if you are in the Oil and Gas field or are in an area that is not a highly desired skill-set, you may have some obstacles to overcome and I want to offer some suggestions that may help you in your job search. As a recruiter, we are accustomed to seeing resumes and different strategies all of the time. Here are some things that are recommendations. Look over your resume: Every week, we have someone who looks to have a decent skill-set, yet their resume has misspellings all over it. These are people who are accomplished in their careers all the way down to new college grads. Trust me. You will not want to have misspellings on your resume. I have had managers turn down people that when we met them, we knew that they were impressive. However, when they saw that they overlooked some errors, they knew that was not someone that they wanted on their team. Target your resume: I was just speaking with someone who was laid off from the Oil and Gas field today. She had asked me about what I thought about her resume and she had said that she could make some changes if I recommended them. But I told her that I recommended that she tweek her resume to be specifically created for each different job. I went on to explain that there may be some things that are listed in the job description that she has previously done, but it just did not seem important at the time that she was writing her resume and as a result, it was not added. But what if that one thing was something that was very important to the employer and the only reason they did not know that you attained that skill was because you submitted the same resume to everyone? That would not be considered “best practice”. Network: The best jobs and most jobs found are through networking. It is a fact. If you don’t believe me, go and ask 10 people how they found their last job. A large percentage will tell you it was found through someone they knew. I understand not wanting to blast out to everyone that you are unemployed or looking for a job, but that is what very successful people do. If you are unemployed, don’t be afraid to post a message on Facebook or other social media that you are currently looking for a job and list what your skill-set is. Just make sure that your page is not full of things that would concern your contacts in recommending you. Finding a job requires that you are aware of many things. Social media, your network, updating your resume for each position and keeping everything looking professional at all times. However, having the opportunity to be unemployed and finding something new could be the best thing that has ever happened to you. Be intentional with your time and present yourself exceptionally. I wish you the best of luck in your job search.