Ten Tips for Effective Work Search

Are you in transition? Looking for meaningful employment, a job where your skills and talents and experience will be valued? Here’s help!

1. What do you say when people ask, “what do you do?” Be clear about your special gifts and strengths; define succinctly what you can offer. A 30-second personal marketing statement is a powerful tool!
2. Does your resume reflect where you are going, as well as where you’ve been? Does it serve the purpose of communicating the benefits you bring to the marketplace along with your experience and training? Can the reader see the person – YOU – behind the dates and titles?
3. It’s not just “who you know” it’s “who knows about you”. Be resourceful. Contribute. While you’re looking for work, stay visible by volunteering or offering your expertise wherever you can. You continue to have value even if your paycheque is temporarily missing.
4. Are you comfortable in a formal interview setting? Do you know how to keep the energy up and the attention focused when you’re under examination? Be prepared to answer carefully and well. Different interview styles require different preparation.
5. Where do you go for information on what’s happening in our fair city? There are many places to help the job seeker. One of the best is the Calgary Business Information Centre, #250, 639 – 5th Avenue S.W.
6. Be strategic. Plot your campaign. Create a structured action plan and implement it! Set goals – 10 calls a day or 2 professional contacts one morning, for example – and celebrate your achievements. Job seeking is full of small successes en route to the big one: your new job.
7. You’ll hear it again and again: most jobs aren’t advertised. So where and how do you hear about them? Ask! Information interviews are one of the best ways to find out what’s happening in your industry or profession. Calgary is a networking town. You can depend on a friendly response at least once in a while. And remember, return the favor when someone asks to meet with you when you’re working again.
8. Are you feeling dispirited? Unmotivated? Invisible? Invite three colleagues to start a strategy team. Barbara Sher’s books are full of ideas for purposeful group support. Look for Wishcraft – How to Get What Your Really Want or I Could do anything If I Only Knew What It Was. There is energy when people gather and share ideas and encouragement.
9. Create a board of advisors. After all, you are the CEO of your own life and we can all benefit from a group of interested, thoughtful and committed supporters. For the price of a dinner or a glass of wine, you can address your work search challenges and ask your board for their counsel. If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the company!
10. When you’re working again, and you will be, remember to keep in touch with all those whom you’ve met on the way. You are not alone. Your experience can help someone else and everyone benefits when we support each other.