Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search

Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search I am honored to be part of Career Collective, a  community of extremely talented resume writers and career coaches. Spring is just around the corner in some parts of the country.   Clean up your job search by reading these experts suggestions on “Re-Tooling / Re-Focusing / Organizing Your Job Search“. And, if you are on Twitter, please follow our hashtag: #careercollective. I  want to thank Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter (www.careertrend.net) and Miriam Salpeter (www.keppiecareers.com) for bringing this team of experts together. ______________________________________________________________ It is a bit too early to be using the word Spring in my neck of the woods, however, it is never too early to revamp your job search. As an aside, I dont ever vacuum or clean our house.   Yes, Ill do dishes and sweep up crumbs, but other than that, you really wont see me doing any other significant cleaning.   Thank goodness I have a husband who loves to clean. Well, maybe he doesnt love it all that much, but realizes if he doesnt do it, the house would be over-run with dinosaur sized dust balls.   It just isnt a priority of mine. I confess this because job search is something most of us dont like or want to do.   We arent skilled in it and we certainly dont have   a passion for it.   As a result, well, youve seen the result.   Read on and find tips that will help you to develop useful skills that will increase your knowledge and ability to job search better! Always take the time to assess what you want to do!   Always. If you havent done this yet, perhaps the one thing you can do is make sure that your goal is aligned with your current values, interests and developed skills. Use the right tool for the job: LinkedIn. Build your profile and figure out how to use this tool.   It allows you to stay connected with your past coworkers, supervisors, clients and vendors (no matter where they go), it allows you to develop an online presence which you control, it allows you to connect with others in your field, AND you might just get found if you are using the right key words. Polish a new resume for every job you apply for A shiny resume that doesnt explain why you are qualified for a specific job wont capture the readers attention. Customize your cover letter AND resume for each job. Scour the news not the job boards Instead of focusing (obsessing) over the job boards, spend more time collecting leads from the news. Disinfect your interview answers Practice, practice, practice out loud your answers.   Ask for honest feedback from people you respect. Corral all your supplies Have a designated work space, organize your electronic files by company, create and use a follow up system, use a calendar, keep track of passwords, in other words, be super organized. Check out new products Every day, technology improves systems and processes.   Here are some neat tools you might want to investigate.   I am currently using/playing with them all.  Rapportive, WiseStamp, StartWire, BranchOut, about.me. Whistle while you work Keep a healthy and positive outlook (easier said than done, I know) but, frustration, anger, and depression all have a way of seeping into conversations. Here is a list of supplies to check out to make your spring cleaning easier: Online Interest Profiler from O*Net LinkedIn Learning Center from LinkedIn Interview Questions to practice Industry News Letters from SmartBrief Online Tracking System from JibberJobber What are you going to do to spring clean your job search? Personal Branding to Fire Up Your Job Search, @DebraWheatman Succeeding in a “Final Jeopardy!” World, @WalterAkana 5 Steps to Retool Jumpstart Your Job Search, @erinkennedycprw Your Job Search: Lets Just Start Again Shall We? @GayleHoward 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman Ten Surefire Ways to Organize Your Job Search, @KatCareerGal Put Spring Into Your Job Search, @EliteResumes @MartinBuckland Toes in the Water, @ValueIntoWords How to Revitalize a Stale Job Search, @KCCareerCoach How to re-think your job search, @Keppie_Careers Wake Up and Smell the Flowers: Spring Cleaning Your Resume, @barbarasafani Spring Cleaning and Your Personal Brand, @resumeservice Spring clean your mind clutter first, @DawnBugni Managing Your Career 2.0: On Giving Something Up To Get It Right, @Chandlee