Are you getting a job difficult? Recent calculations revealed more than 15.1 million unemployed individuals in the United States. Just looking at this number raises the blood pressure. Getting a job today is dramatically different than even a year ago. You have to elevate your game in order to get noticed. Almost every job seeker searches online job boards. Almost every job seeker experiences heightened frustration. Here are a few strategies to slant the playing field in your favor, and separate yourself from the pack of job seekers:
1. Identify your niche. Getting a job requires laser focus in competing for positions where you expect to have long term success. Taking the shotgun approach of applying for every job opening that even remotely interests you or resembles your skill set accomplishes two things: wastes your time and increasing your frustration level.
2. Create your own personal brand. Once you have identified your niche, now you have to articulate to potential employers how you are different than the hundreds of others competing for the same position. Getting a job requires standing out from the crowd, which is creating your personal brand and articulating that brand to your intended audience.
3. Determine your intended audience. With your niche identified and your brand created, to whom are you selling? Research your intended geographic area and find out which companies typically hire for your niche, and then aggressively pursue those opportunities.
4. Utilize your network. There are two types of people: those who already know you and your skills, and those who need to know you and your skills. Many job seekers make the mistake of conducting a job search to get a job. Conduct a people search and leverage your sphere of influence to get in front of the hiring manager and decision maker.
5. Continue to study and prepare. Prepare for the initial meeting by studying the company, understanding where they fit in the marketplace, their history, their products and services, their target market, etc. Too many job seekers do not conduct the appropriate research. You only have one chance to make a dynamic first impression. Study and prepare to capitalize on your chance. In addition to studying the company, spend timing preparing yourself for the best possible performance in any interview or screening process is just as vital. Athletes don’t go into high-stakes competition cold, and neither should a job seeker.
Getting a job requires adding a sense of purpose and resolve to your activities. Employing these five strategies will help separate you from the competition, enhance the focus of your job search and help you position for employment faster.
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