Do you feel like your job hunt just isn’t working? Here are 11 resources you may have overlooked.
11 Resources For Job Hunting You May Have Overlooked
1. University / College Career Centers
Usually, Alumni can use these services for free. Even if you are not a student, or alumni, they may offer assistance because many Universities offer a wide array of services to the local community. Don’t feel that because you are over thirty that they won’t help you. These days, college campuses host a great range of ages. Such centers can provide great career advice and are happy to help you get a job. They can provide feedback and help you spruce up your resume and cover letter, give you practical advice about the direction of your career path, locate various jobs and help you practice interviewing. Jobs posted will often be local, and will rarely charge the employer to list post jobs. Obviously, this is a good place to look for internships.
2. Community Job Center Job Search
Employment job centers are likely to have positions that don’t require a degree. Often they are located in Community Centers. They are also unlikely to charge for posting jobs as internet sites and newspapers often do, so in a sluggish economy employers may opt to post open positions here rather than use an outlet requiring a fee.
3. Craigslist.org
There is no fee for placing ads here, so smaller local businesses may use it rather than pay for a subscription to an internet job site. There is a surprising variety of jobs posted on Craigslist. They post anything from babysitting, software engineering, hourly customer service positions, to bartending and management. It’s free so why not! You can also post you’re your resume under “jobs wanted. While I haven’t seen many “internship wanted” ads posted, this looks like a good place for it.
4. Explore Working With Recruiters: Headhunters ; Employment Agencies; Temp Agencies; Executive Recruiting Firms; Executive Search Firms; Placement Agencies.
There are many names for these establishments that operate in a similar fashion. Typically, employment agencies handle a whole gamut of job orders ranging from catering and cleaning to administrative, accounting, management and high-tech. Administrative is a good place to start if you are a recent graduate and have no post – graduation work experience.
Recruiters and Headhunters tend to handle more professional positions with candidates that have at least 4 years work experience within the same field. They are rarely interested in recent graduates unless you have a specialized, marketable skill, few possess. Certain technical fields may be the exception. A good recruiter can be very helpful with your career transition, as long as you are transitioning in a direction that is likely to lead them to making a commission.
Most recruiters don’t charge a fee to the candidate and they are categorized as Contingency. The agency getting paid is contingent on the candidate (you) getting placed. The employer pays the fee. Those who require the candidate to pay a fee are retained executive search firms. The wording can be tricky as sometimes a contingency recruitment agency has a retained search to fill a position. This scenario tends to come about when a position requires a very specific skill set and they are willing to pay a retainer to ensure they get the right candidate. Bottom line, don’t pay the fee unless you are already in the 250K salary range and personally know someone who has successfully been placed at that level with that particular headhunter.
Get one of these accounts. It’s like Facebook, but business only! You can join various online groups and forums specializing in your professional areas of interest. Often jobs are posted within the forums so as to attract candidates already involved in that particular industry. This is a good way to “build your network”. Recruiters, and HR Professionals often cruise these sites for candidates. It’s also a good way to passively look for work while employed. Linkedin, like Facebook, lists your new “connections” so be aware that if you “link” to co-workers because they may notice when you have new “links” to headhunters or competing companies, so remember to adjust your privacy settings.
6. Request “Informational Interviews”
Some companies will grant “Informational Interviews”, where they grant you an interview you to see if you would be a good company fit, should a job open up. This builds your network. When the economy was better, students often did informational interviews a few months before graduating. In this sluggish economy, the technique is best suited for people that either make a stellar first impressions or have a particular skills set you know that company is seeks regularly. As there are already so many applicants trying to connect with employers, it’s harder to get informational interviews these days, but worth a shot. For example, if you work with a rare computer language that is not widely used, but you know a company utilizing it, you may be able to get your foot in the door with this type of interview. Keep in mind that you’ll be paying your own expenses as you have not been invited to interview for a particular job opening.
7. Optimize Your Time
Use a spreadsheet to track the jobs you have applied for as well as which versions of your resume and cover letter that were sent out. This will help you track and set attainable goals to chart your progress. This will also save time you may have otherwise wasted by sending your resume to the same postings twice. When you’ve looked at so many of them, it’s hard to keep track of the ones you have already seen. You should also track when you have checked your favorite job sites with a list of the positions on that site you have already applied for. Set a goal for how many jobs you want to apply for each day or week. Some people apply for 10 or 20 jobs and think that’s a concerted effort. Don’t start whining that there’s nothing out there until you’ve applied for a few hundred. Looking for a job IS a job. Don’t forget that.
8. Career/Job Fairs
Career Fairs are often hosted at hotels, campuses, and convention centers. You don’t have to be a recent graduate to benefit from attending. Most large Universities will have links on their sites to various recruiting events. These will be listed on the “Career Resources” or “Career Center” pages. If they are sponsored by a University, check first to see if a student ID is required to attend. Communities and professional organizations also host job fairs. If held at a hotel, NEVER enter a hotel room for an interview for 101 reasons.
9. Resume Writing Service
If you are not good at writing resumes, seek help. If you can’t get free help, pay for it, but don’t pay too much. How much is too much? Tough call. I’ve heard them range from $20 to several hundred. Perhaps a friend or family member who is good at writing, will help you for free. What do you have to lose by asking? Dinner will be cheaper than a resume service and someone who already knows you may point out skills you never thought to mention. A fresh set of eye may catch details you have overlooked.
10. Build Your Network!
Talk to Friends and Family. Ask them to keep an eye for new jobs they hear about and for them to ask their friends. Request help, but don’t harass. Even casual acquaintances may be able to point you in the right directions. Acquaintances you have from basketball, PTA, dance class always mention you are looking. Most people will empathize and offer leads if they have any.
11. Online Newspaper Classifieds
Most people still associate newspapers with big cumbersome layers of newsprint. Think about it, media these days is all over the internet, so you can peruse newspapers nationwide for local jobs from the internet and without accumulating a ton of paper. Go to a newspaper’s website and search for their classified section online.
