Seven Tips to Reach Your Employment Goal

You’ve read the news and watched the reports. There are jobs out there! Now that you know the well is open, how can you tap into it? You’ve found a job, and now you want to put your best foot forward. What are some of the ways you can do that?

(1) Proofread!

Potential employers will find misspelled words and typos distracting, and may move on to the next application or resume in the pile.

(2) Follow Up

Unless specified by the employer, follow-up on the applications and resumes you submit. Such actions are an excellent way to show interest in the position you applied for. Keep in mind that some employers may have rules on how you can follow-up or when to do so. Be sure to respect them!

(3) Keep a Job Journal

It can take a while to find the right match between employer and job-seeker. You may apply for a number of positions before you land that dream job. How do you keep track of it all? Keep a job journal of when, where, and whom you applied to, as well as any pertinent information such as interview times, names, etc. Not only will you be more organized, but that type of attention to detail is a skill you can take with you into any job.

(4) Create an email address only for your job search.

It sounds funny, but an employer who sees liketosleepin@email.com may have second thoughts about hiring the person behind the email. Choose an address appropriate to your job search inquiries (your name followed by the @somewhere.com is a good option). Not only does that look more professional, your job search emails won’t get mixed in with any personal emails.

(5) Define your goal.

It sounds simple, but goals can be hard to put into words. What do you want to do? Write it in your job journal if it helps. Applying for jobs is a tough job in and of itself.  Working towards a goal can make some of those smaller tasks all worth in the end.

(6) Practice. Practice some more.

You’ve got the interview, and you know you’re going to get some tough questions. How do you prepare? Look at what others have said in the past.  For example,  College Grad has some great questions and answers for those tough interview questions that make you go ‘hmmm’.

(7) Make yourself available.

Now that you spent all that time searching and applying, make yourself available. That means daily access to email or phone to take those calls and schedule those interviews. If you’re having trouble affording a cell phone, you may want to look at government-sponsored plans such as Budget Mobile’s Lifeline program.

We’re going to start bringing you more employment tips each month. If you have any tips you’ve found extremely useful, or would like to share any comments on the article, please contact us or visit us on our Facebook page!