Office of Disability Concerns Client Assistance Program How to find and secure your job! December 1,, 2016 Office of Disability Concerns 2401 NW 23rd St, Ste 90 OklaHoma City, OK 73107 (800) 522-8224 http://ok.gov/odc/ httPs://www.facebook.com/Pages/Oklahoma-Office-of-Disability-Concerns/ Job-Hunting Do's and Don'ts for Job-Seekers | Quintessential LiveCareer 12/21/16, 1159 AM Job-Hunting Do’s and Don’ts Printer-Friendly Version by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. Here are the keys to successful job-hunting. Job-seekers who follow these rules and guidelines — the do’s and don’ts of job- hunting — should have much more success in the job-search. Do use all avenues/methods of job-hunting available. And do have a job-hunting strategy. Do take advantage of all Web-based job-hunting methods, including general job-hunting sites, industry-specific job sites, geo-graphic-specific job sites, company (employer) sites, and networking sites. Do know the Job-Search Domino Effect. Don’t rely on any one method of job-hunting, especially job-hunting on the Internet (which should be at most 25 percent of your efforts), but do https://www.livecareer.com/quintessential/dosdonts Page 1 of 3 Job-Hunting Do's and Don'ts for Job-Seekers | Quintessential LiveCareer 12/21/16, 1159 AM consider using our Quintessential Careers Job Board as one of your options. Do have a professional looking resume and cover letter. And do use action verbs in your cover letters and resume. And for help analyzing your work experience, do complete a job-seeker accomplishments worksheet. Do focus on identifying your key accomplishments. Also, do use transferable skills to better explain your work experience — especially for recent college grads and career changers. Do consider developing a job skills portfolio, which showcases everything you have to offer a prospective employer. Do develop multiple versions of your resume. Don’t expect to get a new job overnight; job-hunting takes time and patience. But do take some time to reflect on your strategies if you have been job-hunting for several months and have not had any success. Do consider developing your personal brand. Self (career) branding is essential to the career advancement of job-seekers because branding helps define you and your value to current and prospective employers. Use these free personal branding and career self-marketing tools to help develop and strengthen your brand. Do have at least one version of a compelling elevator speech for job- hunting, job fairs, and networking situations. Don’t quit your current job until you have a new job. And do give proper notice when you quit your current job. And when resigning your job, do so with class. Do know the current dress for success rules for job-hunting. Do take advantage of your friends, family, and colleagues to network, network, network. And don’t simply rely on passive job-hunting methods. Don’t get discouraged if you’ve been fired or downsized. https://www.livecareer.com/quintessential/dosdonts Page 2 of 3 Job-Hunting Do's and Don'ts for Job-Seekers | Quintessential LiveCareer 12/21/16, 1159 AM Do follow-up all job leads. And do be persistent; there is truth to the “squeaky wheel” cliche. Do make sure a potential employer can reach you. Provide your home phone, cell phone, and email. And do make sure that your voicemail (or user name for e-mail) is professional. Do prepare and practice for your job interviews. And do be sure and ask questions at the interview. Do conduct research on all companies that interest you. Do send thank you letters to all people who interview you. Do make sure you use these other free job-hunting do’s and don’ts on all the major aspects of career development and job-hunting: Job-Hunting Do’s and Don’ts Articles. Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker’s Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms. Read all our job-hunting do’s and don’ts articles for job-seekers. Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas. https://www.livecareer.com/quintessential/dosdonts Page 3 of 3 Guide to Finding Jobs Online: Online Job Search Tutorial - Job-Hunt.org 12/21/16, 1158 AM Implementing Your Job Search, Finding Jobs Online Today By Susan P. Joyce [This is Step 2 in Part 2 of Job-Hunt's Online Job Search Tutorial.] So, where do you find the jobs NOW? Even if you had a successful job search 2 years ago, don't assume that what worked then will work now. Spending your time polishing your resume and then applying for every job you find with that resume does NOT work today for most job seekers. Technology is rapidly changing -- used a pay phone, a BlackBerry, or a paper map recently? Those changes have a very big impact on how recruiters recruit. And, changes in recruiting dramatically change effective job search strategies. [MORE: 5 Ways to Land Your New Job Faster.] Advertisement Essential Success Tips Today, it is very easy to get overwhelmed with options when you are searching online for a new job. To avoid wasting your valuable time and energy searching for job postings, start here: Focus Your Job Search Choose a target job and target employers where you would like to work, and focus your efforts on that job and those employers. https://www.job-hunt.org/findingjobs.shtml Page 1 oF 9 Guide to Finding Jobs Online: Online Job Search Tutorial - Job-Hunt.org 12/21/16, 1158 AM Unfocused job seekers apply for anything and everything. Consequently, they train employers, resume databases, and applicant tracking systems to ignore them. FACT: You are spinning your wheels and wasting your time until you focus on a particular kind of job and a group of target employers. You are not, as many believe, increasing your options by being vague and generic in your approach to your job search. If you don't know the job you want, you will have a much more challenging job search. Read 9 Steps to a Shorter Job Search and Successful Elevator Pitch in 7 Steps from WorkCoachCafe.com. Unless You Are Qualified, Don't Waste Time Clicking the "Apply" Button Fewer than 20% of jobs are filled by someone responding to a job posting, although many job seekers focus all of their efforts on applying for every job posting they find. FACT: Recruiters use the term -- "resume spammers" -- to describe people who apply for every job they find. Resume spammers are ignored. Don't be one! Because of the very large number of applications usually submitted by unqualified applicants in response to most posted jobs, job postings are NOT employers favorite way to fill jobs now -- too many resume spammers. Employers' favorite way to fill jobs today is next. Read Why Resumes Don't Get Read (and What You Can Do About It) and https://www.job-hunt.org/findingjobs.shtml Page 2 oF 9 Guide to Finding Jobs Online: Online Job Search Tutorial - Job-Hunt.org 12/21/16, 1158 AM New Requirements for Resume Success for more details. Be "Find-able" Online Being find-able online is essential today for two very important reasons: 1. Recruiters will find you when they search online for qualified candidates. Because of resume spammers, searching for qualified job candidates is an employer's favorite way to fill jobs. Called "sourcing" it is also often the quickest way to identify good candidates. When you are appropriately visible online, employers searching for qualified job candidates will find you, particularly on LinkedIn. When you know what you want to do next, preferably with a list of 10 to 100 target employers, you will be able to focus your online visibility on the right keywords in the right places. Those right places include: Your LinkedIn Profile and other activities on LinkedIn (your LinkedIn Updates and LinkedIn Group activities). Your other social media visibility, like Twitter and Facebook. Your resume and job applications. If you spend time applying for jobs online, customize the application or resume you submit so it includes the keywords used in the job description that are appropriate for you. 2. Recruiters will be able to verify the facts on your resume or application and to get a sense of your "fit" with their organization. Without appropriate online visibility, you are effectively invisible. And that makes your job search longer and more difficult because... https://www.job-hunt.org/findingjobs.shtml Page 3 oF 9 Guide to Finding Jobs Online: Online Job Search Tutorial - Job-Hunt.org 12/21/16, 1158 AM Recruiters and employers are generally suspicious of invisible people, assuming that the invisibility is because the person is out-of-date (no understanding of how to use the Internet for business) or has something to hide. Neither of those assumptions will help your job search succeed. Research has shown that more than 80% of employers and recruiters search the Internet to learn more about you before seriously considering you for a job or inviting you in to an interview. If they can't find you, you are usually not considered for their jobs. Read Get "Sourced" to Get Hired, and Job-Hunt's Guide to Personal Search Engine Optimization and Guide to Personal Online Reputation Management for more details.