No matter how much effort you’re putting in your job search, there comes a time when you have to look at yourself and ask: Is this working?
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your job search is to keep plugging away, assuming what you’re doing is working. If you aren’t getting any interview offers, callbacks or job offers—you probably need to re-think your job search strategy!
Perform a mid-year job search checkup on your efforts to determine what’s working, what isn’t and where your weaknesses lie. Here are some questions to ask yourself during your self-checkup:
The numbers
- How many jobs have I applied for in the last X months?
- How many phone interviews have I had in X months?
- How many interviews have I had in X months?
Follow-up
- Have I followed-up on any of my applications?
- Have I followed-up after interviews?
- Did I send a thank you card to each individual I interacted with?
- Did I ask for feedback when I wasn’t selected for a job opportunity? What did those employers/recruiters/hiring managers say?
Tailoring your documents
- Have I been tailoring my cover letter and resume?
- Does my resume have an objective statement, as opposed to a professional profile? Does my professional profile tie into the job description and company values?
Weaknesses
- Can I improve my interviewing skills? How will I do this?
- Is there a qualification I’m missing for my ideal job? Can I obtain this to improve my chances of landing a job?
- Have I been leveraging my networking connections to help me land a job? If not, what’s my plan for reaching out to important contacts?
- Have I been targeting ideal employers, or just applying for open positions? (I always recommend to “company search” as opposed to “job searching.”)
After taking a good look at your job search, brainstorm several ways to improve upon your efforts. Perhaps you recognize that you’ve been lazy about tailoring your cover letter and resume to each position—so be sure to dedicate more time to research and understanding of each organization.
Whatever the case, you need to have a clear understanding of the results thus far in your job search—and the reasoning behind those numbers—in order to improve upon those results and land a new job.
What other questions do you need to ask yourself in a mid-year job-search checkup? Do you have any specific tips or advice to add for job seekers struggling to land a new job?
This post is part of the Career Collective. Other posts this month include:
- 4 Summer Strategies to Step Up Your Job Search, @DebraWheatman, #CareerCollective
- Putting Your Job Search Up On The Rack For Inspection, @dawnrasmussen, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Job Search Checkup: Are you wasting your time? @GayleHoward, #CareerCollective
- What is your unique value proposition? @keppie_careers, #CareerCollective
- It is Time for Your Check-up Ms/Mr Jobseeker, @careersherpa, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Career Checkup: Are You “On Your Game?” @KatCareerGal, #CareerCollective
- Reposition your job search for success, @LaurieBerenson, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Job Search Checkup: What’s working and What’s not? @erinkennedycprw, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Job Search Check-Up: Getting Un-Stuck, @JobHuntOrg, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Check Up: The Full 360, @WalterAkana, #CareerCollective
- 5 Tips for Fighting Summer Job Search Blues, @KCCareerCoach, #CareerCollective
- Are you positive about your job search? @DawnBugni, #CareerCollective
- Where Are The Jobs? @MartinBuckland, @EliteResumes, #CareerCollective
- Mid-Year Job-Search Checkup: Get Your Juices Flowing, @ValueIntoWords, #CareerCollective
- When Was Your Last Career & Job Search Check Up? @expatcoachmegan, #CareerCollective
- Is Summer A Job Search Momentum Killer? @TimsStrategy, #CareerCollective
- Is It Time for Your Resume Checkup? @barbarasafani, #CareerCollective
