A Great Resume Blog

"One" Is a Lonely Number!

If you are feeling alone and isolated in your job search, it doesn't have to be that way. If you feel you're the only one looking for a job, you have plenty of company. Feeling isolated usually means the job seeker has confined themselves to their home and spends all day looking for jobs on the Internet. They may be home alone all day long, and the feeling of isolation and disconnection from the world becomes stronger with each passing day.

The good news is, you have the power to change this. Being isolated from the world IS one of the worst things you can do and will only bring you down, can cause varying degrees of depression, and certainly doesn't make you attractive to employers, or doesn't do much to accelerate your job search.

So what can you do when you are feeling totally isolated?

1. First, get out of your home because the jobs are not in your computer... it will be a sheer miracle if you do get an interview this way. But if you want things to happen, then go where the business people are... they are in their offices, at professional meetings, at conferences, having lunch, etc. Mingle with them, get out and about, be SEEN, be visible. Besides being the ABSOLUTE best way to find a job, your feeling of isolation will diminish.

2. Second, do some volunteer work. Select organizations you believe in and invest a couple of hours each week volunteering. It will make you feel great about yourself, you will be helping others, and your isolation will become a thing of the past.

3. Attend professional meetings. This is where people gather that have similar backgrounds and interests. They know what is going on at other companies and in their industries. They have connections that you need. Become an active member in the organization, volunteer for projects, get involved in committees, talk with other people, follow up with other people you were interested in, etc. Be SEEN, BE VISIBLE, BE ACTIVE.

4. Form a career team of 2-3 people who can help you with research and administrative tasks, and enable you to market yourself and network. Meet with these people regularly.

The whole idea is to get out of your home because the jobs just aren't going to arrive in your e-mail account. There are very simple cures for overcoming isolation. Isolation is a choice a person makes, but it's not the only choice.

I guarantee if you get out of your home and start doing some of the action items I mentioned above, you will feel better and great things will start to happen for you! There are people all around you, just waiting to talk with you! :)

You Sent In The Resume, Now What?

You sent the resume and cover letter, and you've been waiting and waiting but no one has called. Does this sound familiar? I bet it does .... that's what most job seekers do. I call those "passive" job seekers because they simply wait for things to happen, instead of making things happen.

Let's take a look at a few things you can do to make things happen for you!

1. First, pick up the phone and call the company - start with the Human Resources Department. Verify if they did, indeed, receive your resume. Maybe they didn't; offer to resend it via fax, e-mail, regular mail, drop it by the office!

If they have your resume, ask them where they are at in the interviewing stage. Perhaps they haven't even looked at resumes yet, let alone began interviewing. If you express interest, they are going to pull your resume out of the stack.

Find out if you can schedule a face-to-face or telephone interview with the HR Manager.

My best piece of advice is to find out who has the power to hire you, and go ahead and set up a meeting with this person... NOW. This means you are very interested in the job and company and aren't just "applying for a job."

Become aggressive. Do whatever it takes to start making connections in the company (ethically, of course).

Find out who you know who has connections to the company. Maybe your aunt or uncle has connections, your doctor, your lawyer, your next door neighbor, your tennis partner's wife's best friend's next door neighbor! Start making those links. This will enable you to speed up the process, and get your resume looked at now... You don't want your resume to go into the "Black Hole." If it does, it's more than likely forgotten forever.

The message is this... ethically do whatever it takes to get an "in" into the company by picking up the phone and calling people that work at the company, albeit it the HR Director, the person that would be your manager, the receptionist, the Customer Service Representative, etc.  Communication is POWER. Pursuing job leads and following up on resumes and cover letters are absolutely paramount.

Be an investigator - conduct an investigation to find out who you need to send the resume and cover letter too, before you hit the send button, the fax button, or seal the envelope. It's imperative. Never send your resume/cover letter to "To Whom It May Concern." It's just too easy to find out information in this day and age.

If you need help with your resume and cover letter, contact me - JoAnn Nix, at info@agreatresume.com or 1-800-265-6901. With 8,000 resumes to my credit, I can help.