Think Out of Box With Your Job Search

by Tim A. Freeman
It's no secret that the job market is tight which equates to a larger jobseeker pool jockeying for fewer and fewer jobs. While this is true, the greater question is are you thinking outside of the box in your quest for a new job or simply a job? If you have been looking for a while, that may be an indication that you are stuck which may likely point to your approach to reviving your livelihood. With that being said, here are a few points to consider.

  1. Bigger is Better

    This is common gotcha with many jobseekers in terms of the belief that applying to a gazillion jobs will further your chances of landing a job. The truth of the matter is - such is not only false but it makes you seem more desperate versus confident in your skills and ability to contribute to your prospective employer’s bottom line. Instead, focus on selling your niche and target job openings that closely relate to you niche skill set.

  2. Who You Know

    This one tops the charts in terms of approach to securing that next position while muscling out the next guy/gal. There is no doubt that “who you know” has weight and can make the difference. On the other hand that strategy works much better is fair weather times versus turbulent times. In the latter case, even the power brokers tend to start “looking over their shoulder” in fear of the axe cometh swinging. This in turn means that your insider connection with hiring power may tend to retract considering the element of risk which is heightened during retracting times.

  3. Networking

    This one is a derivative of “who you know” where jobseekers seek to make inroads with the new. The current trend these days are social networking scenes like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. While this form of networking, as a concept, is great - the reality is that they are only as good as you use them. Ask yourself, are you building mutually beneficial relationships or do you focus more on how many friends you add, picture sharing, and idle chit chat. Of course only you know that answer and how you answer that is directly related to your results.
In short, while the job market may be tight there are still jobs oufor landing the one for you is to focus on the reality at hand. This equates to drumming up your niche skill set, building mutually beneficial relationships and leveraging the power of social networking. Personally speaking, Twitter is an excellent environment for relationship building considering its unique focus on, you, as a person. In any case, remember that a resource is only as good as it is used. So pull your resources together and land that job!