Job Hunting Tips and Ideas

To increase your chances of finding a job in your career field, consider joining a professional association in your field. The cost of joining a career-oriented association is usually very low, and this can be a good investment in your field as you can network with other people who share your interest in the field that you work in. This can give you a chance to hear about job opportunities that are not always listed on the usual job listing venues! Not only do you get to expand your network of professional connections, you also gain the chance to hear about great companies to work for!

One way to legitimately boost your chances in a job interview would be to read recent news relevant to the field that you work in to find topics that can show your interest in making the job function better for your prospective employer. For example, if you work as an accountant and you have a CPA license, you could bring up a recent news story about new legislation relevant to financial reporting. By doing this you can show the interviewer that you care about the field that you work in, and that you are eager to find ways to help your prospective employer be ready to meet the new challenges ahead. Many hiring managers will find your interest and currency on relevant topics in your line of work to be a big plus compared to your peers who are not as up to date as you are!

Keep several versions of your resume handy by creating similar, but not exact duplicate, copies of them! Using your favorite text editor or word processing app, switch some of the keywords in your resume around so that each copy of your resume has a slightly different mix of them. When applying for a job, pick the version that has the most relevant keyword matches to the job listing and submit that version for the hiring manager to review. Some job seekers may argue that it is better to just tailor the keywords on an as-needed basis, but if you have set up the multiple versions of your resume beforehand, you will be able to respond to job openings much quicker than editing resume versions on the fly!

Make sure that ALL of your contact information (address, home phone, mobile line, email address) are up to date. This also applies to your social media accounts such as LinkedIn and Twitter. You do not want to miss that call (or email) from a recruiter or HR manager who wants to bring you in for an interview!

Is your resume spelled correctly? Is it written in clear and concise English? Beware of incorrectly spelled keywords related to your career and job level! If an important keyword has the wrong spelling in your resume, you may never get to the interview stage because of a typo that caused your resume to get filtered out during the candidate screening process before the hiring manager gets to pick the candidates to interview!

Consider having a friend or a trustworthy colleague review your resume to catch errors and to ensure that your resume highlights the best of your professional abilities and experience. Ask them to read the resume as if they were a hiring manager looking to fill a position in a job that you are interested in, and have them rate your resume in terms of how qualified you would be to be hired for that position. Make sure to ask for constructive criticism and to prevent unnecessarily judgmental analysis in order to get the best results (and to keep it friendly). And to make the process even more fun and fair, consider switching roles to return the favor!

What does your resume actually look like? Put on your marketing hat and try to look at your resume as if you were an advertiser promoting your services to prospective employers. This also applies to resumes you would send to a temp agency or a headhunter. Would your resume make the hiring manager or recruiter excited about bringing you in for an interview? The truth is that appearance does matter, and using a clear and easy to read layout, combined with balanced spacing, reasonable margins, and easy to read fonts (we recommend Arial, New Roman, Helvetica, and similar common fonts, but please avoid handwriting-like fonts or unusual fonts) that are not too small will go a long way to keep your resume from getting tossed in the trash can!

Some people may argue that in the age of automated resume scanning, document layout and font are much less of a concern today than in the past, but that is not entirely correct. For one thing, most staffing agencies like ours still read resumes the old-fashioned way. This is why it is important to make sure that you have the proper keywords and matching resume content fit for the job you are applying for, as eventually there will be a point where a real human manager will get to look at your resume (after the automated filtering has been done) so you want them to get the best impression possible. Why shortchange yourself with a bad-looking resume that has great content when you can have the best of both worlds?!

Your job searching strategy should always include several different pathways besides just endlessly submitting resumes to online listings. For starters, talk to people who work in your chosen field or profession, or in the one where you are seeking a job if changing careers. Try to get a sense of what people are looking for in the job candidates applying for open positions similar to the jobs that interest you. Then, broaden your reach by adding in a headhunter or recruiter who specializes in your field, and talk to them about what you have to offer to an employer, as well as your own career interests, and try to establish a relationship with them along the way. Think of the recruiter or staffing agent as your sales representative, and give them as much leverage as possible to help you get interviews at jobs that interest you. After all, if you don't talk with your headhunter or recruiter, how will they know what jobs would best suit your interests and match the needs of their clients (i.e. employers)?!

Brevity with clarity in resumes is important, as the people (hiring managers or HR staff) often have limited time for reading them. However, you still need to write using proper sentence structure in the sections of the resume where you are not just listing off skill sets or areas of experience (such as software used, certifications earned, etc.) in order to show that you are able to think constructively and to communicate complex information to others in a concise and understable way. In the information age that we now live in, many hiring managers prefer candidates who have the ability to parse and convey information in a succinct but useful manner, so think of your resume and cover letter as two key opportunities to show off your skills in those areas!

If your job or profession requires a degree or a certificate, and if the one you have matches the kind required in your line of work, make sure that your resume mentions it in the section that covers your educational background. It is always better to have a degree which is relevant to your profession, but if you have a degree in phlebotomy while you are working in finance, for example, it is still useful to show that degree in your resume as that indicates that you have the ability to learn new skills in diverse subjects and that you can complete significant projects that require long term commitment, which is viewed as a positive sign for hiring managers. However, it is a good idea to ensure that the college or university transcript shows the same graduation date (or the date on which the degree or certificate was conferred), as shown on your resume. It may seem trivial but if your resume shows a different date than what is on the transcript, that could reduce your chances of getting past the resume-screening phase of the hiring process!

Have you tried the services of a resume writing consultant or a professional proofreader? If you have been sending out hundreds of resumes without getting any interviews, it might not be a bad idea to get a second opinion on the quality and content of your resume or CV. This goes beyond mere spell-check work, because the content and relevancy of your resume are essential for landing a job interview. Speaking of relevancy, make sure the resumes you send out contain skills and experience that are actually relevant to the job you are applying for! In other words, resumes that closely match job requirements are the ones that get picked first for further review!

It is commonly accepted knowledge that many people who leave their jobs or are terminated for cause end up in that predicament on Fridays more often than on any other weekday. The conventional wisdom recommends that Monday and Tuesday are the best days to submit job applications to help fill the newly empty job positions but it might actually be a better idea to submit them on Wednesdays or Thursdays instead in order to avoid getting lost in the crowd, so to speak! In other words, time your job application so that you are getting into the job candidate list after the big rush is over, as many people who apply in the initial rush will already have been screened out by the time you apply for the position!

Have you tried staggering your job applications? No we do not mean getting drunk and staggering from job interview to another, but rather to schedule them in a stress-free timeline so that you can represent yourself in the best possible light to the interviewers! This means that you should only schedule one or two interviews per day at the most. If you try to cram more than two interviews into one day, it is no better than trying to cram for an exam at the last moment! Which is better, being stressed-out and in a hurry for your interviews or being stress-free and relaxed to make your next professional career move?!

You may have hear of the term CV, or curriculum vitae, being used instead of the word resume. They are actually similar but different documents, but used interchangeably, and in some industries the CV is the standard document to submit with a job application, rather than a resume. The usage of CVs is much more prevalent outside of the United States, but it has gained traction within the US as well. Traditionally, the CV has been longer than a resume in terms of content, and is not as job-specific as a resume would be. It may be a good idea for you to consider creating two versions of your resume, with the second one taking the form of a CV, especially if your desired employer is a global firm or if your target job involves international travel or areas of responsibility.

Do you send out the same cover letter with every job application? Avoid doing that! Instead keep several pre-made versions handy, with each one containing a job title that you are looking to get. Within each of those variants of the cover letter, tailor the content specifically for that job title. Insert a bracketed phrase like [CompanyName] where you would want to place the name of the employer (for jobs where you know the name of the company) and compose the wording around it so that you can leave it out if the name of the company is not provided in the job listing. You can create other similar bracketed clauses for the variable parts of the cover letter document so that you can quickly substitute the text and thus create one when you find a job that you want to apply for. If you are using a staffing agency or a temporary agency to conduct your job search, they will take care of the cover letter with their own version of it, and it will be customized based on your background and best qualifications for the job.

If you have a friend who is also looking for a job, try sharing your resumes with each other! Then both of you can set aside a half hour to read through your friend's resume and jot down notes about how it can be revised to improve the odds of getting an interview, and share that feedback with each other. Job searching can actually be more fun when you know that a good friend has given you a better shot at getting hired by reviewing your resume beforehand, and the benefit to your careers is mutual. You would be amazed at how much better your chances of finding a job can be with a simple set of resume modifications suggested by a trusted friend!

Does the idea of sending out endless resumes to job ads deter you from getting a move on your career? In that case it would actually be a better strategy to turn to the help of a staffing professional or a headhunter in the beginning of your job search. You will likely receive good feedback about your resume and career path from the recruiter as it is their best interest to present you in the best possible light to prospective employers. You can then use their feedback to refine your resume and adjust your job search strategy accordingly, and you can try sending out updated versions of your resume to job listings on popular job search sites as well. A broadly diversified job search strategy is usually the best way to go for finding your dream job!

Tired of long-term job hunting? Do not give up! Try to mix up your job search time with trying out some new activities like reading about some new subjects you normally do not read about, or taking some new exercise classes, or just walking in the park. The idea is to do something very different from your usual routine. This will help take your mind off the job search which can be a stressful time, and allows you to relax and prepare for the day you get a new job interview. Keeping yourself in balance is important, and there is a good chance that it will actually help you figure out which jobs truly interest you the most!

After you have updated your resume for a new skill or work experience, be sure to send a copy immediately to your recruiter or headhunter! The reason for this is twofold: first, staffing professionals have a vested interest in your success, and they will be the first ones to tell you if there is any problem with the changes you made to your resume (or CV). Secondly, these professionals often have a very large network of connections to hiring managers and will be able to broadcast your updated resume much more effectively than you would be able to on your own! So when you learn a new skill that is relevant to your desired job, use your staffing pros and their diverse connections to spread the word about your updated job qualifications!

Make sure to send extra copies of your resume to friends or colleagues that you can trust. Have them forward your resume to managers who are actively hiring, and be sure to ask them to send their resume to you immediately so you can return the favor! A simple vis-a-vis resume swap with friends and colleagues resulting in distribution to hiring managers or HR personnel can be all it takes for you to find your next career move!

Job searching is an important part of your career - without it you cannot build a successful job track record! Therefore you will need to be organized and keep track of your progress, which will help you determine which job search tactics are working best for you. This can be as simple as using a deck of blank 3 inch by 5 inch index cards! For just a few dollars at a store you can get several sets of blank index cards with different colors each. Each time you apply for a job, write the job title at the top of the card, then below it write the date on which you applied for the job. Then add in the name of the staffing agency or the name of the website where you found the job listing. If your index cards come in multiple colors, you can use the card color to indicate the version of the resume that you sent to the recruiter for that job (otherwise you would need to write down the version number or name of the resume file that you sent to them). Then, once you hear back from the recruiter, write the date on which they responded to you and also the number of days it took for them to reply to you in parentheses after the date. If they ask you to come to an interview, write that date on the card also, and the number of days from your initial submission inside parentheses. Do this for every job you apply to on a new index card. You can also do the same thing within a spreadsheet file on your computer, with each row representing a different job position that you apply to, and placing the event dates in columns across the spreadsheet and use a datediff function to count the days between them and then sort the list according to the day counts by resume version. After a while you will be able to see which versions of your resume get the fastest responses from hiring managers, and then you can use that knowledge to speed up your job search!

We recommend that you use a three-sided approach to job searching which consists of: networking, using a headhunter or a staffing agency, and responding to job listings online. Since a large a percentage of jobs are filled through contacts between people who know each other, we advocate that at least one third of your job searching should be done via traditional networking techniques. Furthermore, the next one-third of your job search time should be delegated to a headhunter or a staffing agent for the same reason! Once you have spent two-thirds of your job search time to utilize those two methods, then you can proceed to post your resume to as many job listings as you think you would be a good fit for to make up the last one-third of your job search strategy. This three-fold tactic, along with a little tenacity and perseverance, will give you the best chance to succeed in your job search!

Treat your job search with the care and attention it deserves! The process of looking for a new job is stressful enough as is, but with a little organizing and strategy on your part it can be a lot easier to manage. Divide your time so that you do not risk job-search burnout by splitting the tasks that a job search entails - for example schedule your job listing search on the web for a few hours on Mondays and Thursdays. Bookmark the jobs that interest you and make a note in your job search journal (use a notebook or a Word document on the computer). Follow up on those bookmarked jobs by making calls or contacting your headhunter on Tuesdays and Fridays, and then go to interviews on Wednesdays. Feel free to use another similar schedule if you prefer, but the idea is to partition out your tasks, and to reduce your stress go to job interviews on days that you do not have any other job search tasks to do. By treating your job search as a longer-term project with small repeatable tasks on different days, you will find it much easier to keep it all together while making your next career move!

Many career advisors, as well as surveys of job-seekers, indicate that a typical job search can take anywhere from three to six months, and in some cases much longer. Therefore you need to treat your job search as a long-term project, and to organize and plan it accordingly! In the beginning of your job search write down all the different job titles you might be interested in. Include job titles similar to your previous job as a safety net, but also do not be afraid to include some nice-to-have jobs. Revise and edit the list over the course of a few days, and then make a polished copy of it on your computer with your favorite word processing or spreadsheet application. Then, use that list as your copy-and-paste source for running online job listing searches once or twice a week, and also send a copy to your headhunter or staffing specialist. Use the list to continously manage your job search, and take notes of the number of interviews you get for each of the job titles and note your successes and failures in each. Then modify your job search tactics each month based on your results, and keep your headhunter up to date also and let him or her act on your behalf to help you find the job you want. By the second or third month you should start to see a much better ratio of job interviews versus job applications. Using an adaptive job search strategy will almost surely have you honing in on the exact jobs you want by the time you reach the six month mark or hopefully even sooner!

Job searching is like growing a plant - keep watering it regularly and it will blossom! What does that mean for the job seeker? The answer is that job searching is a continuous process that needs to be regularly attended to over a period of time. The analogy of watering plants applies to job searching very well because you need to be able to adapt and adjust your job searching strategy by doing it regularly so that you can see what works for you and what does not. Certain job search strategies will not be as effective as others depending on your career choice and level of experience. If you are new to your career field, networking with former colleagues will not work well because your network is not large enough yet. In such cases you might want to turn to the assistance that a staffing agent or a headhunter can provide. For more experienced workers, job search techniques need to take a more holistic approach, with a mix of personal networking efforts combined with a carefully crafted job matching plan created by your favorite staffing professional. The key to job search success is to keep at it and not to give up until you get the job offer you want!

How many versions of your resume (CV) do you have? If you have just one version, it may hurt your chances of getting the job you want! Why have more than one version of your CV? Try keeping three versions of your resume, each one with a slightly different set of keywords related to your career or profession. However, be sure that your CV contains only accurate information, and make sure that it is a truthful depiction of your career history. Switching around keywords is OK as long as the essence of your CV remains the same. When you find a job listing that interests you, look at the key words in the job description, and then pick the version of your CV that is the closest match and send it in to the recruiter or to your staffing agency that posted the job. By matching your CV version to the requirements of the job opening, you have significantly increased your chances of getting to the next stage of the job hunt, i.e. the interview!

Have you tried using an alternating schedule for conducting your job search? Rather than trying to limit your job search to the same exact time and weekday in your weekly routine, you should try using a variable job search timetable instead, as you may see better results at a different time of day than usual. Consider the fact that some companies may post new job listings on certain weekdays or within a specific time window, and also the fact that other companies post them immediately as soon as they come up. If you limit yourself to a rigid job hunting schedule, you might miss out on an exciting job opening because it was published at a time when you were not looking! Try using a staggered schedule to browse job listings, and not only will you be able to catch new openings that you would have missed otherwise, but you will also find your new schedule to be a refreshing change of pace! After all, why should looking for a job be a dreadful task filled with monotony?! When you find job searching itself more fun and refreshing, you are more likely to present a more enthusiastic side of yourself in your next interview which could be just the ticket to landing your next dream job!

Do not give up your job search even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic! It is essential to your health and sense of well-being to keep active in different ways while maintaining social distancing best practices, and your job search efforts should not be an exception! Keep sending out resumes, apply for jobs online, and get a webcam or video camera so that you can do online job interviews or a video showcasing your accomplishments. By keeping your job search strategy alive and well, despite the scary job market, you will feel better yourself and your loved ones will be happy to see you keeping your spirit going. Never give up on your job search! Broaden the net you can cast by reaching out to staffing agencies like ours and talk to headhunters, as they know what jobs are hot now. The job market may be hurting, but employers do need the help and will want to hire people who are ready and willing to get the job done.

Even though the virus pandemic may be slowing down hiring at many businesses, please do keep looking for your next job anyway! You may be asking yourself why even bother doing so, especially with a bajillion other jobless workers competing for the scarce jobs that remain. While that is true, you have to keep trying in order to keep yourself up to date, to remain engaged, and to keep your network of job search contacts active. This will enable you to stay in the loop for new job openings, especially if you have a good headhunter or a recruiter among your connections. The people who work in the staffing industry are always on your side, and they too are anxious to place people in jobs so that they can earn a paycheck for their families so keep in touch with them. You never know when your next job opportunity might come, and these people may be your key to getting your next interview in these difficult times!

Worried about the impact of COVID-19 on the job market? With close to 40 million workers out of a job during the two-month period from March to May of 2020, there has been certainly much to be concerned about! Given these difficult circumstances, job searching could seem to be a fruitless effort, but that is not the case even in these heady times. Even though many businesses may be gone, new ones will be created to fulfill the needs of society as the new normal takes effect. Our recruiters and headhunters have adjusted their strategies as well, and we are confident in our ability to place more people into new jobs faster than ever. Not only that, our pre-existing system of matching candidates has been adjusted to align it better with the needs of employers today. So even though the job market is very challenging right now, you still need to update your resume and use the power of the Internet to add to your skillset and then forward a copy to us so that you can use our staffing team to help you make your next career move! Finding a new job can be a challenge indeed, but we are ready to help you land a great job whenever you are up to it!

How relevant to your career is your resume (or CV) really? Does it seem appropriate for the exact job opening that you are interested in? This is a very important question to ask yourself when applying for a job, because resumes that are considred even slightly irrelevant to the position you are seeking will get screened out instantly, depriving you of a chance to land an interview for your dream job. Since so many jobs that appear similar or have similar job titles actually have different requirements for experience and education, you need to consider the relevancy of your resume every time you are about to hit the send button on a job application. Our headhunters know this as well, and when you send your resume to us, they will sometimes create an ad-hoc alternate version of your resume or ask you to provide one whenever a hot job opportunity appears which might be a good fit for you. Although our team can adjust in situations like this, it is always better for you to have a few alternative versions of your resume ready to go, so when we contact you about a job opportunity, you will be able to respond quickly so that you do not miss out on it. Having several ready-made options at your disposal is always a good strategy when hunting for a new job!

Have you tried posting your resume on career websites? What were your results with that? Submitting your resume to such websites is a useful part of any job search strategy, but they do have some drawbacks. Their reach may be too broad and may attract job offers from companies that are not ideally suited to your career. Also you risk chances of having your resume become more public than you may find to be acceptable to you. This is where a staffing agency or recruiter like those who work at our firm can provide a different alternative in your job hunt. When you submit your resume to us, we keep the document strictly private and only submit it to our clients when we know that the client would genuinely benefit from your career skills in a particular position, and because we work with you to customize your career search to your needs we will know when to forward your resume to the hiring manager and when to wait for a better opportunity. This level of personalized service is not possible with the large nationwide job search websites, and this is why we are in a unique position to help you boost your career. Why not give our staffing team a try today and see for yourself what a difference our resume-matching capabilities can make for your job search!

Make sure to re-read and update your resume at least twice a year. Put a reminder in your calendar to do this even if you have not changed jobs recently. The reason for doing this is simple - checking your resume twice a year or more often allows you to refine your resume for minor changes in your current job and for any ongoing education or career training you might have had recently. A careful review of your resume might reveal to you that something is incorrect or does not describe your work history accurately any longer, and at the very least gives you a chance to add or remove relevant keywords that describe your experience and skills in a better way. After you have updated your resume file, do not forget to send a copy to the headhunters on our staffing team and at any other career sites you are using! If a hiring manager sees your resume twice, but the newer one is updated, it might be your ticket to your next job interview!

Have you called your headhunter lately? In this day and age much of our communication is done online via email, text messaging, and the like. These are important communication tools for sure, but sometimes it is a good idea to pick up the phone (or video camera) and call your headhunter to keep your job search going. Be professional and courteous, and make a point to say something nice to let your headhunter know that you care and that you appreciate his or her efforts to find you a job. Remember that headhunters are people too! This helps you to remain high in the job candidate queue and you will be more likely to be remembered when your headhunter comes across a job that would be a good match for you. As the old saying goes, 'out of sight, out of mind' which is not what you want to do when looking for your next dream job!

Note: While connecting with one of our headhunters please be sure to keep it short and professional. While all our team members personally care about your success (and we succeed too when you get hired), we also are helping many other people who need jobs also and we need to help get as many people hired into their new jobs as possible in these difficult times precipitated by the 2020 COVID pandemic! Please stay safe and we look forward to helping you make your next career move!

When the holiday season comes around, try to take a break from your job search and enjoy time with your family. Many job openings are available in the month of January and usually new job hires are brought after the beginning of the new year. This is especially true in certain job categories that are typically affected by seasonal work requirements such as accountants and tax professionals, but seasonal impacts are felt in many other career fields as well simply due to the sales cycles that many businesses have. So make sure to time your career search so that you are actively seeking work early in January and looking for as many job interviews as possible.

Remember, job positions are filled all year long but the beginning of each year presents extra job opportunities that our staffing agency is well-suited to help you with. So enjoy the holidays with your family and when January comes you will be refreshed and ready to lift up your career to new heights!

(Be sure to send us the latest version of your career resume also!)

Now that the global COVID pandemic of the early 2020s is almost over with, job markets are continuing to be challenging due to the slow return of jobs while the unemployed portion of the workforce remains high. This means that finding a job will be even more challenging than usual simply due to the huge number of job applicants competing for each job opening. Therefore, you will need to apply some creativity to your job hunting strategy. For example, try to rewrite the experience portion of your resume differently, using variations and synonyms for words in your original resume to craft the updated version. Use the Internet to search for popular keywords for the kind of jobs that you want to work in, and try to utilize them in your resume.

Just be sure to keep the words relevant, and if you have any niche skills, for example programming in an ancient version of COBOL, make sure to highlight them in your resume. The idea here is to help you stand out among the crowded pool of job applicants for each position that you apply for. Many employers love to hire uniquely talented people who are capable of doing a particular job very well, and using a cleverly (and honestly) updated version of your resume can dramatically increase your chances to land that coveted job interview!

The workplace is gradually becoming safer through the continuing efforts of employers who encourage workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This is an important step toward achieving full employment within the United States. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, they found that in a recent survey covering over 400 large employers with a total of over six million employees, about 60 percent of the companies are actively advising their workers about the benefits of vaccines. The same survey also found that over 25 percent of these employers are devising company policies in support of vaccination efforts. This is likely to grow over time as the marketplace creates demand for new workers to be hired, which in turn will drive up the push for vaccinations as a way to ensure workplace safety and business continuity. You can read the full report on the SHRM website. We are also encouraging our clients to consider the same in order to help them protect their workers and businesses as well. Together we can make working not only rewarding for your career but safer as well!

Be sure to consider expanding your career search to include work from home or remote job positions, especially if you work in any type of office job or in job positions where working on a computer takes up most of your work day. Since the pandemic began, there has been a major expansion of jobs available where the employee can complete their job tasks from home using a computer. Make sure to ask your new employer if they will provide you with a computer dedicated for your job. However, beware of any employers who ask you to use your own computer as those may not be honest employers, unless they have a formal policy supporting BYOD devices for employees and proper IT security measures in place. If you do use your own computer for work, be sure to follow ALL security requirements and use a company-provided VPN connection to the office and keep your computer software updated and do antivirus updates frequently. This also goes for anyone still seeking a job, as searching for jobs often entails providing personal information to prospective employers who have expressed an interest in hiring you.

Remote jobs are going to remain a significant portion of the labor market after the pandemic ends. This is partly due to employers looking to reduce operating expenses by using smaller office space than before. Therefore, if you are looking for a new job position or to grow your career, it would be wise to add remote job openings to your job search repertoire in addition to seeking traditional job offerings. Our agency has recognized this transformation in the job market and we are now adding new offerings for remote work and work from home (WFH) positions to our existing job listings, so please be sure to check out our new page for remote job openings!

Are you set up to do your work remotely? Can you search for jobs effectively? It all starts with a proper workstation setup, where your desk becomes your command center for your job search and for your job also if you get hired for a remote job position. At the very least, you need to have a desk dedicated for this purpose, with a clean layout that is free of clutter, and only a monitor, keyboard and mouse on it, along with a webcam or a camera atop your monitor for video conferencing. You can also have a USB power station on the desk also, so you can easily charge devices such as phones and tablets without reaching into the USB ports of your computer.

The key is simplicity and minimal clutter in your workspace so that you can concentrate on your work or job search. You do not want clutter to stop your flow when writing a cover letter or creating a PowerPoint presentation, so having as little stuff on your desk as possible is beneficial. However, make sure that the space surrounding your desk is also work-friendly, including proper background lighting behind your monitor to reduce eye strain. Have a window or an inspiring picture or poster on a wall nearby that you can look up at every once in a while for inspiration and to help your eyes maintain focusing ability at various distances.

By doing these simple and relatively low-cost adjustments to your workspace, you will be sure to make amazing productivity gains with minimal stress. Job searching is stressful enough as is, so having a nice work area in your home is a great way to make your job hunt more pleasant and your future job easier to do!

If you are interested in a remote work arrangement at your new job, make sure to bring up the question early in the interview process or note it in your cover letter so that there is no ambiguity with expectations for the job. We strive to ensure that all our employer clients specify the job location requirements (onsite, hybrid, or remote) at the start of the candidate search process. However, especially when it comes to hybrid jobs that are split between onsite work and remote work, you want to ensure that the amount of work time spent within each location type is suitable for your needs as well as those of the hiring organization. You do not want to end up with a long commute while balancing child care needs at home when you were hoping to work at least a certain number of hours per week that fit your situation! Remember, communication with your new employer is always key to your success. :)

Want to boost your chances of finding a new job while helping others find work? You may be tempted to reject the idea because you do not have time left after looking for a job for yourself, but there is a benefit that you may not have thought of: by helping a friend or a colleague find a job you can improve your own career prospects also! First and foremost, your friends and colleagues will appreciate this and are likely to return the favor to you one day when you need it. Also, if you refer a friend to another employer and if they get hired, the hiring company may remember you as a helpful ally in their recruiting efforts for other jobs in the future. One of those other jobs could be your next dream job!

If you decide to help someone find a new job as described above, be sure to do so only for people you know and trust to be competent and reliable workers so that your efforts do not backfire later on. You can make this work best when you share copies of your resume with those people while asking them to share theirs with you, so that anyone among you can send a copy to a hiring manager (or send a resume to us) whenever a new opportunity appears. Be sure to ask permission first, and keep your associates informed whenever making referrals. When done right, this tactic can quickly grow your career to new heights and you will have the gratitude of your colleagues and friends also. In the end, paying it forward when it comes to helping people find jobs can be very rewarding and could get you the same benefit also in the future!

Job searching in 2024 is not the same as it was in 2020. The pandemic still exists, albeit in a much reduced form resembling more like the flu, however the current economic cycle is in a very different phase and therefor job hunting is also different. If you have not yet updated your resume since the beginning of this year, you should consider at least reviewing your resume and updating the most recent portions of it.

If you find that your resume needs an update in 2024, be sure to prioritize your current contact information, and if you have an executive summary section, update it to include your most recent accomplishments in your current job. You can also add your latest achievements to the bullet-point list of highlights about your work within the block of text containing your current job. The point is simple: by updating your resume with your most recent contact info and your latest notable achievements on the job (or school if you are a student), which ensures that you have the best chance of standing out among all job applicants when you apply for a new job!

If you are interested in a new job and have updated your resume recently, be sure to send us a copy and our staffing professionals will review it and work with you to help you get hired ASAP for your next job!

The long term job outlook in many professions is positive despite periodic ups and downs in the marketplace. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), overall employment in the US is projected to grow about 6 percent from 2020 to 2030, which is the average for all occupations over that time span. However, competition for jobs will be fierce, and many employers are looking for workers with specific skill sets and experience. In some cases, educational requirements can be offset with hands-on experience and know-how when it comes to certain job-specific skills that are sought after. Make sure to cover all your experience with various software and computer systems, even if it is not extensive, as all past interaction with such systems is generally viewed as a positive when considering a job applicant for a position. Make a checklist of those systems, software, and any related apps, and then use that list to ensure that you have them covered in your CV or resume. It is also OK to mention one or two key systems or software apps in your cover letter, but make sure that they are relevant to the position you are applying for!

Build your network! Career networking is still crucial as of 2024 in any industry, and this is true as long as people work within that field until replaced by automation or AI, which is not likely to happen in the immediate future (longer term is another discussion!). Attend industry events, join groups focused on your industry on social media, and connect with other like-minded professionals on LinkedIn. Building relationships with other professionals can help you stay informed about current job opportunities and gain new insight into the industry of your choice.

Make a game plan for your job search! Start thinking of your job search as an athletic competition to win a job. What do athletes do? They train and set goals! For you this can be as simple as writing down your short term goals for your career as well as a long term career plan at a high level with minimal detail. Why do this? So that you can plan your daily and weekly job search tasks like athletes do for their workouts! The idea is to get your job search more strategically aligned to match your experience and skills, as well as matching it to your longer term vision for personal career development.

When a job interview finally comes your way, it is like game day for an athlete. Give yourself a good night of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, have your interview suit ready to put on (ideally the night before), and feel confident and calm in your interview. We recommend strategies like these to our job candidates often, and it works! When you get your next job, you have proven yourself capable just like professional athletes do on the field.

And when you are ready to win, be sure to send us your resume as well!

Keep your recruiter informed about your current job search plans! Many times a recruiter is busy working on job openings that you might actually be a good fit for, but if you haven't kept in touch, they may not even realize that they could present you as a job candidate for their client! Staffing agencies like ours do keep databases listing candidates and their career profiles, but often the data therein may not be as fresh as your current career status is. So be sure to send an email to your favorite recruiter at our firm or submit your updated resume to us to reconnect with us!

Have you updated your resume or CV in the last 6 months? If not, then make it a priority to update it soon! Why? Because many new career opportunities come when you least expect them, and you may be pressed for time at that point, so having a reasonably fresh resume or CV is good to have so that you can respond to the job posting promptly! With the large turnover and churn in the job markets today, combined with increasing use of automation and technology, you have to be nimble enough to react to new career opportunities whenever they appear.

We suggest that you also make a couple of slightly different but accurate versions of your resume where your career objectives and goals are tailored to match your most desirable target job titles. But keep it simple, and make the filenames descriptive enough so you can distinguish them at a glance. Then when you discover an exciting new job posting, you are ahead of the game by being prepared for it!

Once you have your updated CV or resume ready to send out, remember to send us a copy of your CV or resume as well! We always review all submissions and check them against our job databases to see if a match comes up, and we will store it to include in future job matching runs as new jobs keep coming in. Your information will be kept secure and you can always call us at 973-257-8825 with your questions or concerns. We will be in touch with you as soon as a job match is found to inform you of the same and to discuss the next steps. We are looking forward to helping you find your next job soon!