A kind of check list for job hunting

I entered the job hunt completely oblivious to how the process worked.  Indeed, you may accurately say that I quit my job before even knowing how to start looking for another one.  I did not know what questions to ask, who to ask them to, or what to do about the answers.

Speaking of which, I need to make a recommendation on someone's LinkedIn page.  Be right back.

Okay.  That's done.

This post is not part of my 365, but rather something that I have felt I needed to write for some time now.  I'm settled into my new job, and am so glad I did exactly what I did when I did.  Everything worked out perfectly.

I think a few things are important to keep in mind in general when looking for a career.  Firstly, employers think that skills deteriorate.  Being unemployed for a long time makes getting a job even harder.  Do something that keeps your skills sharp.  Secondly, your best and most fruitful opportunities will probably come in first.  These will be recommendations from your network.  They know you and what you can do.  They likely have things ready to go for you.  Do not put your hat in the ring until you are ready to go for it.  Applying for a job before you've completed the preparation decreases your chances of success, just when your chances of success are at their highest.  It can be a wasted opportunity of the highest order.

Here is my to do list for job hunting, in rough order:

1) evaluate your financial situation.  Go through this entire list, decide how much you need to be successful in your job hunt, and then find the money somewhere.  It is worth the investment.

2) Know thyself.  Write down good experiences you have had.  Write down what you liked about each, and how you caused it to happen.  Write down the key qualities you want in a new career.  Write down what your desired end state is going to be.

3) using the list from #2, write down all the things you do well.  Spend a lot of time at it.  These are the things you believe about yourself.  They are true.  In the words of one of my career coaches, "claim them".  They are yours.  Own them.  Believe them.  Know enough about them that you can convincingly talk to someone else about them.

4) Write your resume, focusing on what you learned in #2 and #3.  Key elements: a 3-4 sentence summary of who you are, why you do what you, and why you are good at it.  DO NOT limit yourself to one job title.  Let your new boss figure that out: maybe your new boss will see your resume and think that you are an excellent fit for a different job than what you're applying for.  There are many ways to write up your experience - the key is that your most important accomplishments show up in a 3 phrase format: what problem existed, what you did about it, and what the result was.  1-2 sentences per bullet.  Make them dense - use words sparingly, and use words that mean a lot at once.

5) have 3-4 other very experienced people you trust (preferably in management) review it.  Ask each of them questions about it.  If they are trying to be nice, extract the truth from them.  Revise.  Your resume is finally ready.

6) Sign up for Simplyhired.com, LinkedIn, Careerbuilder, and everywhere else you can think of. Make your LinkedIn profile complete.

7) Dress and grooming are key.  Find out what your new colleagues will wear at work, and dress one step up from that.  Do your shirts look crisp and new?  Pants?  Shoes?  Socks?  Do you have ties that match your shirts?  Buy a new mini-wardrobe if your stuff is not in tip-top shape.  Have a full set of interview clothing in your closet, ready to go.  Get a hair cut.  My first face to face interview took place with a grand total of 2 hours notice.  I had been waiting for it for 2 months, and it came together at the last second.  I had not showered or shaved yet, but I had my interview clothes completely staged and ready to go.  I had even gone to Macy's and gotten some help matching ties to shirts.  I walked out of that interview after the manager told me he was thinking about me for several positions, and that if some other company gave me an offer to come back and see them first.  

8) Prepare for the interview.  Find a list of common interview questions.  Go through them out loud, answer them.  Rework your answers until you think they give an accurate and positive picture of who you are and why you do what you do.  You may not be asked a single question on the list.  But having prepared to talk about yourself, you will be much better able to answer questions you did not anticipate.

9) Research the company.  What do they do?  How well do they do it?  Read the annual report.  Get some help digesting it if parts of it don't make sense.  Read news articles about the company. Go to the library, use their Lexis-Nexis or Ebsco accounts to search and read.  If you don't understand what the company does, find a text book or Wikipedia article that broadens your knowledge.  Have questions to ask about the company, its struggles, and why they need you.  Ask them tough questions about their business, how they plan to succeed, who their competitors are.  Don't be combative, but ask the tough questions.  It shows that you care, and that you have some insight into their business.

10) Send the thank-you notes.  Always, and to everyone.

11) When I interview someone for a position, I don't personally care if they have a dry-cleaned shirt or not.  Nor do I care if they are freshly shaven, etc, from a job perspective.  BUT!!!  A person who cares enough about the job, takes it seriously, and can leverage their knowledge to prepare will have all these things done. If your job is to fix equipment in a factory or sweep in a warehouse, shined shoes are not needed for your job.  But having shined shoes for your interview shows that you understand what the task at hand is (the interview) and that you work hard to prepare for whatever that task is.  

12) Keep all of your balls in the air.  You almost certainly have skills you can use on a part-time basis.  Use them while you are looking for the full-time position you want.  I had been an interpreter before, and went back to that as soon as I left my previous employer.  I was registered to tutor students on certain subjects.  As soon as I had some interview going and was at a waiting point in that process, I was prepared to apply elsewhere in case they didn't work out.  Never put your entire hunt on hold for one prospective employer.

Lastly - enjoy the process.   It can stink.  It can last a long time.  I started in October last year, when I had decided to leave my old employer. My last day on the job was the same day I finished step 8.  It had taken 2 months to get that far, working full time at my old job and half-time at the job hunt process.  I took a 2-week break over the holidays.  I was lucky - my job hunt ended just 22 days after I formally started it.  I firmly believe that without the preparation I had done, that it would not have been that short.  It cost us close to $1000 for the interview clothes and career coaching.  It probably saved us 2-3 months of joblessness, and ended up with a job that pays better, as well.