Ready for a career change in 2017? Here are my top ten-minute or less job seeking tips that will quickly make an impact in your job hunt:
1. Create a Google Voice Number. I recommend using a Google Voice number on your resume instead of your personal contact number. This way you will know when you’re receiving a call about a job and you won’t run the risk of your personal phone number being picked up for call lists.
2. Create a new, professional email address just for job seeking purposes. Novelty emails make you look unprofessional and to prevent unwanted emails to your personal email address, it’s a great idea to have a separate job seeking email address you can include on your resume.
3. Update your contact info. Put your contact information (ideally your new Google Voice and professional email address) right on your LinkedIn page to make it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to contact you with opportunities.
4. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations. It takes only a minute to ping past coworkers and managers for recommendations on your work – this is great for both your career and when you’re seeking a new role.
5. Save a copy of your resume in Word format. Although PDF may look better, many ATS systems cannot properly process a PDF file and HR/recruiters end up seeing a garbled mess.
6. Send your resume to a friend (or two). It’s often easy to miss simple grammatical and spelling errors, especially if you were up all night trying to concoct the perfect resume. A quick read by a friend or relative can help spot any issues you might have missed.
7. Start a spreadsheet. It only takes a minute after you apply to a position to update a spreadsheet with the role and company details of where you applied. This will help you ensure you follow up on applications as the loudest baby bird gets the worm.
8. Call a recruiter. Recruiters can be your best friend in a job search as they can help you set salary expectations based on going market rates, give killer resume advice (for free!) and can even align you with career opportunities in your area. The best part is you can keep your job hunt confidential when you work with a recruiter instead of posting your resume on job boards for your company to possibly see. Although recruiters can get a bad rap, finding a good one you trust is key to any job hunt.
Elizabeth Becker is the Client Partner of IT Staffing Firm PROTECH, www.protechitjobs.com. Her hiring and recruiting expertise has been featured in a variety of publications including The Ladders, Recruiter.com, Monster, LinkedIn, Tech.co and more. You can reach her with comments, feedback or to be featured in an upcoming story at elizabethb@protechfl.com.
