A proactive effort

Instead of just posting your resume in a job portal and sitting back in a relaxed mind why don’t you become little proactive and design a website or online portfolio blog of yours, where recruiters can come and take a look of your work, get an idea of your skills, goals and personal contact information.

Narrow your options of search

Make sure you upload resume and look for a job only in a website which has good narrowing options by criteria like – by region, by industry and experience, by job titles. You may super narrow your search by criteria like – salary expected, job designation, company names etc. Filtering and refining job search will help you to find better job offers.

Visit company websites directly

Instead of just applying to a given job opening and sending resume, get little proactive. Shortlist some best companies where you would love to work. Now visit that company’s website, target that company and check their career/job opening page. Check out the current vacancies. In case the company is hiring send your resume to the given address. Else, you may write to the human resource manager. Company pages may ask you to fill up a form, detailing your profile for their future reference. If the company is not hiring at present, keep coming back to it again and again to keep a watch.

Industry related websites

You may refine your job search by registering and following the desired industry related websites. You may find national or regional jobs posted in industry related websites, which you may not come to know otherwise. Individuals may post such jobs, hoping for getting response from a bigger pool of qualified applicants.

Job portals can be helpful

Online job portals can solve your problem by doing an extensive search. Recruiters will help you by matching your skills and experience with related jobs and bringing the same to you. You may refer to job portals like recruiterlink.com, onlinerecruitersdirectory.com, searchfirm.com and i-recruit.com.

Subscribe to job alerts

Most of the job portals have this feature of subscribing to their job alerts. You need to sign up in the site to receive email alerts about latest job openings. Or you may subscribe to RSS feeds. This way, even if you forget to visit the job portal regularly and look for relevant jobs, you will be reminded by frequent job alerts.

What are you waiting for? Get started, today!

Fix your goal

First of all, know what you want to do. What’s your goal? Does your goal match with your skills? Often youngsters remain confused about jobs, designations, skills required and get convinced by what others are doing or what is highly paying. Never do this mistake. Know what you wish to do and if it suits your skills or not. If you wish to be a school teacher, stay determined. Whatever may come your way, you have to be firm with your decision. Don’t get lured by other job profiles.

Register at job portals

From where will you come to know about the job opportunities? You may not know each job recruiter personally. So start registering yourself in different job portals. Pick up the popular ones and also niche job portals which specialize in an area of job like academics and media jobs etc. Submit your resume there, write a nice cover letter and finish your personal and professional profile. Mark all the areas of work, from which you wish to receive job alerts in your mail inbox. Make sure you complete all details, more explicit your profile is higher are the chances of getting interview calls. Apart from regular job alerts, make an effort to visit the job portals regularly and do a manual search for new job opportunities.

Check local dailies

Look out for the job opportunities in your local dailies. You may refer to the job category of your interest like ‘academics’, ‘media’ etc. Browse these job advertisements regularly. They may ask you to send resume by email or post. Do the needful.

Proactive application may work

At times forced CVs do wonder. If you are eyeing at a company in particular, but in recent times they haven’t advertised for upcoming vacancy you may give an extra effort towards the same and send your resume. In such case, if they like your resume they may call when a vacancy crops up in future.

These are the few ways of job look out. It will ease the process of job hunt.

In the following paragraphs, I am going to talk about 3 indicators that tell you that it is you who is stopping you from getting hired, and when I said you, I meant your habit.

3 reasons you are not getting hired

Too high an expectation

Nothing is perfect in this world; neither you nor any job. If you are waiting for a perfect job to fly from the land of fairy and set down in your lap then I am afraid to say the wait is going to be rather long. Meanwhile, I would recommend bagging a not-so-perfect job that matches your skill set, and which can provide sufficient money for you to survive on.

Be realistic. Weigh every aspect of the dream job you want, and see what all you can let go. You will soon be employed.

Too small a net

Are you relying on just one technique to search for the job? Do you feel uncomfortable trying out different job-search tools and techniques?

To catch a lot many fish, a fisherman needs to have a net that is wide enough and strong enough. Similarly, a job hunter needs to widen his net using all the possible tools and techniques to land up in a good job, which sadly enough, very few people are doing, for they are slave of their habit of using one tool.

Too Egocentric (I, me, and myself) cover letter

This is stupendous mistake committed by a job hunter. No one wants someone who has an ego as big as the size of the Milky Way. I know your ego is comparatively smaller in magnitude, but why does not it reflect in the cover letter you send out? Why your cover letter is talking too much about “I”?

Writing I, I, and I will not land you up in a job, forget about a good job, as no one cares how smart, talented, Einstein-esque you are. Your interviewer cares only about his needs, and about an employee who can meet that need. I know what big a dork he is, but at the end of the day, he is the one who will sign your paying slip, month after month.

Wouldn’t it be smart then to satisfy his needs by talking about his company and how you will add solve the problem he has in a cover letter? From where I am standing, it would be smarter, far smarter to this than to talk about I, me, and myself.

If you, unknowingly, committed any of these mistakes then it is time to undo them, should you want to get hired. After all, we call it habit because we do it unknowingly, as a habit.

1. First of all shed the fear of speaking English. Unless you can overcome the fear of speaking in public you won’t learn. Don’t get demoralized seeing others reaction towards your speaking. Don’t be afraid of committing of mistakes. Always remember, failures are the pillars of success. So go ahead, and speak. More you talk, more you improve. Read out loud. Hearing will reinforce your memory. Record your voice and play it later. Check how it sounds and where you went wrong.
2. Start with simple English. Use easy and concise vocabulary. Keep sentences short. While you speak maintain the clarity of voice.
3. Everyday read English at least for 30 minutes. Read newspaper, journal, novel, poem, short story, article whatever you like. Start with the easy ones and gradually progress towards difficulty.
4. Don’t get tempted to use idioms and proverbs you hardly know. You may convey completely wrong meaning to the audience. Moreover many non-English people may not be able to interpret it.
5. Don’t swallow the dictionary. It looks quite silly when people are tempted to use big mouthful difficult words where a simple word could easily fit in.
6. Interact with English speaking friends and colleagues more often. Friends who have enrolled in English speaking courses are a good source of learning. Talk to them more often; carefully watch while they speak. Even if you fall short of words continue talking. They will be more likely to help you.
7. Develop your written skill too. Unless you have a decent command on the vocabulary you won’t be able to communicate.
8. Watch English movies, television serials, news. Carefully follow the accent. Following fluent good English will unknowingly influence yours. Try singing English songs.
9. Brush up English grammar. It will strengthen your speaking. Revise tense, parts of speech, articles, form of verb.
10. Always carry a pocket dictionary. Whenever new word strikes you, make yourself familiar with it.
11. Learn a new word every day. Learn its meaning, pronunciation. Make it a daily practice and soon your vocabulary will be rich.
12. Go more often to English clubs, pubs, shops, cafes where people converse in English only. Mixing up with English people will definitely help your verbal skill.

Will you still think learning spoken English is a big job? It’s as easy as any other language. All you have to do is hold your patience and follow the tips; as nothing will happen overnight. Stay focused and dedicated. Soon you will be master of it.

One of the best ways to get your name out there, and get some vital skills with IT and people skills, is through volunteer work.  Go local and find places in your community that could use your help.  Word of mouth can spread far, and you never know what sort of a connection you could make by donating your time.  So keep an eye out, or inquire at some local non-profit groups in your community.

Also be sure to brush up on your certifications from time to time.  You have to make sure that your main certifications are always up to date on the latest technology.  Falling behind means you’ll also fall behind in the job market.  It’s pretty hard to get ahead, and find a good job when you don’t have the necessary skills.

Explore new opportunities.  If you hit one glass ceiling, move on to a different company, or try out a different type of work within the field.  Sometimes you have to feel out the territory to find the task that you are best suited for.  But once you find that aspect that you can excel at, that’s your opportunity for advancement, and the best jobs available.

The real key is just not giving up, and always trying to get better.  Only by constantly updating your certifications and obtaining all the experience you can will you be successful.  Use those opportunities to network yourself among your peers, as the friend you make today could get you that dream job tomorrow.

Look around you for starters.  Try to find helpful books at your local bookstore.  Even look to the colleges in the area and see if anybody teaches a course related to your field.  Anything that helps you become a better seller is a plus.  This career is dependant upon your ability, so it only makes sense that you would strive to have all the education that you can muster.

Of course a path such as college or career coaching will require an investment of money and time on your part, but having the info is much better than the alternative.  An education is never a bad thing.  The accolades might not guarantee a good job, but the knowledge will.  You’ll still have to work hard at what you do, but you’ll know where to put your efforts.  That information is invaluable.

Finally, try to find an entry level job that affords you the chance to work with a real industry professional.  Whether the job doesn’t pay well, or even just an unpaid internship, take advantage of either.  As long as there’s room for advancement, or a good training manager, either will be beneficial.  Remember, it’s okay to give a job a shot, if you aren’t offered the salary you want.  Take advantage of the quick experience, the knowledge you can gain, and the opportunity for advancement.  As long as you work hard to sell, you are guaranteed to be successful.

Pick out what’s important to you at a job.  For most people a good job has decently high pay, good opportunity for industry growth, and plenty of job openings so that you have a good chance of getting a job.  Those requirements are usually a good place to start.  Industry growth is important, so that your company can stay relevant, and you can ensure a reasonable amount of job security.  When they’re hiring for more opposed to fewer job openings, you have a better chance of getting a job.  High pay speaks for itself.  Who doesn’t want that?

From that you can formulate a list of the job openings that best fit what you’re looking for.  Then you can concentrate on those openings.  Do your research about the companies offering the work, and tailor your cover letter and resume to apply to each company individually.  Putting in the personal touch will separate you from the field, as most people use generic cover letters and resume formats.  Even though that’s a huge mistake, as they’re easily spotted by hiring managers, and are very frowned upon.

If you find you have more than one offer, weigh the options between both jobs.  If job stability isn’t a huge concern, and you’re willing to take the risk for a chance at more money, go for that job.  Weigh your comfort zones against what’s available to you, and choose the job that you’re most likely to succeed with.  Making a name for yourself in one place carries weight in the IT world, so take advantage of your opportunities.