Dave Jacks’ 7-step guide to finding a job

Most of you know me and know I’m a recruiter and that I try to get out and attend networking events as much as possible. Often people ask what do you do and as soon as I say “I’m a recruiter,” they explain
that they or someone close to them needs a job. They probe a bit and I
explain the areas we focus in and encourage them to send me their
resume regardless of whether their in an area we focus in and remind
them that we’re a small company to try to temper their expectations. I
then usually suggest that the person follow-up with me so I could give
suggestions on how to go about their job search. Typically, I never
hear from them again or if I do it’s because they email me their resume
and then never have time to talk unless I have a job for them. Though
there are some that have taken my advice and have succeeded in landed
jobs so I’ve decided to share it with as many people as possible.

Step 1: Set-up a Facebook account! You already have one; great, you are one step ahead of the game. What’s that, your too old or too cool – get over it, it’s 2010 and there are new ways of networking that could
help you grow professionally and keep in touch with friends and family.

Step 2: Set-up a LinkedIn account! You have that too – amazing!

Step 3: Invite all Facebook connections to LinkedIn. Trust me; you’ll see where I’m going with this.

Step 4: go to www.indeed.com . Indeed is a job aggregator – that is a site that pulls data from other similar sites. In other words any posting from any major job
board, i.e. Monster, Dice, The Ladders, etc. or any major company such
as IBM or Google will appear on indeed.

Step 5: Save your search as an agent on Indeed. Do a search for a job based on your skills or title (or do 2 separate ones) and then save them as an agent. When a new job is posting that meets your criteria
you’ll get an email.

Step 6: When you see a job you are interested in posted by a company or a (lazy) recruiter that mistakenly mentioned the client name in a post look up the company on LinkedIn. LinkedIn will then pull up all
your contacts at that company. Connect directly or via introduction to
someone at that company and see if you could get them to be your
internal advocate and submit your resume internally.

Step 7: Still no job…don’t fret…network and learn. Grow your network on LinkedIn and Facebook. Search your schools alumni, go through your old business cards, and attend networking events. Seek
out experts in networking and job searches such as Keith Ferrazzi and
Jim Stroud. You can download Keith’s guide to landing your dream job
at his website www.keithferrazzi.com . Jim Stroud’s website is www.jimstroud.com . Lastly, think about joining a professional networking organization such as Gotham; which could be found at www.gothamnetworking.com
. I belong to Gotham and you could attend an event as a guest of mine
– all I ask is that you reach out to me first and/or mention me when
you contact the group administrator of the event or group you are
interested in.

Notes: Career coaches and Posting your resume.

I believe career coaches are a great resource although they could be expensive. If you are currently employed and looking how to leverage your existing experience to get a higher level job at your current
employer or get a job elsewhere they could be helpful. If you are
unemployed I suggest you hold onto your money or see if they will take
some payment up-front and the balance when you land a new job. Lastly,
consider seeing a younger person who just became credentialed or is
training to become certified – chances are they’ll be helpful and much
cheaper or even free.

As far as posting your resume on Monster or some other job board there’s nothing wrong with that as long as you don’t overdo it. That is if your resume has been live on a job board for 3 or more months
take it down. The reason is that chances are the employer or recruiter
most likely to hire or place you has already downloaded your resume.
Recruiters (internally and externally) get desensitized to resumes
they’ve seen countless times and start ignoring them after a while.
Take a 6 month break and then re-post if you’re still looking and want
to post your resume.

Good Luck!

Sincerely,

Dave Jacks