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The Mental Preparation
Yep, you have to be in the right frame of mind for a job search. If you're not then it can mean a very stressful and tense time for you. It can also cause you not to put your best work into your job search.
Let me explain this last point. If you're dreading doing something, what do you tend to do? Do you procrastinate? Do you just hurry through it and not really take the time to care how good it is? This is where the problems start and that's why you have to begin your job search with enthusiasm and hope for the future.
Job Search Document Preparation
A good job search needs a good resume and cover letter. Let me correct that: it needs a GREAT resume and cover letter. Have you ever known anyone to be very successful in their current job and then you catch a glimpse of their resume when they start job hunting and you're stunned by how…amateurish it looks? Now, you know that this person is successful in his own right but looking at his resume, how would any future employer know that?
This happens more than you know – at all career levels. It also makes your job search stall before it really can even get started.
Interview Skill Preparation
If you don't know the walk and talk, then how do you plan on landing the job you want? Getting comfortable in an uncomfortable situation is crucial to your job search success and can determine whether your job search lasts two weeks, two months or two years.
Knowing that, why do so many job seekers take this part of the process for granted? People seem to feel confident in their abilities to convey all the important messages that will help get job offers. They ‘know' the things to do and things not to do. Are you overly confident? Maybe now is the time to freshen up your interviewing skills.
Talk to Everyone
When you're job hunting, everyone you meet can be your friend. What I mean is that you never know who knows someone who knows someone who is hiring for a position that would be perfect for you. Having that inside tract is a great way to really boost your success rate of landing job offers. If the hiring manager knows someone who knows you, then you must be okay, right?
Your job search is not over until you have accepted a job offer. So if you still don't have one in hand, keep applying for job openings that are appealing to you, that you're qualified for and that you feel is a good step for your career. And don't stop until you have reached your goal of a better – more rewarding – job.