Juliet Fornari is setting a new standard in the career sector and takes her clients from the starting gate to interview success. Her commitment to resume writing and as a Career Consultant is changing the way job seekers get the attention of recruiters. As the Founder of Rosie Resumes, Juliet specialises in working with Executive candidates everywhere in the world. In this exclusive feature for Manning Global, Juliet reveals the three most common pitfalls of your job search, and how to fix them so you don’t lose out in 2024!
I’ve read a lot lately about the processes people are using during their job search and I need to tell you that you’re going about it the wrong way!
One of the biggest problems that I’ve come across in regards to the job search is that people are applying for a position (yes, just one!) and waiting for a call back before doing anything else. Seriously… what are they thinking?! What these people don’t understand is that the job search is and needs to be a continual process – what you do in this time frame will affect every aspect of your life! Sitting around doing nothing while waiting for a call will never get you anywhere!
During your job search, there are three things that you need to be consistently doing:
Applying
If you wanted to lose weight, would you sit at home and wait for it to just magically happen? No! Of course you wouldn’t – you’d go to the gym every day to achieve your goal. The same goes for every other goal you set for yourself – don’t think your job search is any different! Apply to new jobs every single day – the more applications you send in, the more interview offers you’re going to get. Put in the same effort you would put in for anything else that’s important to you. Make applying to jobs your new full time job!
Tweaking your resume & cover letter
Just like every job is different, every application is different. That means your resume and cover letter need to include different things for each job you apply to. Read my article that addresses this in full here.
Look for the keywords and phrases in each job description and switch out some of the words in your resume to include the exact things each company is looking for. Trust me, it’s worth the extra time and effort!
On top of that, make sure your career documents are professional. I see so many people with resumes that look like a 7 year old made them… seriously! No recruiter wants to look at a resume that resembles a picture book and they’re not going to waste their time reading it.
Networking
Networking is such a vital part of your job search whether you’re sticking to the same field or making a career change.
My favourite way to network is through LinkedIn. LinkedIn is such a great platform to find other professionals within your field who can give you advice and opportunities that you would otherwise miss out on. Plus, the amount of recruiters who use LinkedIn as a primary source for finding candidates for job openings is insane!
You’ll need to make sure your profile is constantly updated and optimised so that you can gain higher visibility. The higher your visibility, the more you’ll come up in searches which means more chances for job offers!
Doing just these few things will significantly increase your chances of finding a new job!
The number one rule of the job search is ‘don’t give up’. If you’re having problems finding jobs to apply to, ask a friend for some extra help or sign up to some extra job sites. If the trouble is with tweaking your documents, ask a family member who’s good with grammar to give you some pointers. As for networking, work on your LinkedIn – there are so many articles and helpful tips out there that will get you on the right track with your profile. And if you ‘don’t have time,’ make time!
This is your career… take action!
You can contact Juliet via her website for a free resume evaluation. Make sure you follow Manning Global on LinkedIn for more hints and tips to #GetTheJob!