Is It Time to Rethink Your Job Search Strategy?

Conducting a job search can be a bit of a confusing experience.  If you have been looking for employment for weeks without an interview call, you’re likely to be thinking, “What could I be doing wrong?”

Sometimes, it’s that you need to make a few small tweaks to your resume—and other times, you need to completely overhaul your job search.  If you’re not getting any callbacks, there’s a good chance that you fall into the latter category.  So what can you do about it?

1. Clean Up Your Resume

Since your resume, aside from your application, is generally the first thing a company sees, taking steps to clean it up is a great starting place.  Look over your resume to ensure that there are no obvious errors like misspelled words, grammar or punctuation issues, or typos.  Then make sure that your font sizes and types are uniform.

After that, it’s good to make sure that you have created a fantastic headline/job target for your resume, along with a great career summary that highlights your best professional moments to date.  Also, don’t forget to use plenty of industry-geared keywords in your resume, and list all of your best qualities as close to the top of your resume (and within each section of the document) as possible.

2. Refocus Your Search

If you’re not getting any interview calls, and you’re certain that your resume is in good shape, you may need to refocus your search.  Have you been applying for jobs with qualifications that are slightly out of your reach?  Or have you been conducting searches that are simply too broad?

While you may not want to pass up any great opportunities that you run across, it’s probably a good idea to narrow your search; then, also narrow your resume so that it helps you to define who you are as a professional and explains why you’re qualified for one specific job, rather than 13 very different positions within your industry.

3. Build Your Web Professional Presence

If you don’t already have a professional Web presence, now’s the time to get one.  Employers spend much of their time conducting preliminary background checks on job seekers by seeing just how much of a professional Web presence those candidates have.  So take time to build yours by creating a LinkedIn profile and opening a Twitter account based under your name and profession (i.e., @JaneDoeAccountant), and even building an industry-based blog.

Also, be sure to adjust the privacy settings on your personal accounts so that employers can’t readily gain access to not-so-professional information you may have on the Web.  This way, employers can feel confident that inviting you in for an interview is a good idea.

There’s something great about overhauling your job search.  It allows you to fine-tune your resume and review your career aspirations.  So if you’re not getting the calls you want, it’s good to consider this as an option.

For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow us on Twitter @GreatResume or visit our blog.