Four ways to invigorate your job search in 2012 -- Career Center Blog

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January 2, 2012

Four ways to invigorate your job search in 2012

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By Randy Woods
NWjobs

According to the rash of December predictions of job trends in the Seattle area, this coming year is expected to be just as difficult for job seekers as the previous one. As a recent Manpower survey showed, the Seattle-Bellevue area is expected to be the third-worst market in the nation in terms of job growth for the first quarter of 2012. In such an environment, there is little margin for error, so job seekers are going to have to work harder to land the positions they want.

Sorry for the bucket of cold water on the second day of the year, but it's time to get real about how job search has changed over the last few years. The old rules about blasting out mass e-mails with identical resumes to anyone with a pulse are long gone. Employers say they are having trouble finding qualified candidates and most job searches tend to last months on end, so clearly something in the system is broken. Here are a few ways to turbo-charge your networking efforts for 2012 and beyond.

1) Stop hiding behind the social media firewall. The art of the face-to-face meeting is slowly dying these days due to the rise in Twitter, Facebook and text-messaging. A few weeks ago, I had sent out messages to several people in my network about looking for more work, but none of these efforts produced as many good leads as the quarterly Media Bistro mixer I attended downtown. Join a few professional associations in your field and attend as many of their networking events as you can. An in-person meeting is one of the best ways to ensure that you and your personal brand will be remembered.

2) Fill in those gaps in your knowledge. Is the "skills" section of your resume a little thin? Take some time to fill it out by brushing up your knowledge of the latest software in your field. If possible, try taking a course related to the job you're seeking to show that you are serious about that sector. Employers want experts on their teams, so the more specialized knowledge you can demonstrate, the better. Be sure to keep up on the latest news in your profession and develop an online presence via blogging or other social media. That way, hiring managers will come to you, rather than vice versa.

3) Offer to help others first. It can be off-putting to bug the rest of your network with requests for job leads without giving anything in return. If you see a position that may not be right for you but is a good fit for someone in your network, take the time to pass that information along. In this economy, people will surely remember anyone who can provide a helping hand and will be glad to return the favor.

4) Stop blaming the economy. I'm often amazed to read about the large segment of the population that has "given up" looking for work until the economy improves. Yes, the global economic meltdown of 2008-2009 was epic in scale. Yes, it made job search far more difficult that it was years ago. But the "jobless recovery" is part of the new reality that doesn't appear to be going away soon. Take a proactive stance and target the companies you want to work for. You'd be surprised at the number of jobs available that the less-committed job seekers routinely miss because they don't know the new rules.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.