Avoid a Bout With Long Unemployment

by Jason Alba

Published on this site: July 21st, 2006 - See more articles from this month

My job search has been thoroughly frustrating. I have sent out dozens and dozens of resumes, applied to a ton of jobs, prospected employers, kept up on the job boards, and everything else that I'm supposed to do. And I've only had three interviews. That is the bad news. The good news is that I now know what I did wrong, and what I will do different next time.

Next Time???

I know there will be a next time. Statistically, people change jobs or careers every 2.8 years, or something like that. Each career professional subscribes to some statistic on job changes, but for some reason this one kind of rings true with me. I know a lot of people that don't make changes that often, but I know others that change with more frequency. The fact is that people change jobs, a lot. Part of your career management has included developing the skills, knowledge and abilities, amassing education, degrees and certifications and other things to beef up your resume. What I've learned the hard way is that no matter how cool my resume is, and how good I am, there is an important aspect to career management that I had been neglecting - preparing for that 2.8 year job transition.

If I got paid to do a job search I would certainly do it differently. I would have a reminder of what my end goal is (define what you are looking for so you can stay focused) and a strategy. One thing that I've come to realize is that this strategy is for every day of my career, not just when I'm unemployed. Here are six parts of my job search strategy for when I already have a job (whether I'm happy there or not):

1. Have a current master resume
   
   This is a resume that has everything on it, and will be used to pull information to create a more targeted resume applicable to a certain company or job posting.
   
   
2. Make a conscience effort to maintain relationships
   
   I will continue to strengthen relationships with people that I've met. It doesn't matter if this is someone that I haven't talked with for over 10 years! That guy or gal in the cubicle next to you 10 years ago may be in the corner office today!
   
   
3. Consistently expand my personal contacts
   
   I will add new people I meet at conventions and other meetings to my personal network, and foster the relationship with each of these people so that they know who I am and what my skills are. I will also ask people I know for contacts in areas that interest me - for example, "who do you know that works in the banking industry?"
   
   
4. Perform company informational interviews
   
   I will contact one company that is outside of the industry that I'm working each month and find a senior manager to do an informational interview. This has many advantages: you will learn more about another industry, you may learn how to solve a problem in a way that you haven't thought about before, you expand your personal network, and that manager learns about you and can judge you as a possible valuable asset to his team. Note this is not an opportunity to ask for a job - it is a no-pressure "tell me about your company, what you do, what your challenges are." Your strengths will come out in the quality of your questions and dialogue - leave it at that for this first meeting.
   
   
5. Pursue service opportunities
   
   while time is a valuable commodity, you should pursue opportunities to serve at least once a month. There are some very meaningful programs that require very little time yet have a big impact. My personal favorite was spending time one-on-one with a disadvantaged child at an elementary school, where I was able to show him, through example, how a child/adult relationship could be. There are many other opportunities, and the other volunteers that you meet will be great contacts to add to your network.
   
   
6. Develop my personal brand
   
   In your company or industry there are ways to create and strengthen your personal brand. Have you ever authored an article for the trade magazine? Have you ever been asked to speak at a conference? There are ways to get your foot in the door, and it makes sense for you to create yourself as a Guru. I met one guy that started a blog on new technologies that has made money off of his brand that he created for himself. He said that he is the same guy as he was before the blog, but now he is regarded as a guru - and is cashing in on it.

I know that you are busy in your professional life. You have deadlines, priorities, responsibilities and distractions. But I learned the hard way, it is much better to prepare for a job search before you need to, than to find yourself at home on a Monday morning with an outdated resume in hand saying "now what do I do?" Consider each of the 6 points above to be preventative measures. Do any or all of them now and you will be much more prepared for when you really need it.

Jason Alba, professional job seeker, is the creator of JibberJobber.com which is a website that allows professionals and job seekers to organize and manage every aspect of a job search. You can get a free account at: http://www.JibberJobber.com/?referredBy=2 and keep track of prospective employers, network contacts, jobs you apply to, job boards you post on, job-related expenses, and many other aspects of a job search. Other features include importing/exporting of your data, e-mailed action items and more. Jason can be reached at: [email protected]