The Best Thing That Could Ever Happen to You: How a Career Reversal Can Reinvigorate Your Life by Sander A. Flaum.
Excerpted from The Best Thing That Could Ever Happen to You: How a Career Reversal Can Reinvigorate Your Life by Sander A. Flaum (@Sander_Flaum). Copyright 2013. Reprinted by permission of Big Shoes Publishing.
Brick and mortar recruiters versus online job-hunting sites – which is your best bet?
Here's what Human Resources professionals tell me: "We have had some success with online recruiting; it's a good alternative (like online dating). It allows us to conduct searches 24/7 for candidates anywhere at minimal expense, and that's a big convenience.
However, for specialized searches we would turn to brick and mortar recruiters because they are prepared to weed out the unqualified. That's their business, whereas with online recruiting, the initial screening is up to us, and as that's not our business, the process can be less efficient. The bottom line, though, is we are open to using both types of recruitment resources, depending upon the circumstances and our needs." …
As a result of the exercises you've gone through and the actions you've already taken, you are now ready to put together a general action plan to prepare you to face the challenges I talk about in the next chapter. This plan will ease you into a structured daily approach to get the ball rolling and to keep it moving steadily forward.
Sit down and start putting together a general outline of what you are going to do–and when–to move forward. This outline should be based on what you have now learned about your strengths and weaknesses, your key abilities and your value to prospects, your future job or change of career interests, and what's most important to you personally and professionally in terms of your goals for employment. Here is an example:
General Plan of Action Week 1
Monday: Research types of positions in your selected field both online and with colleagues (people you have worked with in the past). Craft well-thought-out language for your résumé and interviews and seek out a good editor.
Tuesday: Begin researching job opportunities in your field online. Start to tell acquaintances of your search.
Wednesday: Continue researching job opportunities with colleagues and online. Start to inquire about job opportunities in everyday conversation with new acquaintances.
Thursday: Begin reconnecting with known recruiters/former employers for job leads in your selected field.
Friday: Continue reconnecting with leaders and known recruiters/former employers for potential job leads.
Don't bite off more than you can chew! It's easy to lose enthusiasm. Allow items to spill over to additional days or weeks if necessary. Tick off each item as it is accomplished. Once you're done, you will feel not only empowered but also emboldened to take on the job market, as you'll see in the next chapter. You will be armed and ready to begin pursuit of the next new chapter in your life. And you can turn the page and begin that journey.
RECRUITER'S MEMO
"Tell everyone you know well or casually that you're looking for work. Do your homework checking the job boards, such as Indeed.com and the career/job pages of companies you're interested in working for. Look at your LinkedIn.com connections to see if you know anyone at those companies and ask for introductions. Explain that you're unemployed because of [reason] and would appreciate any introductions. After a career reversal, I truly believe that most people don't know what to do, so they resort to feeling bad for themselves or angry with their employers.
When it is brought to their attention that this might not be the best use of their energy, most people realize that to be true and are able to become more productive."