4 tips for job hunters

1 – Register on LinkedIn and complete your profile so that you are attractive to prospective recruiters and anyone looking there for someone like you. Here’s a link to a short series of blogs I wrote recently on the value of LinkedIn. Once registered you can then use LinkedIn to connect with past colleagues and business contacts. In due course you can then seek their advice and help to find your next role.

2 – Cut your CV down to 2 pages. Remember the key point is that a CV is not about getting a job. It’s about getting an interview. It needs to describe you as a person, not simply what you’ve achieved at work. And 2 pages is all it needs to be.  In practice you will also want to tailor it to each role you go for.

3 – Think about your friends and other people you know who could introduce you to the sort of new employer you’d like to work with. Then talk to your friends etc and ask their advice about how to secure intros to those people. Have a clear story as to what value you would be to a new employer.  By the way, the more specific you can be as to the type of business you are looking to work with, the more you increase the chance of someone being able to effect a suitable introduction.

4 – Depending on the type of role you are considering going for  you might find networking to be a worthwhile activity.  Important to recognise that networking is best done when you are not desperate, and are in position to ‘give’, help and share more than you seek to ‘take’ or gain until people get to know, like and trust you.   I’ve written quite a bit about networking (on and offline) on my blog.

The above list is adapted from an email I sent to a friend of a friend recently after he sought my advice re his new job hunt. He’s an FD and looking to move into a more entrepreneurial environment.