Here is wishing everyone a very happy New Year. I hope you really enjoyed your time off with your family and friends. I know a lot of people are struggling with their search for employment through the Holiday Season. It can be very tough because a lot of companies can really put a lock down on budgets and hiring. I want to give some tips going into 2013 that will help you land your next job.

1)    STAY POSITIVE- November and December are the hardest months to find a job. Don’t let having no luck the last 2 months get your spirits down and slow down your efforts in the search for a job. Have a positive outlook and remember finding a job is a full time job in itself.

2)    SEARCH DAILY- Mid January is when most companies finally are back in full swing and all new budgets are approved. Hiring managers are ready to spend so there should be a high influx of opportunities in the next month or two. Don’t miss out on the chance to land a great job. Search daily on the job boards, the paper, company sites, etc…..Keep a close look out on Social Media sites as well. Many employers posts jobs via status updates and tweets.

3)    FOLLOW UP- Go back through your list of jobs that you have applied to and call the company and find out if the position is still open. Let them know you are interested. Maybe they are ready to move and you will now be fresh in their mind.

4)    FIND A RECRUITER- If you don’t already have a recruiter you trust, call around and go meet face-to-face with a couple different recruiters. Feel free to contact me, or any other recruiters at Incepture for help in landing your next job! Recruiters will be super busy the first few months and being fresh in their mind will put you at the top of their list when positions come out.

EVALUATE YOUR JOB SEARCH-  If you continue to have no luck, step back and really evaluate your job search. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Best of luck and I hope everybody has a great 2013!

Thanks for reading my blog and feel free to follow me on Twitter (@JeremyDReynolds) and LinkedIn

Sincerely,

 Jeremy

Hop on the social media train if you are looking to find your next job. The majority of recruiters use some sort of Social Media every day. Some staffing companies do not use Job Boards like Monster and CareerBuilder at all. They solely rely on Social Media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other lesser-known sites. I personally carry a smart phone and am constantly on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I will post jobs constantly on the 3 sites and receive responses on them as quickly as I receive e-mail.

According to a survey by Jobvite in July, 92% of recruiters said they now use social media to find talent, up from 89% last year, and 83% in 2010. The most compelling data to come from the study, which polled more than 1,000 human resource and recruiting managers online, was that 73% of those surveyed said they hired a new employee via social media.

When it comes to the particular social networking sites, LinkedIn remains king among recruiters with 93% of respondents saying they use the site to find job candidates.

In second place is Facebook, with two-thirds of those polled saying they use the site, up substantially from 55% last year. Twitter is also gaining traction, with 54% saying they look for talent on the site.

The steps to successfully board the social media Train include the following:

1)    Create a profile with a professional photo on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and any other site that has a presence.

2)    Connect with groups that match your skill set, industry leaders, friends, and colleagues.

3)    On Twitter, you should follow local Job sites, recruiters, staffing agencies, and user groups.

4)    Don’t be afraid to send messages directly to recruiters. Recruiters are on social media sites because they want to be contacted.

Enjoy your Social Media ride.

Jeremy

Follow me on Twitter @jeremydreynolds, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+

With a struggling economy and unemployment rates higher than ever, finding a position is a daunting task. Most professionals have slowed their quest for the perfect position or that “dream job.” They may have not given up, but it has certainly been moved to the back burner. Most have accepted the reality that just finding a job, any job that offers compensation that is comparable will have to suffice.

We live in an era where we should all prepare for sacrifice both in our personal and professional lives. Our nation is going through changes in all aspects and we, as individuals need to learn to be more flexible and adaptable to these ever changing circumstances that impact our lives on a daily basis. Your job search strategy should be your primary focus to ensure adaptability. There are literally thousands of candidates applying for the same positions and there is only so much you can do to a resume to make it stand out. There is only so much follow up you can do with a hiring manager before you cross the threshold from innocent follow up to being a stalker.

There is a much more simple solution to making your job search and application process much easier and MUCH more effective, the answer is – work with a recruiter or a staffing firm. Most of us would be surprised to know a very small percentage of the US workforce actually utilize this service. In fact, very few actually know how it works. Here are two of the most common myths I’ve heard form candidates on a first-hand basis:

1. Candidates actually think that this service would cost them money - Truth is both are false and totally untrue! Working with a recruiter does not cost the candidate anything but a little time, which, if you are unemployed you should have a lot of.
2. Working with a recruiter involves a fee to the client and therefore this fee makes your candidacy less attractive – False again, even though your candidacy does involve a fee Hiring Managers engage staffing firms fully prepared to pay this fee anyway

This means one thing – working with a recruiter can only help, and you have absolutely nothing to lose. Before you go out and engage recruiters be sure to keep one thing in mind, picking a recruiter can be like trying to pick an attorney – there are many around town and they all specialize in certain disciplines. Here are a few tips on how to find a good one:

1. Be sure you identify a handful of recruiters that specialize in your area.
2. Most recruiters have a LinkedIn profile (Good ones do at least,) go online and look at the profile and pay specific attention to their recommendations.
3. Once your group is narrowed down, call each one and just talk to them about your needs, what you are looking for and ask questions that would help you determine the strength of the recruiters network.

You may not find your perfect match right from the beginning but you will avoid a lot of pitfalls. DO NOT engage multiple recruiters simultaneously, this never ever works out in the way you would think it would.

Remember, build a relationship with your recruiter, be honest, available and follow up with them; the results will be astonishing.

If you need me to work for you connect with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/riaanvanrensburg or follow me on Twitter @_riaan

Thanks for reading, until next time.

Riaan