After moving from California to Florida, job searching seemed like a nightmare. I kept sending out my resume to companies, yet heard no response. I knew my resume was good, because it was written professionally. It was just a matter of getting noticed by employers. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting noticed, so I vowed that I would begin my aggressive job search. I vowed to myself by the end of the week that I would have at least one interview. By the end of the week I had four interviews and received two job offers! I thought I would share my aggressive job getting tactics for others who might be sinking into despair like I was.
The job market is different in every state. The tactics that worked for me in California were not working in Florida. So, how do you find out what works in your area? First employ proven strategies that have worked for you in the past. If those work, wonderful, but if not, try something new. Read the local employment section in your newspaper and see if there are any tips for job seekers.
Some strange tactics I tried were searching the Internet and googling the area for companies in my field. You can also try searching the phone book for companies in your field. This is where it gets aggressive. I decided that I would call up every single company I received from my Internet search. I called and simply asked, “Are you hiring? I am a certified credit counselor who just moved here from San Diego.” Two companies were hiring, one was almost going to hire another candidate, but ended up having me come in for an interview. Luckily, my qualifications surpassed the other candidate and I secured the position.
If I would have never called either company, I would still be on unemployment wondering if I’d have a job secured by the time it ran out in October. Because I was very personable with the employees on the phone, one of them actually put my resume on the manager’s desk, and called him up right away! I am very grateful to my now fellow employee. I was surprised that to get things done, I had to take the initiative and call the company directly. These jobs were not advertised in the newspaper, or on the various job posting Web sites. The job posting Web sites turned out to be a fruitless effort.
Another strategy is to show up in person with your resume in hand. I found this to be exhausting, time consuming, and have yet to receive results. It also wastes a lot of gas. It was probably the most frustrating, but at least I knew my resume was received. When you send your resume to a company via the Internet you always wonder if it is collecting dust in some pile of papers.
After going through the frustrations of trying to secure a professional position, I thought my experience might help others. I actually even called one of the companies that I e-mailed my resume to via the career builder Web site. I left a message for the recruiter, and five minutes later he called me back. I found out I was under-qualified for the position, but he did recommend other positions available that might better suit my qualifications. I wasn’t interested, but again it is better to know, than to feel like your job searching efforts have been wasted.
Job searching is one of the most stressful, time-consuming events in life. It is easy to be overcome by depression and anxiety when you are jobless. It is also hard to imagine your quality of life eroding because you can’t find a well paying job and are forced to accept anything just to make ends meet. Sometimes that can’t be avoided, but this unconventional way to search for jobs may help offer an alternative. Good luck in your job search, and try to think positive when facing adversity.
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