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How To Give Your Job Search Structure, Stability, And Focus

A keyboard with one green key that says 'Find Job'.

When you’ve been searching for a job for a while, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and wonder what else you could possibly do to give yourself an edge. Over at Careerealism, Dawn Rasmussen, President of Portland, Oregon-based Pathfinder Writing and Career Services, shares 10 ways to add to structure, stability, and focus to your job search, allowing you to refresh your perspective, meet new people, and explore new opportunities. Here are a few tips we love.

Volunteer Regularly

"Volunteering can provide exceptional opportunities to network, learn new skills, become a known quantity within an organization and even find out about industry or company job openings before they are even posted. Plus, you’ll feel good while doing it!"

Attend Informational Interviews A Few Times Per Week

"Part of the ‘getting out of the house’ aspect of this job search plan is to meet people… one-on-one in informational interviews. Many people mistakenly believe and take the approach that informational interviews are all about finding jobs. WRONG! Informational interviews are precisely about finding INFORMATION."

The best part about informational interviews is if you treat the person right who took the time to meet with you, they can become a great internal advocate for you. ALWAYS thank interviewees for their time by mailing a hand-written note.

Focus Your Resume On Key Themes

"You probably have several different theme areas you could develop separate resumes for based on your background. Explore how you might have different incarnations of your resume, and take the time to develop these fully. You might be pleasantly surprised at how you can reinvent yourself and create new flexibility in your employment search."

Read the rest of Dawn’s advice at Careerealism.

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