Here is how you can help yourself IMPROVE success rates with your current job search & applications.

Keep learning, pay it forward…

Written by James Alderman

Attention 

If you are not actively networking, engaging, commenting, and connecting on here frequently with people that inspire you and people that have the job you want, you are not opening up and creating opportunities for yourself – start NOW!

LinkedIn continues to grow, especially as we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and into a new period of business and economic re-building. Personal branding is critical.

Remember you can have a big audience, but if you don't work it or create the content speciality for it, you may as well have zero connections...

Having the right content and engagement will lead to new opportunities, it'll take time but those that start on building their platform presence NOW will stand the best chance of winning and maximising their potential on the platform. This might help you. What’s stopping you?

Imagine facing this lot on your first interview! gulp!

Expectations 

Temper them. But, do not dismiss ANY opportunity – keep learning, keep exploring, keep getting that all-important experience – you’ll come out the other end even stronger. things might be slow at first, but that will change if you keep moving forward.

Also, it's worth thinking about this...our expectations of people and outcomes usually make us unhappy. Everything is expected, and very little ever turns out the way that we want it to or expect it to - that's just life., and it includes YOU, ME in that equation too. Think for those hiring managers and recruiters you’ve pinned expectations on in regard to helping you get a job...didn't always work out, did it? With expectations comes frustration and resentment.

According to the first of the Buddha’s Four Nobel Truths worldly existence is fundamentally unsatisfactory:

“This is the truth of pain: birth is painful, old age is painful, sickness is painful. Contact with unpleasant things is painful, not getting what one wishes is painful.”

Core to the Buddhist approach to life is to LOWER expectations, thereby raising our joys. If pain and suffering constitute the gap between what we want and what we have, surely we have the power to change what we want.

It's not a negative, it just a different perspective - something I am working on too.

Control 

You are the one making your decisions, keep focused and remember that everything else out of your control needs to be let go of… just focus on you and your development.

If you want a successful career in marketing, and that's your goal, then you need to work on yourself first. The reality is that you need to study and practice - combine the two. I don't know any marketers that have reached a senior position by just taking digital courses or reading marketing books. The ones that make it are the ones that practice their craft. The uncomfortable truth is that it means you have to roll your sleeves up, download the programs you've been learning about and actually use them regularly.

You can't drive by just reading theory alone...you've got to get behind the wheel and put the rubber on the road - the same applies in marketing.

Firing From The Hip 

Some say it’s a numbers game, the more CVs you throw out, the more chance you have of getting a return. Sure, firing from the hip works for many and there's truth in it, but often it's a sign that maybe you are panicking, losing focus -we've all done it. Focus more time on producing a quality CV that’s highly focused on a select few jobs.

Write an introductory note to the hirer, I bet that well over half of the applicants won't have done that, it'll show maturity and add a level of personal touch that will be lacking in other applications.

Be brave - go for it!

Provide Evidence 

Many businesses can not afford to ‘give chances’, they need expertise that can jump in and get the job done on day one – so, show what you can do.

That said, many businesses set out their job descriptions as wish-lists rather than a list of skills that an applicant MUST have. If you tick the boxes in a few areas, can prove that you're always learning and that you're a problem solver, businesses worth their salt will look at you favourably and see you as an investment for the long term.

Go for it... what's the worst that can happen?

Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts? If you want to chat get in touch with me and we can explore your situation - take care!