Tools and Strategies

Here are a few of the things I have done to keep my job search moving along.

Personal Contacts and Networking
As soon as I knew that my job was ending, I emailed almost everyone I knew. I told them I was looking and asked them to keep an eye out for me. I didn’t send everyone a resume, but I did send a resume to anyone who asked. A number of people responded with suggestions and ideas for me. About six weeks later I sent an update to those folks plus a few more, and once again it generated some new activity. I will probably send one more next week.

Beyond those contacts with people I already know and associate with is the other part of networking, which is finding new people to meet and share information with. I’ve done a bit of this, but not nearly as much as I should. Last week I went to a lunch for a local chapter of a professional society. It was a good thing to do. I didn’t make any contacts for potential jobs, but I did meet a couple of other job-seekers, who I may share some information with.

Web sites
Over the past year or so I’ve created a web page with direct links to local companies’ web sites. Where possible I’ve linked directly to the career sections of those sites. Every week or so, I go through and check all of the web sites for new openings.

Lately I’ve had occasion to share these links with a number of folks, so I’ve begun transferring them to del.icio.us so that anyone can access them If you’re interested, this is where they live:

http://del.icio.us/wconners/jobs

Newspapers
I’ve always looked at the help wanted ads anyway. Some people read obituaries, I read the help wanted. So, this is really just a matter of continuing something I’ve always done. Every Sunday, after church, I sit and go through the ads. I have found a number of possibilities there.

Conventional wisdon says that you don’t get jobs through the newspapers. You’re supposed to contact the companies directly and talk to a person, and do your networking. However, more and more it seems to me that companies are discouraging the direct personal contact route, and asking for seekers to apply through the web site, only for openings that are listed on the web site. What do you think?

Alumni Network
I haven’t tapped this yet. The UVA Alumni Association does some support work in this area, and I’ve visited the web site, but I haven’t contacted them yet. I’m thinking they may be able to connect me with some folks in this area for networking purposes.

Recruiters
I also haven’t done anything here, and I really think I’ve dropped the ball in that regard. For one thing, when I look through the yellow pages or through listings on the Interweb, it’s kind of intimidating…I don’t know anything about any of them, so I have no idea which one to contact. I know a lot of them specialize in certain fields, but I haven’t seen any that list my field. Also, I’ve done well enough on my own, getting a number of applications in and more than a couple interviews, so I’ve kept busy enough that I haven’t felt the need.

So, that’s the list. What have I missed?