One of our friends has been working for the same company for over twenty years and just found out she is being laid off. She was asked for a resume to distribute internally so we got that taken care of. Now, a week later, she is ending her tenure and has to find a new job.
If you have not looked for a job in the last decade, the rules of engagement have changed. A lot. You may or may not be able to network your way into a new job; it does happen, but you will probably still need to go through an electronic application process. If not, here are some tips that may be helpful.
1) LinkedIn: have a profile, update it with relevant information, request RECOMMENDATIONS from peers, managers, and clients. There are endorsements and recommendations. The difference is that a recommendation is a written reference. An endorsement is a "click here if you think this person exhibits these skills". Endorsements are more important. Many companies have policies against written references after a layoff, so do it while you are technically still employed. This is how recruiters and hiring managers make evaluations when considering candidates. LinkedIn also has great job postings.
2) Indeed.com is useful for two reasons. First, you can upload your resume and recruiters can find you for free. You can keep your contact info private so that you don’t get spammed, but you should definitely upload your resume. Make sure you are very explicit about what you are looking for. This is one of the only times I advocate an objective in addition to a summary.
"Seasoned accounting manager seeking full time position in the greater Springfield area; not open to relocation. Please, no sales jobs."
From a job seeking perspective, Indeed scrapes websites for job postings then aggregates them. You can do a search on key words and location. When you find something of interest, *always go to the corporate website to make sure it is still open*. Indeed doesn’t update results. If a job posting is more than 30 days old, chances are it isn’t active anymore, but a quick check on the employer’s website can tell you if it is.
3) Glassdoor.com has two valuable functions. It has a job board, and it also has sections where employees and candidates leave reviews about the company, interview questions, and basically you can research an employer’s brand.
4) Once you have applied to a position, use LinkedIn to network and get some notice. The single best way into any company is an employee referral. The second is a recruiter referral. Use LinkedIn to reach these folks.
When you finally identify the sorts of positions and target companies, you will need to fill out the online application. Yes, it is a pain. But there are federal compliance guidelines that have impacted the way companies recruit new external talent. Some important things to remember:
-If a job posting has a "requirements" section, most likely if you don’t match the REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS then you aren’t a fit for the job. You can stretch something in terms of experience if is is a few months. For example, if it states "Five+ years of experience in a support role" and you have 4 years and 8 months, go ahead and at least try. If a job posting says "recent" that means within the last year, not eight years ago.
-A resume is a marketing tool, an application is a *legal* workflow document. There are times you may leave something off your resume (maybe a six month period of unemployment, a short temp job, or sabbatical), but you SHOULD include it in the application history in the proper place if you were employed.
-If an application requires a salary history, try "$1,000". Often they will not accept just a one or zero and require a number.
-In the fields requesting your supervisor and contact information, put "NA" if you don’t have any.
-In the "references" section, this is where you would list people that have offered to be a professional reference that is *not* your current immediate supervisor. They should be people that know you, your work, and can speak to you professionally; it isn’t for personal references.
-Make a note if there is any "Job number" associated with the position for networking purposes. You will want to include the URL of the job and any job number associated with the position when you are referencing it in your networking efforts.
Don’t forget to lock down your social media profiles if you are an avid user of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Remember, a quick Google search will find you easily enough. Make sure you don’t have anything that could hurt your chances of landing a new job. Pictures, racy content, overly political/religious/controversial topics are all reasons not to consider you for a position.