So it's October and there are still "no jobs," from your perspective, at least none that you feel you can find or land. Not even a shovel-ready job in sight, and although you've never held more than a snow shovel, you'd take even one of those jobs. Fast food places say you're overqualified; retail stores will give you only 20 hours a week. The only thing you can find in your field is a part-time consulting gig, or five of these.
Before you borrow your friends' tent and head to your city's financial center with a bottle of patchouli, take the consulting gig. Take two or five gigs! I will tell you why, and tell you how to get noticed so you land a real, paying job.
Consultants come in two basic flavors: the careerist who's committed to making this their career, and the more skilled unemployed or employed person who's perhaps thinking of changing careers. Consultants usually are looking for freedom and flexibility and give a company needed expertise and brainpower in crunch times. What these roles have in common: a willingness to do whatever it takes. But you need more – you need to be noticed, valued and hired.
Try these five tips:
- Research the online influencers who matter to your career or prospective employer. Follow them on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn. Look for their blogs. At regular intervals, retweet, comment and, while you're at it, add links to favorable articles in industry and business publications.
- If there's a company blog, write for it, pulling in references to influencers and top news stories. Get the company's key messages down by heart and read the publications that matter to them. Be savvy in a very visible way.
- Eavesdrop. I'm serious. Be unobtrusive, but listen. You'll hear about special projects and know who's overloaded. Then offer to help, and describe how you will get the task done quickly and well.
- Attach yourself to the hardest workers, the most productive people, and be seen as a part of their team. Volunteer to pitch in on their projects and, when you understand the lay of the land, suggest new projects that make sense for the business, and offer to take them on.
- Often companies bring in consultants when they don't have enough work for a full-time hire. Help them get the work. Volunteer to go to industry networking events. Represent the company and talk about its capabilities. You're in sales mode here – both the company and yourself as a skilled and smart person.
What these tips have in common is taking action. Sitting by the phone or updating your status on Facebook and waiting for a 'you're hired' call is about as useful as buying a lottery ticket.
Instead, act.
Call everyone you know who's in a company you'd like to work for, tell them you're looking and willing to be part-time or a consultant. In this economy someone will bite. Then move to #1-5, and be persistent.
Show up every day happy, be positive and productive. Be in the right pace, so you know when it's the right time.
Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a serial entrepreneur and globally recognized career expert in talent acquisition, creative personal and corporate branding. Meghan has conducted more than 300 successful career searches for clients ranging from Fortune 500s to the most innovative software start-up companies. Meghan is also a new media strategist who enjoys accelerating collaborative business and community goals. When not recruiting, blogging, and innovating she manages a dynamic coaching practice empowering corporate leaders, mid-level managers, software technologists, and recent college graduates. Meghan is a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS), The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and several entrepreneurial organizations. She serves on the Alumni Council for Greens Farms Academy, acting as a career mentor to high school and college students.
Thanks to Meghan M. Biro / GlassDoor Blog
http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/5-tips-noticed-landing-job/
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