Spring is here! The longer nights and frosty weather are making way for blooming flowers and sunshine. Many people take advantage of the beautiful weather to clean their house from top to bottom. Spring cleaning has been a staple in regions that have very strong winters and has become synonymous with general heavy cleaning or organizing.
Just like the weather, maybe your job search had been put on ice or frozen during the winter months. Now is as good a time as ever to warm up and revitalize your efforts. As the spring flowers blossom to begin anew, you can take advantage of this time to put some new life back into your job search.
While the spring weather might be a bit colder than the famous groundhog predicted, here are some ways you can spring clean your job search to help keep you focused and improve your chances of getting hired.
Brush Up on Your Reading
There is a wealth of information out there. Not just in the job market, but in your industry as well. To be a desirable candidate, job seekers must be on top of the latest issues and trends in their market. That’s why it’s important to take time out of your day for reading and learning.
Trade journals, blogs, and industry news sites are excellent and often-overlooked resources that can help you stay informed and can differentiate you from the herd of job seekers.
Dust Off Old Contacts
We’ve all been there before. The weather is getting warmer, so you start reaching back for your summer clothes, but find outfits you forgot you even had. It’s easy to be like that in the professional realm when eager job seekers network with as many people as possible. Some people probably have more business cards than pennies, which means it’s time to reorganize your network.
Go through your contacts and decide if you should catch up or discard them. It’s a great opportunity to focus your message and communication skills by catching up with a few selected connections you haven’t seen in a while. The job market changes quickly and you never know what new opportunities these contacts have learned about since the last time you talked.
Out With The Old, In With The New
Make a list of the skills or experiences that you feel are weakest, have the most desire to strengthen, or would like to learn. Research what programs your community centers, tech schools, and colleges offer that can help you learn something new and break out of your shell. Doing this will demonstrate to potential employers that you’re being proactive instead of sending out resumes from a computer all day. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet others who you can add to your job search network.
Get Insight From The Maids
Sometimes, cleaning up your job search can’t be done on your own. Having outside help can give you a new way of looking at something or some helpful knowledge to break away from your normal routine.
A mentor can be very beneficial by giving you critiques and access to job openings. Their insight can help you make needed improvements to get a job quicker and meet leaders in your industry. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you’re not familiar with. Connect with others outside of your network at networking events, industry related organizations, and online forums to gain more referrals and leads.
Another great resource to spring clean your job search would be a staffing company. Most offer free job search resources and can help you with practicing interview skills and resume building.
Scrub Down Your Resume
When was the last time you updated your resume? We all get busy and now might be a good time to add any extra experience, certifications, or skills that you’ve gained in the past year.
It can also be a good time to trim up and cut out unnecessary information on your resume so employers will see the most relevant material first, which will make them more likely to pass on your resume.
Sweep Your Social Networks
More and more employers are being influenced by content on job seekers’ social media profiles when it comes to hiring decisions. In fact, employers are also taking a more active recruiting roll on social networks as well. That’s all the more reason to connect with employers through their Facebook or Twitter profile. Build relationships now to find out about potential job postings and stay fresh on recruiting managers’ minds.
It’s also important to update your LinkedIn profile. You never know when a recruiter will see it, and you want the best professional profile possible. You can also stay on top of online job postings by setting up Google Alerts on job boards and employers’ career pages that will email new openings to your inbox.
Spring is a time of change, and if you do some simple cleaning to your job search, you can make some big changes with a new career. What are some ways you’ve spring cleaned your job search? Let us know in the comments section below.