Busygals, get EMPLOYED!

I don't use this blog as a personal one, but I did have to share with all of you fabulous Busygals out there that I am finally EMPLOYED!!! 


If you've read my About Me, then you know I'm incredibly passionate about helping students...and that's exactly what I get to do!!! I'll be a school-based therapist at an elementary school! Wooohoooo!!!!


While I'm on the topic, I figured I'd share a few tips I've learned through this journey for all of you Busygals who are out there job searching:

Image courtesy of mediapost.com

#1: Among many job search engine options, the one I most prefer is indeed.com. Indeed.com returned many successful job searches for me, and it's a very helpful website -  you can create personalized job alerts, a profile, and save jobs you're interested in, among other features. 
In fact, you can search for your dream job on indeed.com right now - check over on the top right page of this blog and start searching right from this page! 
Hey, it's a one-stop shop! It's what I do...make Busygals' lives easier... :) 

Image courtesy of http://neilschwartz.net/are-you-the-tortoise-or-the-hare/

#2: DON'T GIVE UP! We all know the saying..."Slow and steady wins the race." Eventually your hard work, if you stick with it, has to pay off...and it will! 
I've been on the hunt for the past 7 months, and it's been discouraging and frustrating, but also a time for growing. My confidence in myself and my interviewing skills has exponentially increased, and I have met a lot of wonderful people in my field and made some great professional contacts. 

Image courtesy of http://www.relenet.com/

#3: Speaking of professional contacts...network, network, network!!! Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich has some excellent tips (sidenote: EXCELLENT book that you all should buy right now. Check out his twitter here and his web site here. Invaluable information regarding money, employment, retirement, etc!). I can't find the link, so I'll just post the text from his email below and label it 3A. 
I have been emailing and staying in contact with everyone I know on a regular basis, updating them about my search, asking who they might know, and also checking in to see how they're doing (don't just be a taker, show that you care about them and what's happening in their lives too...because you do care, right? :) )

Image courtesy of hellobeautiful.com

#4: ALWAYS remember that everyone you meet in an interview is a potential job contact for the future, so remain professional in all of your interactions no matter what. It sucks getting rejected for a job you really want, believe me, I know the feeling. Keep this in mind, though...you didn't get this job? It doesn't mean they won't have others that will open up in the future that you might be better-qualified for (this is exactly what happened to me with the job I just got an offer for - I interviewed with them back in October for a bilingual position - I'm not entirely bilingual - needless to say, I didn't get the job. But when another position that I was more suited for opened up, she immediately called me!). 

Image courtesy of joyschwartz.com

#5: Going along with the last tip regarding professionalism, send an individual thank you note to each person you interviewed with. You'd be surprised how many people don't, and how pleasantly surprised people are when you do. I hand-write mine on nice, simple Thank You notes like the one pictured above. For some great tips that have helped me with wording a good thank you note, click here and here (and for you social workers out there, some great resources can be found here).

Image courtesy of network.nationalpost.com

#6: Make follow-up phone calls (unless the job description explicitly says not to call, make sure you're respectful of their wishes...plus it shows you can follow direction). Sent in your resume and haven't heard from them after a few days? Follow up! I've gotten a few interviews I never would have gotten simply because I called. With today's job market, HR staff members' desks are absolutely flooded with resumes and applications. They just can't even get to all of them. But if yours is on their desk in a pile somewhere and you call, chances are they'll dig through the pile to take a look while they have you on the phone.

You can also call right after emailing your resume and cover letter in, just to confirm they received it...it'll make them look right then.

Courtesy of iwillteachyoutoberich.com

#3A: GREAT networking tips by Ramit Sethi (seriously, check out his book and blog, you'll be happy you did!):

How to get a dream job: Using your network

You saw my recent email about how important it is to help other people using ethical networking. It has personally helped me accelerate my career years ahead.

Today, a case study on how to use specific strategies and tactics to find a new job.

Last night, I was talking to one of my friends on the phone. She's looking for a new job and she's put in an  application to a company she wants to work at. This is a big monster company where you submit a resume and never hear back (unless you know someone). Luckily, she has a friend who works there and she already asked her friend to check on her application...but hasn't heard back.

So yesterday, she asks me, "What do you think I should do? I don't want to bug my friend but I already asked her to check on the app last week."

My response:

1. Check in with your friend again. Here's an email script that works well to get action, but not make you seem rude:

Hey FRIEND,

Hope things are good! Hey, quick question -- I was wondering if you could check on that COMPANY-NAME application I submitted last week. I know things get crazy, so I didn't want this to fall through the cracks in your inbox...

Thanks,

-NAME

P.S. I love Ramit Sethi's blog at iwillteachyoutoberich.com!

What do you think? Good huh?

2. Ok, so the second thing is to STOP FOCUSING ON ONLY ONE PERSON IN YOUR JOB SEARCH. In this case, my friend was waiting on her one friend to help her get the inside track for the application. Unfortunately, there are 2 problems with this: (1) This girl is fairly low-status at the company and (2) she is only one person.  It's like when I see one of my friends fixated on ONE girl at the bar. Dude. There are 8,000 other girls at this New York bar. Let's not go crazy fixating on one fish in the sea, okay.

So here is how you do it.

I asked her, "Who else do you know at Acme Corp"? She said...nobody really. I said really? Think hard. She still couldn't think of anybody. Ok, no problem.

So then I asked her this: "Who do you know WHO MIGHT KNOW somebody who works there?" Still skeptical. But then she started thinking out loud.  Now she had a couple people. And I hinted, "Do *I* know anybody there?" She said no. I said how do you know? Hell, even *I* don't know if I know someone there or not until I check my contact list. You have to broaden your net and ask ALL your contacts if they know somebody at Acme who can help you get your application accepted. And then rinse and repeat with 10 other companies.

Here is your line:

Hey FRIEND,

I just put an application into Acme Corp and I was wondering if you know anybody there who can help get it to the right person. Do you by chance know anybody there?

Thanks,

-NAME

WHY THIS WORKS

1. People LOVE helping other people get jobs

2. People LOVE helping other people get jobs if they don't have to do any work. So if they simply have to forward your email to someone they know at some company, they win (and so do you)

3. Presumably, you are really good, so your friend is happy to introduce you to their contact at the company, creating a win-win. However, if you suck just give up and go home

4. You DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. So you may not know someone directly at Acme Corp. But do your friends? Their friends? WHO KNOWS? Certainly not you until you try. 

5.Strategically using your network is the best way to get jobs that are never announced publicly. If you concentrate solely on going through the front door to get jobs, you are a sucker