New Year’s Day is always a great moment, whether it’s celebrated in a crowd at the turn of midnight or with family and friends inside a cozy home. But it’s not just the funny hats and a glass of champagne that makes this a momentous occasion since this time of the year is associated with fresh starts, when people also make various New Year’s resolutions, be that losing weight, organizing a vacation to an exotic place, getting married, earning that diploma or looking for a new job.
And yet despite the fact that getting a better job is one of the top resolutions made after the clock strikes midnight, keeping that promise is an entirely different story. Granted it’s not an impossible task at all, but it definitely takes more than just dusting off the old resume that is hiding in the bottom of the drawer…
Most people just shrug off New Year’s resolutions, but for many it’s the perfect motivation to actually enter into the labor market again. So it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that according to CareerBuilder 22% of active workers in the U.S. start looking for a new job in early January – a number that increases to 35% if the list is narrowed down to only people aged between 18 and 34 years old, a demographic that is widely considered to be the most active when it comes to switching between jobs on a frequent basis. And this is a worldwide phenomenon, too: Great Britain, a country expected to be hit by a huge economic repression once Brexit is fully realized in 2019, faces the same situation.
However, regardless of age, country or profession, the biggest reason that most people have for looking for another job is still what was the case many years ago: a better salary. This is followed by less stress and the option for promotion.
Making a promise to find a new job is one thing, but actually jumping into the deep end (again) is something that needs full attention and thorough preparation.
Returning to the labor market is quite a challenge for anyone, but doing so with a clear head can ease things up a lot. To achieve that, it’s best to take a minute to put aside the feelings towards the current job and get into the right mindset that helped during the previous job search.
With this you’ll be able to set up goals by asking questions, such as what kind of job it is that you’d like to have, what special set of skills you possess and which platforms and methods will be used to find the new job. This is a great asset in narrowing down the list of potential jobs to only those that present the best opportunities, saving valuable time that can then be spent on finetuning resumes and cover letters.
It sounds cliched, but without proper networking the chances of finding a new job are not so bright – especially if you are considering a different career path in a completely new field. This is why it’s highly recommended to start networking before selecting from the first set of job opportunities.
It would be even better if that networking includes personal meetings with other people from the industry you’d like to work in. Remember that an informal chat could easily turn into an ad hoc interview, during which both parties will have the chance to make a good impression and discuss the job itself or even anything that might come up during an actual interview without the stress of such a situation.
LinkedIn is often confused as an online resume, but it’s actually not. In fact, it’s one of the best tools for building a career profile that showcases your skills and achievements. Think of it as a cover letter of sorts that completes and backs up a resume, and therefore should be treated with as much care as you would do when updating your profile on any job portals.
Obviously, there is no new job without putting together a new, convincing resume – regardless of whether it’s created by using a simple word processor, the help of a professional or an online tool intended for this very purpose.
However, remember the golden rule of resumes: general CVs are permitted so long as they are used only as the basis for creating a profile for online job boards, otherwise resumes should be tailored to each job you apply for or at least put together in such a creative way that it’ll catch the attention of potential employers.
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