Treat your job search as a full time job!

You don't have a job and you have started to look for one. You seek advice from friends, announce it on social media, upload your resume on a few job boards and then expect emails and calls to come your way. Though more than 90% of the people do it this way, this carpet bombing approach generally does not deliver results. Though job search methods have been written and re-written time and again, there is still need for job seekers to put ideas to implementation. These are some of the tips I give to people who seek advice from me.

Announce – It's fundamental to announce to your immediate friends and family that you are looking for a job and seek help and advice from them. Do not just send a generic email with a resume attached and ask them to do the needful or forward it. Instead, call or meet people whom you think can really help and tell them in earnest about your job search and seek their advice.

Resume – A concise, crisp resume that tells your story and executive summary is what recruiters are looking for. You have to spend time detailing it, eliminating it of any errors, make it parser friendly, review it with friends and send it out and upload it on job boards. Do not expect emails and calls to come right away! There is a lot more to do and a lot more can be done

Research – You should research about companies that are looking for people with your skillset, check what employees and other stakeholders think about the company and upload your resume on the company site and find hiring managers on the internet.

Social Media – A recently conducted CareerBuilder survey shows more than 37% of the hiring managers are using social media to find candidates. They are on the lookout for information related to your qualifications, if you present yourself professionally, etc.

Skills – Sometimes, it's only when we start searching for jobs do we find that we lack certain skills that are required for career progression. Developing skills can often mean learning a new technology, bettering your PowerPoint and Excel skills, learning a new language, public speaking skills, etc.

Prepare – I am pretty sure that with all the activities mentioned above, you are certain to get a few calls and emails from hiring managers. It is important that you prepare for an assessment or a personal interview that will come your way soon.  It makes sense to even visualize the interview, think of possible questions that the interviewer would ask. Interviewers always like people who are prepared!

I am sure if you are going to give due diligence to all the points mentioned above, you are going to be spending considerable time on your job hunt and treating it almost like a job! Well, that is the key to finding the right job!

CareerBuilder has the perfect tools to help you find your dream jobs. Upload your CV, setup automated job alerts on email, follow us on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter and find your dream job in no time!