Land a Job by the End of the Summer: Five Tips

You need a job, and you need one right now. Ideally, you’d like to be employed by the end of the day, but since that isn’t exactly realistic, you’re setting your timeline to cover the summer. While others are splashing in the pool and basking in the sun, you plan to be focused on your resume and your career goals. The pool can wait. For now, you need to think about your future.

So what steps can you take to make sure you reach your goal? How can you speed up the process and increase your odds of success? Keep these tips in mind, and by September, you’ll be making a name for yourself in your brand new workplace.

1. Stay in motion.

Once you decide to launch your job search, commit. Stay focused. Establish a minimum amount of time that you’ll spend on your search each day (for example, five hours if you’re currently unemployed, two hours if you’re holding down a full time job) and keep that pledge. Clear your schedule and don’t let distractions derail you. Arrange child and pet care if necessary so you can respond to interview requests in person or via video chat, and insist that your family and housemates respect your search time.

2. Get help and more help.

A resume may seem like a simple, straightforward document. It’s only one page, right? How hard can that be? But think again, and get ready to invest more time in this simple document then you might imagine. No amount of editing help and outside perspective will be too much. Enlist the support of friends, family, and any professional editors you can find in your list of personal contacts.

3. Lean heavily on your network.

While you spend a few hours each day conducting your search from behind a screen, make sure you also get out into the real world and meet in person with those who might be able to help you. Reach out to potential leads, mentors, former coworkers and bosses, and those who have connections in your industry. Ask for advice instead of favors, and think about what you have to offer during each encounter, not just what you have to gain.

4. Dress the part.

Of course, you’ll need to dress sharply when you arrive for your interviews. But for the duration of your entire job search, put a little bit more effort into your clothing and personal appearance then you usually do. Every time you leave the house for a social event, a meeting, or even a trip to the store, look nice. Why? Because successful job searches are often driven by serendipity, luck, chance encounters and random connections. There’s a reason why it’s called an “elevator pitch”: Because you just don’t know who might be riding the elevator with you on any given day. Prepare for unexpected opportunity.

5. Follow up.

After every meeting, interview, informational interview, or networking event, follow up on the conversations and connections that had an impact on you. Always thank others for their help and support (in writing if appropriate) and when an interesting stranger or potential lead hands you a card, take personal responsibility for keeping in touch.

Follow these steps and your job search will move forward in a steady fashion…And if all goes well, you’ll have a great new position in just a few months, or even weeks. Visit MyPerfectResume for ongoing help and support.