Tuesday’s Tip: Is There Activity, Productivity (or both) in Your Job Search?

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there!

When I work with job seekers, too many of them confuse (or substitute) activity for productivity. Activity does not necessarily equal productivity. I see a lot of people keeping themselves "busy" (or active) by going to multiple networking groups every week, applying for numerous jobs online, and using some basic social media applications. While this has kept most of them busy, it is not producing an offer for them to consider. Although the above 3 mentioned items are not necessarily bad activities, most are not utilizing them in the proper mix and manner, and they have become too comfortable with just doing only those tasks over and over again.

Just like you would have a "Project Plan" for a major work assignment or task, you need to develop a strategy and/or project plan for your job search.

"Life will not go according to plan if you do not have a plan."

I want to challenge each one of you to try 3 things from the list below over the next 5 days. Pick ones that you have not explored before, research them, write a basic "plan of attack" and give them a serious "try".

Job Search Techniques:

Job Boards (try the niche ones)

Corporate Career Sites (your target companies)

Job Fairs (they are starting to pop up again)

Social Networking (there are plenty to try)

Offline Networking (when's the last time you really talked to your Barber?)

Conferences (volunteer to work, so it's free for you)

Alumni Services (reach out and see how they can assist)

Temporary Employment Agencies (these can lead to full-time opportunities)

YouTube (get creative and advertise yourself)

Join Associations (related to your field of expertise)

Create your own Google search engine (and "program" to fit your industry)