How to Find a Job in a New Industry
When you are looking for new employment, it can be hard to know how to find a job. Your resume will speak a thousand words and you want to only include information that will impress the hiring manager. Many people struggle with how to find a job because they do not put in the effort to research what employers are looking for when they are reviewing their resume. With a little hard work and a lot of patience, you should be able to land the position that you have always wanted.
The first step in how to find a job is to take some time away from your current responsibilities. Stop working on your resume and start networking. If you have recently graduated or are just finishing up your education, you might want to consider moving to a new city or state. If so, there is a good chance that you will meet a wide variety of people who are looking for new jobs. If you move to a new city or state, you will not only have a new place to live but also a new group of friends and family to keep in touch with as well.
Another way to network is to look online at job boards and applicant tracking systems. These two sites can provide you with some useful information regarding employers that are hiring. Job listings are listed by department and by keywords. By surfing the site, you will be able to learn about companies that are hiring, how long they have been in business and how popular they may be in your particular field.
It is possible to submit a resume to dozens of different employers through these job boards. You need to realize that many of these employers have hundreds of applicants for every opening. In order to stand out, many job seekers choose to submit their resumes to fewer than one hundred employers. This strategy is often referred to as targeting “the big dogs.”
The Internet has made it easy for virtually anyone to get started on their own job search. Job Scan, an applicant tracking systems firm, allows job seekers to search job boards and online portals on their own. Job seekers simply input their basic information and click on links that lead them to a variety of different companies. Job Scan’s unique technology allows the job hunter to narrow down their search by job type, geographic area and category. A job search is typically much faster and easier when the job seeker focuses their efforts on just a few top employers.
While researching online job banks, you will probably come across dozens of listing opportunities. However, there is no guarantee that you will even be invited to attend an interview with the hiring manager. Each posting on these websites represents a potential employer. The posting does not have to be the first impression of the applicant; therefore, the job search should focus on the ability to demonstrate what makes you stand out from other potential job candidates.
LinkedIn is an outstanding business tool for the job search. LinkedIn is a social networking site that allows professional to share information about themselves, including their contact information. LinkedIn allows you to search for jobs posted by hiring managers in your specific industry. The site also links to web sites, blogs, and news articles that are relevant to your career field.
The majority of web sites will allow you to post a resume on their site, but only a few will let you link your resume to your profile page on LinkedIn. The advantage of LinkedIn is that you can use this network to meet other professionals in your new industry. The main disadvantage is that you cannot post an entire resume on LinkedIn. As mentioned earlier, job searching is typically more efficient when you focus your efforts on a select number of employers rather than sending a resume to every hiring manager that you see.