We currently live in trying times because of COVID-19, and many people lost their jobs during the pandemic. As a result, the ability to find a job in uncertain times becomes crucial.
The best time to build a powerful network was ten years ago; the second-best time to build a powerful network is now!
Your Network is Your Net Worth
Our philosophy is to "dig the well before you are thirsty." Don’t wait until you need to get a job – you should build a powerful network as early as possible.
If you don’t have a powerful network and now you actually need to find a job, don’t worry – there are several ways to figure it out:
Identify a list of people that you have helped in the past. Even if you and those people aren’t close friends, they will probably help you due to the Law of Reciprocity.
Contact everyone that you know and tell them that you are looking for a job. People can’t help you if you don’t ask for help. There's no shame in needing help either. We all do at some point or another!
Ask your family and friends to give you some support – if they can’t give you a job, maybe their neighbors or colleagues can.
I think it's important to note here that at least 75% of jobs are found through people’s networks.
Use LinkedIn to Find Opportunities
In this day and age, it’s pivotal to have a LinkedIn profile. If you work in any capacity, it's essential for you to have a profile. Otherwise, you don’t really exist in the second-largest digital platform where professionals are looking for talent. The first is, Indeed, but we'll talk job boards later.
Find out which companies you would like to work for and research those companies’ names on LinkedIn. You will likely find the directors and others who those companies have employed.
If you have a large number of connections on LinkedIn, chances are some of your connections know those who work on the inside. In that case, you can politely introduce yourself to your connections and inform them that you're looking for employment. You may learn about opportunities. Someone may even be willing to give you a referral for an open position or connect you with a hiring manager of an open requisition.
You may also set your profile on LinkedIn to show the '#OpenForWork' photo frame and being visible to all LinkedIn users (including recruiters and individuals at your current place of employment). If you're currently employed and are reluctant to advertise that you're actively looking to make a career change, you can only share your job search preferences with LinkedIn recruiters. This is a more conservative way to be vetted for current roles. We want to mention that LinkedIn does take active measures not to show the "Recruiter Only" information to your current employers; however, it doesn't guarantee total privacy.
Join Job Boards
If you have a well-written resume and you’ve mastered outstanding job interview skills, even in an oversaturated candidate pool, it’s totally possible for you to land a job via job boards!
Some well-known job boards are Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster, and of course, LinkedIn. For those seeking more technical or federal roles, usajobs.gov, GovtJobs, Clearance Jobs, and Dice are great places to start. Of course, there are many high-quality job boards on the market, so you can do your own research and find out which one suits you and the industry you are in.
From there, as long as your resume is top-notch and you have a solid cover letter (yes, we still strongly encourage them), you're ready to apply!