Nontraditional tools increase your chances of finding a job by helping you meet professionals in the industry, learn more about your particular field, and increase the number of people who can help you in your search. Nontraditional tools encourage initiative and drive while making you stand out in a crowd of applicants. You'll learn more about your chosen industry, and acquire invaluable contacts in the field that interests you. These tools also help you take a good look at your future and where you would like your career to go by talking to professionals who have already been there. These are characteristics that employers love to see.
Applicants taking an active role in their job search will become employees who take an active role in their jobs and in their companies!
Networking
Networking, as we've discussed, is contacting everyone you know, describing your current job search status, and asking for advice about conducting your job search. That probably seems impossible and intimidating, but it isn't once you learn how to network.
I'm going to put networking in a different perspective for you so you will see how this tool can save you time and help you find a job more easily. Picture this: When you are looking for the best way to get to Dickenson Street from Main Street, what do you do? You might ask someone for directions. If you're taking Organic Chemistry next semester and want to know who the easiest teacher is, what do you do? You ask a few people who have taken it before. What do you do when you are looking for a good restaurant? You ask friends and relatives for recommendations.
When asking these questions, you are networking. Networking is a shortcut to finding the information you need by asking everyone for input and advice. You don't have time to try all of the alternatives. After all, you only want to take Organic Chemistry once, right? People are a marvelous source of information! They enjoy being asked what they think!
Let's assume that instead of looking for a restaurant, you're trying to find a ob. If you told a few people you were looking for a job, they might give you some advice a:id tell you anything and everything they know; who's hiring, who you should talk to, and what companies you should contact. What a tremendous time saver! Without a doubt, networking will bring you the best results, more so than if you simply mailed some cover letters and waited for a response. By informing everyone you know that you are looking for a job, you will definitely increase your chances of hearing about, finding, and landing one.
So what is networking? Networking is telling your friends, neighbors and relatives about your current job search status. It is not asking them for a job. It is an informal way of telling everyone you know what you are interested in doing and that you are ready to start NOW-and then asking them for their advice. Word-of-mouth through acquaintances and associates is the best resource to finding out where the jobs are. Even if you don't know many people, your list will grow in time. Contact the people you know and see if they can refer you to someone else. For every three people you know, your contacts are bound to introduce you to three more.
So, quit concentrating on classified ads as your sole job search tool. Remember, your time would be better spent utilizing both traditional and nontraditional job search tools.
Best of Both Worlds
If you search further, you'll find that a number of on-line services offer both job listings and a resume database-and that's not all. Many services also include useful material for your overall job search including: networking opportunities, interviewing suggestions, and weekly discussion groups.
Do the Services Really Work?
Although it's hard to tell how many candidates actually land a job through the Internet, it's a fact that the more miles logged on these services, the better the odds of finding a job. Being the largest word of mouth resource in the world, the networking opportunities on the Internet are limitless. No-where else can you economically chat with thousands of people about your job search and interests. So, do they really work? Well, it is interesting to note that companies both large and small are subscribing to these on-line recruiting methods at a steady rate. And as employment experts will verify, searching for and landing a job requires a multi-faceted, proactive approach-which means, utilizing every job search tool available to you.
