Best Practice Self-Assessments for Job Search & Reemployment Planning

It’s easy for job seekers to lose steam in a job hunt. They may start out positive and energized, but as the days go on without a positive employer response, their drive and attitude may lag, according to Career Action Resources, LLC. Share these tips to help them regain momentum:

• Get active. Lack of physical activity can make a person lethargic. Suggest that your job hunters get exercise throughout the day. 
• Make a schedule. Open-ended hours can make job seekers feel lost. Recommend that they create a daily schedule that includes job searching as their top activity. Include tasks such as calling contacts, following up on job leads, researching employers, and participating in a job search workshop and job club. 
• Avoid isolation. People lose important connections when they lose a job. Plus, it’s easy to feel lonely when job searching without much human interaction. So they should consider making phone calls instead of always emailing contacts, attending business events, joining job search workshops, and volunteering.

Looking for more ways to educate and motivate job seekers on effective job hunting? Consider using Your Employment Search (YES), a quick, self-guiding job hunt tool.

If you are a workforce or career services professional, please request your complimentary YES review sample.
  

It takes effort to conduct a successful job search. If your job seekers jump into a job hunt without planning, it may take longer than expected to get hired. Here are 10 blunders to watch for, according to Career Action Resources, LLC:

1. Not knowing their skills and what they want to do. If job seekers don't know what they are qualified for, have them pinpoint their skills and focus their search. Use MyNextMove from the U.S. Department of Labor.
2. Procrastinating. A job search may take longer than most people realize, so they should get started right away. 
3. Being disorganized. How will job seekers track jobs they've applied for? How will they know when to follow up with employers? Encourage the unemployed to use a calendar or other tool to plan job search activities.
4. Making errors. Remind job hunters to proofread their submissions.
5. Applying for everything. Suggest to job seekers that they don’t apply for every opportunity. They won’t make it past applicant tracking systems that search for qualifications. 
6. Using the same resume and cover letter for every opening. If your job seekers want to get job interviews, they need to make it easy for employers to see how their qualifications fit an opening. Suggest they tailor correspondence to match the job ad and employer needs.
7. Not researching employers. By learning about employers and their needs, job seekers can more effectively prove they are right for a job. For example, if Company X is expanding a call center, they will realize the business will need candidates with solid customer service experience. 
8. Not contacting employers directly. Job seekers don’t have to wait for a job to be advertised. If they like a certain company, they can express their interest.  ​
9. Winging it in job interviews. Job hunters should prepare for interviews. They should be ready to answer common questions.
10. Forgetting to follow up. Job seekers should thank the interviewer and send a thank you. Then they should follow up and restate their interest.

Need help guiding job seekers in effective job searching? Career and workforce development professionals: Request a complimentary review sample of Your Employment Search (YES). YES assesses job search strengths and barriers, opens a person's eyes to the best methods for getting hired, and leads to a personal employment search strategy tailored to individual goals.

Have you checked out the redesigned WorkforceGPS? It’s the online technical assistance website from the U.S. Department of Labor created just for workforce development professionals. The site’s purpose is to help build the capacity of America's public workforce investment system through useful tools and research—all in one place.

The first thing you’ll notice on WorkforceGPS.org is that it looks better than ever, and the navigation is more intuitive.

But the new WorkforceGPS.org received more than just a makeover. The changes made are all based on feedback from users.

These changes include the following, according to the site:

• Simplified interface
• Easier log in
• Improved and streamlined search function that allows you to sort results by title, relevance, newness, or popularity, and you can customize other search criteria
• Easier way to navigate, search, and find peers in the Member Directory

Learn more and watch a brief overview video.