Best Practice Self-Assessments for Job Search & Reemployment Planning

Getting noticed by employers is difficult. Yet many job seekers eliminate themselves from consideration--often before human eyes see their resume or online application. Here are 5 ways the unemployed end their hiring chances, plus how to help them open the door to opportunity:

1. No targeting. Job hunters should be encouraged to find the right opportunities for their skills and experience. Suggest they research careers with the Occupational Outlook Handbook or http://www.myskillsmyfuture.org.
2. No tailoring. Customizing a resume to match job openings is quick and smart. Job seekers can change a few words to match an ad and rearrange details to highlight desired qualifications. Make it easy for employers to see how you suit their needs.
3. No keywords. If a resume or application does not contain the right industry- or job-specific words, it won't get through automated systems. Explain how important it is to add these "key" words to a resume to match help-wanted ads.
4. No attention to detail. Employers want to hire the best people. If application materials are sloppy, disorganized, or have typos, they go into the trash.
5. No human contact. When interested in a company, job seekers need to reach out to an inside contact first or follow up with a hiring manager. An insider can pull a resume out of the pile.

Job search strategies are featured in Your Employment Search (YES), a self-guiding career assessment by Career Action Resources, LLC. Career and workforce development practitioners can request a complimentary YES sample.
 

Image courtesy of artur84 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 

Now you can quickly transform your job seekers' job-search readiness and effectiveness. Your Employment Search (YES), a self-assessment by Career Action Resources, measures and teaches productive job search skills in 5 key areas to immediately boost the job search.

No matter where your job hunters are in their work search, YES provides an assessment and proactive strategy in just 3 steps. Watch this 2-minute video to learn more:

Some additional details on YES:

• Features a 6-panel foldout design, plus a perforated panel for job seekers to summarize their employment search strategy for handy reference
• Combines self-assessment with today's most productive job-search guidance
• Focuses on 5 key areas: career direction, attitude, active job search, job-search tools, employer communication
• Helps job hunters manage their attitude and keep going despite rejection
• Saves time by providing job-search help, planning, and encouragement in one tool
• Covers online applications, resume keywords, social media, and much more
• Results in a personal employment search plan
• Research-based; 8th-grade reading level; color-coded for easy use and self-scoring; shrink-wrapped in convenient packs of 50

If you are a workforce or career services provider, please request your complimentary YES sample today. Visit www.CareerActionResources.com to learn more.




 

During the job search, many job hunters lose confidence and view themselves in a negative light. Here are suggestions to improve job seekers' mindset, from the Editors at Career Action Resources, LLC. 

• Suggest that job hunters talk about themselves in present tense instead of past tense. For example, say "I am an office manager," not "I was an office manager." 
• Instead of calling themselves "unemployed," job seekers should refer to themselves by their desired job title.
• Ask job seekers to list their top skills and focus on the value of these skills to employers. This point is especially true for transferable skills, such as organizing, listening, writing, and problem solving. Also encourage job seekers to learn new skills through workshops, classes, and volunteering.
• Job hunters need to take daily positive action, such as calling contacts, doing research, building skills, and networking with employers. Without a job search schedule or job search planning, the unemployed  can easily fall into a funk, waste time, and start feeling hopeless.
• Remind job hunters of your employment services and workshops. Suggest they join a job club and take job search workshops to improve their job search skills, confidence, and outlook.

Career Action Resources specializes in best-practice career assessment tools used by workforce, employment, and career services to guide job seekers and the unemployed in getting hired. With more than 15 years of experience in workforce development publishing, our seasoned career resources staff created Layoff-to-Employment Action Planner (LEAP) and Your Employment Search (YES).