Best Practice Self-Assessments for Job Search & Reemployment Planning

As a workforce development practitioner, you know that many dislocated workers wait too long to start their job search. The effects of waiting to begin a job hunt are many: skills atrophy, finances dwindle, networks fade, self-image and motivation diminish, and employer interest wanes. It’s important for job seekers who have been laid off the start their job hunt immediately to get reemployed more quickly.

As the Editors at Career Action Resources thought about this problem, we realized that job seekers wait too long to do many tasks in their job hunt. Job seekers wait for the perfect resume. They wait for employers to call. They wait to network and to follow up with employers. So we created a "Laid Off? Don't Wait" infographic encouraging job seekers not to wait in their job hunt. Feel free to share this infographic with your job seekers (give credit to Career Action Resources, please).

Need more help and motivation for your job seekers? Consider the Layoff-to-Employment Action Planner (LEAP), a self-guiding career assessment tool by Career Action Resources. Workforce and career practitioners: Request your complimentary LEAP sample now.

 

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.