Career Coaches Provide Quick Tips to Help with the Job Search

Many job seekers may find themselves searching for work online for hours at a time, but there are a few quick things candidates can do to enhance their search and utilize their time to the best of their ability.

1. Look for your online profile

While it makes perfect sense to search a company's profile page on Vault.com or its own webpage to see if it is hiring, many job seekers may not take the time to actually look on the internet to see what happens when they plug in their name. Job recruiter Jeff Diana told the International Business Times that candidates should take a minute or two to type their name into a few different search engines to see if they have a strong professional online presence.

2. Post a pitch

Job coach Tom Toole told the news agency that job seekers should use social media sites such as LinkedIn to post a detailed "elevator pitch" or quick summary that defines their professional background and job search objectives.

3. Pick up the phone

As more candidates use the internet to make professional online contacts, career expert Dr. Michael Woodward, author of "The Job of Getting a Job," said candidates also need to get offline by networking one-on-one with family and friends that may have industry connections and can help them spread the word that they are in the market.

4. Make a plan

Candidates need to make a list of their job priorities including location, industry or company. Once they determine where they would like to find work, they should develop a plan that outlines their weekly job search objectives.

5. Never rule out hardcopy

Career coach Denise Felder suggested that job seekers not only use the internet to find out about the latest workforce trends, but also take the time to read the business section of their local newspaper or industry magazines to learn more about what companies are working on, which executives are moving up the corporate ladder and how they can help an organization with their next big project.

6. Focus on the employer

By moving their job search focus from themselves to a company, candidates can quickly identify the assets that will make them a valuable employee. Job seekers should take the time to tweak their resume and cover letter to make sure they best reflect those qualifications.

--Published Courtesy of Brafton