Needing a job to pay the bills or just ready to start making more?

First off, how are you spreading the word that you’re employable? Have you delivered resumes to businesses throughout a 30 km radius from your home? As well as, registering with online agencies such as Career One and Seek and with all the local employment agencies in your area? Tired of walking your local main street and handing resumes out to every business in it? Even have a resume website set up?

These are all good approaches if you are aiming in using a scattered approach. However, you will be more successful and employed quicker if you have a more structured streamline and organised approach.

Resume Rescue understands the desire to have a job you enjoy that also pays the bills. However, sometimes you just have to take whatever job you can get, whilst you are still obtaining the skills, experience and qualifications for the job you truly want in the long run. Job hunting can be a difficult process. Try taking a second approach and view it from another angle that can be approached similar to any advertising or marketing project.

To be successful in these areas you need to define your niche or target market. If you advertise a product to all individuals the outcome is less success than if you tailor it to a defined market. A brief example: if you’re selling dog collars, instead of aiming your marketing or advertising towards everyone, you would market them to dog owners who walk or are required to restrain their dogs and sell your collars in places where dog owners would frequently visit. Job hunting is the same, if you want to work in fashion design you wouldn’t drop resumes off at the local butcher.

Targeting your resume drop offs and placements to organisations or industries you want to work in, will give you more success than cold calling and dropping off or posting your resume anywhere. This also goes for dropping your resume off or applying for jobs you just don’t have the skills, experience, or qualifications to do. Let’s face it: not only are you wasting your time and energy, you’re wasting the company’s time and energy in having to deal with it. And you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Set yourself up for success by knowing your resume market. This means knowing and understanding what skills, experience or qualifications you have and what the positions require, then focusing on promoting yourself and your resume to these types of positions. If it’s a certain industry you enjoy working in, send your resumes to these types of positions within these industries.

Another example: let’s say you’re experienced and skilled in working in retail however, you also love horses or grew up on a farm. You could target stores such as saddlers or riding outfitters stores, agriculture or feedlot stores, pet stores, animal refuges or veterinary practices, to give your resume to and approach for current vacancies.

This approach will give you a better rate of success than the previous scattered approach, and you will find yourself employed a lot quicker. As an added bonus, you’ll actually enjoy your position more.

For lots more great advice and information on writing resumes, selection criteria, and cover letters check out our ebook here!