Is your desire to find more fitting work? Are you wondering why you aren’t getting more interviews or more offers? If you want to become more successful at searching for ideal work (and finding it), it’s important to read books, study online, and listen to programs like Successfully Unemployed on Toginet Radio. In addition, if you’re not getting enough interviews or offers, there are 10 questions you should be asking yourself. We reviewed the first 5 questions in our previous post.  Now we’ll cover the remaining 5 questions here:

#6 – Do I need to enhance my resume to better reflect my relevant accomplishments and where I want to go in the future? We can all fall into the trap, particularly earlier in our career, where we want our resumes to reflect our entire life’s history.  It’s important to only include in our resumes that which is relevant to the job we are seeking.  A resume is not so much a document that points to where you have been, as it needs to point to where you want to go.  Your resume should pass the 10 – 15 second test.  That is, if you gave your resume to someone for only 10 – 15 seconds, someone who doesn’t know you and who has never read your resume before, would they figure out where you want to go and what are the key accomplishments you bring to that potential position?  If it’s not relevant to where you are heading, then you may not want to include it on your resume.

#7 – Am I setting up and conducting a minimum of five networking and exploratory interviews each and every week?
It’s recommended to set up more than five a week, but at a minimum, you should conduct five networking or exploratory interviews each week.  It does take some time to set them up, but if each week you take part of your 30 – 45 hours to set up interviews for the next few weeks, then each week you will have at least five interviews to go to.  It’s best to conduct these interviews in person, even if you have to travel out of town.  However, if distance or expense is a factor, then conducting them by phone would be the next best option.

Plan to take people out for lunch or dinner who are in your network, as well as those who are not in your network.  This may also be the time to re-evaluate your career and explore other passions and interests.  You don’t have to work in the field that you always have.  You may have some transferable skills learned in one field that could be applied to another field.  Learn more about transferable skills and how to conduct exploratory interviews by clicking here.

There are three types of jobs that you will only learn about in networking and exploratory interviews:

1. Jobs that are available, but not advertised.
2. Anticipated jobs.
3. Created positions as a result of your successful meeting.

If your goal is to create your own job by starting a business, networking is still extremely important.  If you know the field in which you would like to open a business, select about five people who are in the business you desire and set up meetings with them.  Discuss the challenges and opportunities they have faced while starting their business and seek their help and support in your transition.

#8 – Have I developed and researched my top 25 target companies, whether they have jobs available or not?
Rather than looking at the entire universe, make a list of your top 25 target companies that you would like to work at, whether they have known openings or not. From this list of 25, pick out a top 10 that you will focus most of your attention on, seeking out exploratory interviews or identifying key resources within your network.  Begin conducting some online research on these target companies to gain an understanding of their culture, vision, and values in order to determine if it is a good fit for you.  Strive to meet with someone within the company or with someone within your network who can introduce you to key people within the company.

#9 – Am I making enough use of the phone to personally reach out and contact potential employers and other people who can point me in the right direction of relevant positions?
The more personalized you can make your search, the more effective it will be. Unless the job ad explicitly states not to call, you may consider calling to screen the job ad to ensure you aren’t wasting your time, or the prospective employer’s time.  You want to determine if it’s a good enough fit before applying. By making a call to the hiring manager or decision maker, you can ask a few questions to determine the fit.  This will put you in a better position than other candidates by having this personal contact, and the more personal contacts you have, the better off you will be.

Also, use your phone to update personal references.  Let your references know who will be calling them and what you would like them to say about your accomplishments and attributes.  Your goal is to help them help you.  Continue to contact members of your network for any updates on potential job openings.

#10 – Do I need to further enhance and practice my interview skills?
You’ve now done the preparatory work, but it won’t make a difference if you don’t have good interview skills. Do you have good short answers (usually 60 to 90 seconds in length) to interviewers’ most commonly asked questions? Ensure you have answers that share your accomplishments in a story format.  Write them down in advance to review prior to your interview. Have you developed your own list of questions? According to Marc Cenedella, CEO of TheLadders, the best question to ask that elicits the best response is, “How do I help you get a gold star on your review next year?”  This question shows that you’re interested in making the team successful, and not just looking out for yourself.

Review these Top 10 questions and determine where you are weak in your response.  If you are able to answer these questions with an affirmative”yes,” you will find yourself with more interviews and job offers.

If you would like additional tips to boost your job search, then Get the Book that will help you become more successful at either finding or creating more fulfilling work.