Time to restart your job search

How's your job search going? If you're thinking, "Job search ... I've got to get back to that," you've got company. A long holiday break - sometimes from Thanksgiving through New Year's - is not uncommon among job-seekers.

WORKING STRATEGIES

Amy Lindgren

Now's the time to get started again. To regain momentum, review the following steps. Check off the things you've already done and assign start dates to the things you still need to do.

Before job search

• Review past jobs and duties to determine and list strengths and likes.
• Use that list to identify potential new jobs.
• Review the local market to find 25 to 50 potential employers.
• Begin researching employers; prioritize list according to most appealing places to work.
• Develop a résumé targeted to the best of the employers you listed, highlighting relevant abilities, experience and training.
• If possible, develop a portfolio with highlights from past work; at the least, gather positive performance reviews, letters of recommendation and other show-and-tell items.
• Identify people to serve as references; ask permission to use their names and contact information on a reference page.
• Talk with experts in targeted fields to determine if further training is advised.
• Review finances to determine bottom line for salary and hire date.
• Consider image update; purchase interview outfit.
• Review current access to computer, printer and Internet systems. Update, if necessary, to remove barriers to an efficient job search.
• Review e-mail and phone systems. Do you have a way to receive and retrieve messages? Are your outgoing voice message and e-mail address professional?

Job search

• Set a schedule for contacting employers - perhaps five per week.
• Draft a boilerplate cover letter to use with most employers on your target list, noting your relevant skills, experience and training.
• Using research or information from contacts, customize letters to the first five employers on the list. Address the manager of the department in which you want to work (find the person's name and spell it correctly). Then add details about your experience as it relates to particular projects or products at the company.
• A week after the first batch of five letters has been sent, follow up with phone calls to each department contacted and request meetings to discuss potential job opportunities.
• Continue sending five letters a week and following up to set meetings.
• Prepare for each meeting as if it were an interview; develop questions to ask and answers to likely questions from the manager. Bring your portfolio and résumé.
• After the meeting, send follow-up or thank-you letters. Stay in touch and frequently express interest in working for the company.
• When you're offered a position, consider the salary, duties and other points. Negotiate, if possible, to make the offer a better fit.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.