Job hunting in a recession is an arduous task, but as we’ve mentioned here before, it’s something professional women married to men in the military face all the time. Because most military bases are located in areas with little to no industry, we know women with six figure salaries who have had to take minimum wage retail jobs. The good news is that we may be the best prepared to survive the recession gainfully employed. Here are 10 of our favorite tricks, which will help anyone job hunt in a recession.
1. Forget answering want ads. Great businesses don’t need to run want ads in the paper or online, because they always have a stack of impressive resumes on file. Instead, research the companies you would love to work for and send them a personal cover letter explaining why, with your resume.
2. Network, network, network. Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for a new opportunity. Reach out on your social networks. Attend professional and social networking events that will introduce you to new people. You never know who you will run into and what opportunity they could offer.
3. Fill in the gaps of your resume. Did you chair a volunteer committee, or start your own blog? Use those experiences to account for any gaps in your resume that would raise the eyebrow of a potential employer.
4. Demonstrate actionable results. Stop thinking in terms of “I worked here and I was responsible for this.” It’s competitive out there! Tell them what you accomplished. You increased sales, saved the company money, instituted a process to increase efficiency. This is what separates the wheat from the chaff.
5. Show and tell. Spend your time and energy on creating an impressive portfolio and present your letters of recommendation along with your resume. The “References upon request” line in the resume is for people who can’t secure great references.
6. Prepare to get personal. For milwives, that can mean being questioned about how you could hold down a job and deal with a deployment (yes, I was actually and probably illegally asked this). For you, this means keep your Facebook, MySpace and Twitter clean and professional.
7. Engage. Dive deep into the community and industry in which you’re job hunting. This is tough if you don’t live in the market, but you will only get an upper hand over a local if you’re reading the local newspapers, at the least.
8. Be flexible. You may not find an opportunity in your field, but you can still gain valuable experience in another field in preparation for when you do.
9. Be nice to yourself. This is a stressful time. Take time out to enjoy a coffee, or spend a weekend away with your husband. There are more important things in life than work. Here’s a chance for you to discover that.
10. Don’t underestimate the power of creativity. Take on a contract job opportunity. It could turn into a permanent position. Reach out to those who you think could benefit from your professional expertise. It could turn into a lucrative freelance gig.
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