Let’s Be Practical by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

I realize I have been talking a lot about the mental process of dealing with a job search which I believe is a huge part of the process.  Today, however, I want to talk about the practical side.  Tip #4:  be proactive. For me that means trying my best to anticipate what might be needed in the best and worst case scenarios.  

Here has been part of my preparation:

• A couple days after my job loss I attended a networking event (which was good) but I had no business cards to hand out (which was bad, and hurt a little).  I went to an office supply store and bought business card paper and went home to create my own cards.  It was what I could afford, and I have the skills to do a nice layout.  It has my name, photo, contact info and few of my top skills listed.  Now I will be prepared for the networking conference I am attending tomorrow and won’t feel so much like a fish out of water.

•  I applied for a job in a company where the CEO had written a couple of books. I went to the library to find and read them to be prepared should an interview come up.

• I was lucky enough to have an old friend who teaches students at the University of Minnesota and one of his lessons is on a good resume.  We sat down and did a thorough run through of the new resume I prepared and he gave me a lot of great ideas.  You may not have someone with those skills in your network, but you do have a lot of friends and colleagues who could lend you a hand crafting the best resume. Tom was one of four people I had review mine.

• I am taking advantage of the State’s job search workshops and skills building opportunities.  I recently went to see where I was on my computer skills (that was a confidence builder!) and I am doing online and in person trainings to try to up my talents.

These are just some of the many, many ways I am not only working toward getting that new job, but also keeping myself occupied – which  is a whole other blog to come.

Positive thoughts to all you job seekers, Susan