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Hints to Job Hunting Success in 2013

- May 6, 2013

The job market is changing. Every year there are subtle changes that affected the job market. The cumulative effects are much more visible this year than in years past. This is a quick guide to finding a job in 2013 by understanding how these slow changes have come to a head.

The Visual Job Hunt

As time has gone on, the old style of resume has fallen away. Until recently, it was just the arts and  computer science geeks who were using infographics for their resumes, but they are easily applicable to any career. Since they convey a lot of information at a glance, they can be perfect for sharing sales records, cost savings and efficiency ratings, much better than words can.

Having a dynamic website can make all the difference in capturing the job or not. If you have a website that has everything a prospective employer might like to know about you, it can save them and you a lot of time. Hand them a personal business card with your website on it and ask them to take a look

Video resumes are also becoming increasingly common. Making a well-crafted video can give people a sense of who you are and what you can do faster and more efficiently than a phone interview or even a sit down. Five good minutes of you telling people who you are will go a long way to getting you the job.

Don’t just do a phone interview; offer to Skype or video conference with them so they can see your face. (Watch that your glow-in-the-dark Black Sabbath poster isn’t right behind you!) Video telephone is the simplest way to let them know you and it is particularly effective for long distance job interviews.

The work niche

Everybody’s a specialist these days. The “Sub-Deputy Assistant Specialist in the Widget Coloration Department – Right Side, Bottom” sounds like a title that someone has, right?

If you are a computer programmer, you are probably already a specialist. If you are a chef, though, you might not have chosen a specialty. Now is a good time. The world is so full of information that, unless you are an expert at one specific thing, lots of people feel like you are scattered.

If you are a salesperson, you might want to find a specific item or class of items to sell. With almost seven billion people on the planet, you will need to be an expert at something in order to get or keep a job.

Being a specialist also makes finding work easier. If you do a search for “chef,” you will get millions of hits. If you search “French pastry chef Larousse style,” you might find only one or two jobs, but you have a much better chance of getting the job and getting paid a great salary.

Just make sure you can follow through.

These are the two biggest factors that are affecting the employment scene in 2013. Take these ideas into account and you will likely find that you will be a great success.

By| Bob Peryea

With great vision, you need great people

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