As the year comes to an end, it’s a great time to focus on your 2016 job search. There are plenty of things you can do to help increase your visibility and boost your career in the right direction.
Here are a few career boosting tips that take no time at all, to get your prepared for 2016.
Reconnect with your network: This is a great time of year to send holiday cheer. Send out an email to old colleagues or others in your network wishing a happy New Year and a quick touch base. Go one step further and include professional highlights, and even personal if you feel appropriate.
Refresh your LinkedIn: First and foremost, a new year, a new profile picture. If you’re using a photo that is 4+ years old, it might be time to update your photo with a fresh new headshot. Another great thing to do is audit your profile. Your LinkedIn profile should stay consistent with your resume so keep that in mind when combing through it. This is also an opportunity to add more skills and accomplishments you might not be able to add to your resume. Including recommendations in your profile is another way to refresh your profile. It only takes a few minutes to write recommendations. Add a few to deserving colleagues and ask for the favor in return.
Google yourself: Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes…. the first thing a lot of recruiters do is Google a candidate. Type your name in quotation marks and see what comes up. It’s a good idea to understand what shows up when you’re searched and also know where you land in the search engine results page so you can digitally optimize yourself properly.
Create a list of desirable companies: Make a list of the top companies you’re interested in working for. Reference this list during your job search. Research the companies, follow them on social media, and check their career pages frequently.
Sign up for job alerts: select specific keywords that pertain to the job you want and sign up for notifications. Google Alerts are a great resource.
Add connections: While you’re refreshing your LinkedIn Profile, add a few connections into the mix. By expanding your connections you might just meet your next employer.
Choose keywords from job descriptions: This might be one of the most valuable, easy ways to boost your career. Look for job descriptions that sound like something you’d love and choose common keywords. From there, optimize your profile, resume, etc properly.
Join a new social network: Getting more exposure never hurts, so try out a new social media platform so you can increase your chances of being found.