The Update on The Hunt

I'm a little behind in providing updates on the job hunt so allow me to quickly catch up with this summary.

January: Focused on updating my resume so it reflected a newer format and optimized keywords for enhanced search abilities. Unlike in the 90's, these days it's all about will a computer find your resume attractive versus a human. Human interaction seems to be the "second line of defense" nowadays.

February: I had a very slow ramp up. The plan was to send out a blast to my network letting them know I'm on the job prowl and the type of opportunities I am seeking. Since I've received quite a few of these type of emails myself, I have been rather hesitant to send one of my own. But know it will be done sooner or later. In lieu, I have been taking more of a one on one approach and as I talk to people I do my best to let them know at that time.

February has also been the month I began applying for positions online. It is an extremely SLOW process. One that requires lots of time to find, read and match my skills with those written in the job description via a cover letter. It's the cover letter that seems to always get me....I just don't like them although they are a necessity in most cases.

The other mental obstacle is salary requirements. We are in a day where you talk money before you even talk about being the right fit for the position. I can't speak for everyone, but there have been times in my career that I was willing to go down on base salary for the experience. If the value of the experience a company or position could offer is not evident in a job description, it is extremely difficult to communicate my flexibility in numbers. And I've already come across some people who didn't want to receive only words.

March: This month is the start of my interviews and hard-core networking. I define hard-core networking because in the first couple of weeks I feel like I've spoken to 100s of people even though it was actually only about 10. I've also began have a couple of informational and real interviews. Interviews have not been for any particular position. They seem more to assess my abilities and background so as opportunities come up I can already be in mind.

Moving forward: I will continue applying to positions online and focusing on the client side of the board as well. LinkedIn will be leveraged more as well so I can try to get an inside scoop on companies and get my resume to a human sooner while going the online application route as well.

If you have any suggestions or word of wisdom, please post in the comment section. You never know....you may help me or another reader of my blog.