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Looking for a job in your local area? Here are 6 tips to help you re-think your job search
For many reasons, working locally in the ‘burbs can be a satisfying career move. However, the usual job search strategies don’t always apply if you are looking for a job that is in your local suburban area and here’s a few reasons why:
· The majority of employers in your local area are likely to be small businesses with less than 20 employees, sometimes less than 10! They generally don’t want to be burdened with advertising for staff on online job platforms. There are too many applications to wade through when they often need to be able to start a new person quickly.
· Relationships and a positive attitude are key for small business – that means not only having great customer service skills but also the capacity to fit in with the rest of the team. So being able to quickly assess whether someone is a good fit and willing to learn is sometimes more important than having the skills already to do the job.
· Running a business with a small team means that everyone has to pull their weight and support each other – there’s no room for poor time keeping and so candidates who live locally and are just a short drive away often tick that box for a start.
So, what is the best way to find that local opportunity you are looking for? Here are 6 key tips from some of the candidates I’ve worked with who have made that move:
1. Look on social media – most local businesses have Facebook or Instagram pages as do some local community areas, and they will often reach out to the local network by posting their job vacancies on their page and encourage their followers to share amongst their connections. There are also many Groups on Facebook for advertising employment. Do a search on Facebook for ‘jobs near me’ to see what pages pop up. For instance, the Group page ‘Jobs on Brisbane’s Northside’ has 14 new posts and 21.596 active members at the time of me writing this blog! This is often the best first place to look and monitor.
2. Gumtree is another platform that has a very local flavour and businesses will use it to often advertise opportunities as well as advertising their services or products
3. Walk in and drop off your resume – don’t dismiss this obvious strategy! Making a positive personal connection with whoever is on the ‘front reception desk’ can often work in your favour, and employers like people who show initiative. Just make sure your resume highlights the skills you have that match the type of work that you would likely be doing there if they hired you. You just might be solving an employer’s problem before they have to start asking around
4. Register with local job agencies or recruiters. They will know the local business scene well and often have vacancies on their books that do not get advertised. Make an appointment to speak to one of the recruiters is always best rather than registering with them online.
5. Let the local people in your network know you are looking for some local work and what your skills are and particularly tap into those people who are not a strong connection but that you might see from time to time – your local hairdresser, the vet, the checkout operator that regularly serves you, or the people you see regularly at the dog park! Local businesses often put the word out through their staff and customers when they are looking for someone. You would be amazed how often opportunities come through these not-so-strong connections.
6. Make sure your resume is targeted towards the type of work you are looking for – you made need to review and amend it so that it highlights just the essential skills and doesn’t overwhelm the reader.
If you're unsure about how to go about your job search or tailor your resume, check out the short online courses or you can contact me - I would love to help you!
Help! How do I know which is the right career option for me?
Sometimes having a number of career options to consider can feel overwhelming. So how do I know which one is best? And what if I choose the wrong one in the end? Often we are conflicted because logic – or so-called ‘common sense’ – is leading us one way, but we may be drawn to another seemingly not-so-sensible direction because it ignites our passion.
So how can we be sure we are making the right decision? Well, the simple answer is that you can’t be sure, so let’s put that one to bed straight away! There are so many unknowns ahead, even for someone who is very certain about their career direction, so searching for surety with career direction is a bit like looking for the holy grail! But in my experience of working with many people grappling with conflicting career choices, there are steps you can take to help you reach a decision that you are comfortable with and that ‘feels right’ at the time.
Here is a very simple strategy that I have found helps many people faced with this dilemma. Take a step back out of the detail of weighing up all the pros and cons of the different options and instead look ahead into the future ….
1. Visualise where you would like to be, or where you see yourself, in 3 or 5 years time. Very often, the person I am working with nearly always has some type of vision in their mind of what that is. It may be seeing themselves in a particular job, doing a particular type of work, or at a particular stage of their career, or retired or working for themselves. Or it may be non job-related such as mortgage paid off, finished my degree, travelling overseas, starting a family, kid-free. Whatever that vision is, it’s a good place to start as the steps between now and then are the key to achieving that goal or goals that they have articulated and this helps to put the possible choices into perspective.
2. List any significant events that are very likely to happen in the timeframe. These are things that you are fairly certain will happen and that will impact on achieving your end goal in some way. For instance, kids starting school may mean no more childcare fees which might free up funds for further study, or may reduce pressure to maintain a certain level of income and so allow for a career change. These events will often influence the feasibility or timing of pursuing a particular option in the timeframe.
3. Work through the career options, plotting the steps and key activities to achieve each along the timeframe. By now you will probably be getting a feeling for which option or options are looking feasible and by when. What’s also important is that whilst one that you are wedded to may not seem feasible in the timeframe, you may be able to put steps in place to work towards it at a later date.
If you have access to a whiteboard or large sheet of butcher’s paper, sketch this information out placing where you are now on the left-hand side with today’s date, the results of Step 1 on the right hand side, and mark the years across the bottom so that you can visualise it as a timeline. Then plot the significant events along the timeline, and finally the steps or activities to achieve the options as well. This will now become quite a powerful visual image for you! When you’re finished, it’s a good idea to take a photo so you have it to refer to and add to or modify as time goes by.
A big benefit of this activity is feeling a sense of control over your destiny – because you can see the big picture it is much easier to make choices about the career options you are considering because you are putting it all into perspective. This generally provides a sense of relief as you now have a sort of roadmap for considering what’s feasible and deciding which of your options to pursue and when.
Of course, taking the time to become more aware of your strengths, values and drivers will also help you to decide which option is best for you. Remember, if you would like help with clarifying your career direction, please contact me – I would love to help you!