The right tool for the right job
➔ Never before in history has finding a job been more demanding. Recruiters and hiring managers have never had so many tools for evaluating candidates and today’s tools enable them to find out more about you quicker than ever before.
Of course, the same could be said of the job seeker. Want to research a potential organization? You’ve got Google, Glassdoor, LinkedIn and various social media. What’s more, you can use those same tools to find out about your target organization’s competitors as well. You can even research the background of the person with whom you’ll be interviewing.
If it sounds overwhelming, you’re right.
You need powerful weapons to keep everything in place and organized so that nothing – or no one – slips through the cracks. You need a top notch tracking system.
Fortunately, today’s technology makes this sort of tracking a relatively simple task. There are systems that you can implement right off the shelf. Some are even free or ridiculously inexpensive. There are numerous contact management systems (CMS) from which to choose. Given the variety of tools, you can choose a system best suited for you.
Or, you can go the really simple route and use an Excel (or comparable) spreadsheet.
What to track? Companies, recruiting firms, non-profits, etc. for starters. Contact names at those various organizations. Hiring managers. Informational interview contacts. Referral sources. Anyone who has played a part in your job search. Of course you’ll want to include their contact information – office phone, mobile phone, email, LinkedIn profile, etc.
How about the date when you last contacted them and what happened? (Left a message; suggested calling back in two weeks; etc.) Perhaps most important would be a section devoted to “next action.” Whether by you or your contact, you need to keep on top of what is supposed to happen next.
Whatever tool(s) you use, however you use them. It’s part of the job search that must be done.