Navigating The Summer Job Market

M ost people believe summer       Make sure you leave a clear,       is the worst time to           informative voice mail. Make sure  conduct a job search.          you state your name twice, your    Between college students and high     telephone number twice, and your   school students eating up the         message once. Give a good time     market, vacations, lagging            for a call-back. The following is  budgets, etc. hiring would seem       a general formula for an           to lag during the summer making       effective voice mail.              it a bad time to conduct a job                                           search. In reality, summer is a        Hello , this is . My number is    very good time to job hunt. Here      XXX-XXX-XXXX. I am calling         are some tips to make your            because . The best time to get     summer-time job search more           back in touch with me is . Again,  effective:                            this is and my number is                                                 XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you!           Spiff up your telephone skills.                                          With people on vacation, you will     Always include your area code      be receiving more voice mail          with your telephone number. Many   messages than usual as you try to     times, people cannot return calls  reach people in your job search       because they are not sure where    network. Always make calls with a     the caller is calling from.        notepad or organizer nearby and       Giving your time zone helps the    take note of when your contacts       recipient of the message know      will be back in the office. Set       where you are located and helps    an email up to be delivered the       them know exactly when to call     day *after* the person s return       you back. Speak slowly and         and set a reminder to call again      clearly, especially if English is  the second day after he/she           not your native tongue. Spell      returns.                              your name if the spelling is not                                         easily recognizable. Provide more  than one number if possible and       Volunteering not only gains        repeat both of them twice.            additional network contacts for                                          your search but it has many        Take advantage of summer social       emotional rewards, too. Looking    activities for your job search.       for a job, especially for those    Most jobs are filled through          who have been engaged in long      word-of-mouth. That means the         searches (more than 3 months) is   more people with whom you talk,       emotionally exhausting. The warm   the more effective your job           fuzzies you receive from           search. Summertime is chock-full      volunteering go a long way toward  of social activities from picnics     boosting your mental attitude.     to family reunions to ball games.                                        Make the most of gatherings of        Be persistent. Since many job      people to gather information for      searchers slack off in the summer  your search and extend your           thinking they are wasting their    network toward your target            time, your competition is less.    companies.                            Take advantage of that and                                               redouble your efforts in your      Volunteer. Summer seems packed        search.                            with opportunities to volunteer.       Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com Published in 25 career books, Alesia has been cited by Jist Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America" and quoted as a Career Expert in the Wall Street Journal. Serving as the Resume Expert for over 50+ organizations, she has numerous media appearances to her credit and is a frequent keynote speaker. getinterviews.com