Job Search Advice: 10 Ways to Jumpstart a Stalled Job Search

Hopefully your job search will be blissfully short and within a month or two you’ll land the job of your dreams. But if things are taking longer than you’d like after sending out hundreds of resumes, diligently pursuing your network, and otherwise being a model of job searching perfection, here are ten strategies you might consider to help move the job search from neutral to fast forward.

1. Contact a career professional: If you haven’t done so already, now may be the time to schedule a few sessions with a trained career advisor. If you can’t afford a counselor in private practice, contact your alma mater or local community college and ask to work with a counselor in their career services department. Alternatively, you can get assistance from your state unemployment office.

2. If needed, adapt your resume: Is your resume leading to requests for interviews? If not, it may be time to tweak the resume. Take a hard look at your job objective and make sure your supporting accomplishments are a powerful reflection of the type of job you desire.

3. Evaluate your network: As you get further along in the job hunt, you’ll find a handful of people who are invaluable to your search and others who are relatively useless. Don’t waste your time pestering people who refuse to return phone calls. Nurture and reward those members of your network who have proven to be real allies. Find ways to make your relationship a “win-win” for both parties so that they will continue to eagerly work on your behalf.

4. Track your time: Keeping a log of your activities can be an eye-opening experience. It’s a good way to honestly evaluate if you’re spending your time in the best way possible.

5. Read a good career book: There are dozens of job search advice books on the market and while most of them cover a lot of common ground, they each also offer a unique perspective and orientation. Even if you only pick up two new tips from each book, that may be enough to help you try a new approach or strategy.

6. Increase your output: If ten calls a day isn’t getting you anywhere, it’s time to increase to fifteen calls. No matter how diligently you’ve worked on your search, there is almost always room for pushing yourself a bit harder.

7. Take a break: Huh? Didn’t I just tell you to step things up a notch? Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not entitled to a well-deserved break. Recognize that serious job hunting is work and if you want to stay focused on a daily basis, it’s useful to schedule in some short breaks. Take a walk. Schedule lunch with a friend. Watch a funny movie. Allow yourself an opportunity to energize your batteries.

8. Volunteer: Helping others is a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and reap the satisfaction of assisting people less fortunate than yourself. If you’re lucky, it may also be an opportunity for you to showcase some of your skills to a new audience – some of whom may be able to offer you full-time employment.

9. Work a temp assignment: In addition to earning money, temping is a good opportunity to get back out in the workplace, learn some new skills and meet potential employers. Many temps are ultimately hired by their host companies.

10. Investigate the services provided by your State Unemployment Office: Most people avoid unemployment offices like the plague, but the reality is that these offices offer an array of services that go way beyond simply cutting unemployment checks. Go take a look – you’ll be impressed by the variety of training, counseling, workshops and support services offered.

To learn about how to handle tough interview questions after being laid-off, click here.

To learn 8 ways to improve your job search, click here