By the Monster Career Coach
The month of September is when employers get back to work in full swing. Job postings and hiring decisions that had been put off due to summer vacations will get completed.
You want to be ready for the rush. To prepare yourself and stay ahead of the pack, there are several steps you can take. Planning in August puts you at the front of the line for the mid-September dash.
Set Up Networking Meetings
Since some of the people you may want to meet with as part of your job hunt are on vacation in August, try to schedule appointments with them for the second or third week of September. By then they ought to be back at work and in their groove again.
Meanwhile you can go through your list of contacts and make any necessary updates. Have you met new people lately that you’d like to add to your networking list? Have you checked to make sure that the information you have for each contact – such as their phone number, place of work, title and e-mail address – are current? Did you keep track of meetings, phone calls and e-mail exchanges you have had with specific contacts?
Also complete any of the follow-up activities you’d committed to doing. Send outstanding thank you notes to the folks you’ve chatted with. And pass on any articles or Web links of interest to particular contacts.
Create Or Update Your Target List of Employers To Approach
Now is a good time to determine which employers you will be targeting next month. By picking the ones where you are most likely to find a suitable job, or which you would most like to work for, you can save time and effort.
A good starting point is Monster.ca’s
Employers Profile page. Here you will find a selection of employer information sorted alphabetically by name. In this section employers may detail the types of jobs that they offer, providing position descriptions and an overview of the the work environment. Some even include a video for that insider viewpoint.
Be sure to visit the website of each employer you intend to approach. Look for news of new product or service launches, mergers or acquisitions, shifts in staffing, and any other info that will assist you in drafting your cover letters or cold call scripts.
Other Ways To Prepare For September Job Openings
If your job search has slowed somewhat due to people taking their summer vacations or delays in hiring decisions, you may have some extra time to do the following preparation for September:
- Get your resume reviewed to ensure that it’s the best it can be
- Become familiar with Monster’s new Precision Search beta job search tool
- Make a list of relevant recruiting and personnel firms to contact next month
- Brush up on your phone skills for making those important calls
- Have someone you know do a mock job interview with you and get critiqued
Ready. Set…You're Employed
An additional step you can take to get ready for September is to have a look at your financial situation. You should try to arrange things so that you give yourself the maximum amount of time to search for the right kinds of jobs.
By September 10th or so, as the tempo begins to pick up in workplaces across Canada, there you’ll be all set to apply for the jobs that you really want to go after: just when people return from vacations, a rash of new jobs gets posted to Monster, and people who make the hiring decisions are ready to invite candidates in for interviews.
Make the most of the next three to four weeks and be ready for the upturn. Why not be among those who are front of the line?