Job Search Gone Cold? 7 ways to warm up!

We finally got our first big snow of 2015 and we’re in for a frigid week. While it’s cold outside, use this time to warm up your job search. Here are 6 warm ups for you with a bonus recipe thrown in!

Want to move to a different part of the country? Check out CareerSHIFT where you can customize your search for listings targeting a certain job title or location. And, if you have a dream employer but no contacts, you can search for contacts at employers as well. Once you locate an employer, send that contact a letter of inquiry with your resume.

Attend career fairs. Next week the Computer Science Consortium, Connection and CareerFest fairs will all be held. Connection is for ALL majors. And, if you don’t already have Spring Break plans, there are career fairs in Richmond and Northern Virginia during our break. Find out more about various fairs here.

Ramp up your brand online by fine tuning your LinkedIn profile. The more complete your profile, the more LinkedIn can help you, and the more you will bubble up in searches. Tap into a special job search site LinkedIn has created just for you. And, FIND ALUMNI by accessing them under CONNECTIONS in the LinkedIn tool bar. Tailor your requests to connect with alumni.

Make Hokies4Hire a regular part of your search by setting up saved searches (a job search agent), so you will get emails when a new job is added that meets your criteria. You can also participate in on campus interviews and look for contacts in the Employer Directory in Hokies4Hire.

Use GoinGlobal to research a city where you plan to relocate. This site features over 40 US City Guides with links to job listing sites. Tap into professional networking groups for a particular city and learn about top industries. And, if you are an international student, access the H1B Plus database to find employers who have been through the H1B process with other employees.

Put yourself out there! Don’t be afraid to reach out to contacts through friends of parents or parents of friends. Maybe that contact is a neighbor, someone you met at a conference, someone you know from class. Most people like helping others. If you find someone who won’t assist you, move on to the next contact. As I tell the 2 Hokies I raised, 

“It  never hurts to ask. The worst answer you will get is no!”

Need more ideas to warm up your job search? Come see us in Career Services or at a location near you. To make an appointment with a career advisor, call 540-231-6241. We can help you heat up your job search!

To close, warm up for real with this homemade hot chocolate recipe from the Hershey Cocoa box. Nothing like HOMEMADE HOT COCOA to warm up on these cold days we’ve been having. Stay warm and try some of these tips to make your job search heat up!