Editor’s note: Before Resume Revivalist, there was The Spicy Meatball—a blog about relationships, career, money, and health. Even though I don’t write for that blog anymore, I thought it would be fun to share some of the best posts here because most of them are just as relevant today as they were in 2012. I’ve updated the links in the post but maintained most of the original content. Enjoy.
I got a new job.
It’s a pretty good gig.
I’ll be doing more marketing and less copywriting, which leaves me plenty of brain space to come up with great posts for The Spicy Meatball.
Not only did I get a new job, but I actually got two second job interviews and a job offer in one week.
Way beyond my expectations.
Here’s how I did it.
I wrote a perfect professional resume
It’s said over and over that you have to really stand out on your resume before anyone will even look at you.
Let alone call you for an interview.
Lots of us think that having a great resume means that it’s organized with no spelling mistakes and that it outlines all of your responsibilities from your previous jobs.
That used to be true 15 years ago, but it’s not true now.
To get a job offer nowadays, you have to stand out among hundreds of applicants.
That means you have to put in a lot more effort to dig deep and figure out what makes you a unique candidate for the open position.
Facts, figures, examples, concise language, and a clean layout are all part of a perfect professional resume.
I expanded my job search
Every morning I read emails from job search websites.
Each one showed me a list of newly available positions based on my chosen keywords.
Every person looking for a job should use these free services.
Not only do they bring the jobs to you, but it weeds out the jobs you have no interest in.
After I skimmed through and applied for positions I knew I wanted, I checked out LinkedIn.
If you’re a job seeker and you’re not on LinkedIn, leave this page (temporarily) and go sign up for an account.
I never gave up job searching
My bottom line was that I wanted a new job.
I also wanted a job offer that included making more money.
And I know I wanted a position in marketing.
No matter how long it took, those were my criteria for leaving my current job.
With each application I filled out, I asked myself if this was a position I truly wanted.
I liked where I worked, so my new position had to meet my long-term goals for me to make a move.
Getting clear on what I wanted helped me narrow down my must-haves and absolutely not lists.
If it took me 5 years to get a new job, so be it.
The point was that I never stopped looking until I found the one that met all my needs and wants.
I had confidence and landed second job interviews
Once I started my search, I received at least one call a week for an interview.
I couldn’t believe the response I got based on my resume alone.
Most of the positions I applied for were ones where I didn’t know anyone at the company, so I was shocked at how much my phone was ringing for me to interview.
Of course, with each second job interview came a new set of jitters I had to overcome.
But once I remembered that they called me because I’m a great candidate, I had the confidence to walk in and do my best.
In my second job interview, I wasn’t concerned about whether or not I was answering the questions the “right” way.
I also didn’t try to win the interviewer over with funny anecdotes.
My focus was on making sure that this position was the best fit for me.
If it didn’t feel right, I didn’t go any further than the first interview.
When I left an interview thinking, “This is the one,” I knew where I fit.
At that point, it was up to the recruiter to send me a job offer.
And one company did.
