How To Create A Resume That Will Revive A Stalled Job Search (& Other Key Job Search Tips)
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Unless your current job is also the only job you’ve ever held, you’ve probably conducted a job search at more than once in your life. You may even be in the midst of one right now. Either way, you know how much work a job search can be.



Even more to the point, you have had to figure out the ultimate challenge: how to create a resume. But just because you know how to create a resume doesn’t mean you know how to create an effective one! Writing a great resume is hard work too!



If your current search is stalled, all of this becomes even harder. Your confidence wanes, your enthusiasm decreases and the next thing you know weeks have turned into months and you’re no closer to a new job than you were when you started.



How do you break the cycle?



What can you do to re-energize the hunt for new employment?



You are not alone in asking these questions!



Here are some action steps you can take right now to write a great resume, reignite your motivation, and revive a stalled job search.




How To Create A Resume With Crystal Clear Focus



Once you’ve taken stock of who you are and what you want, take advantage of your new found clarity to fine tune your efforts and engage in a reinvigorated hunt for your next employment opportunity. What does that mean for your resume? Review these example resumes to learn how to focus your resume.







How To Create A Resume That Gets Results: Write a profile section that conveys your focus and unique value proposition with crystal clear clarity



Be aware, however, that your renewed focus may actually result in your expanding, not limiting, your job search. If there is a particular industry you really want to work in, consider positions that are similar to your ideal and still within your skill set, especially a position that will allow room to grow.







Take Your Time



While it may seem counter-intuitive, taking a break from your job search for a few days to a week may actually be good for you. Disconnect from LinkedIn, job boards, employer websites, and the like. We all need a break at various times in our lives and taking one when you’ve been stuck in a bit of a rut can go a long way towards refreshing your energy and giving you a different perspective.



Take Inventory



Not only of your job search, but of your life. Are you doing what you want to be doing? Is the career path you’re pursuing one that furthers your professional goals or will your next job be just that – simply another job? There’s no better time to be honest with yourself than when you’re making a major life decision or considering changing directions.



Take The Time To Document Your Success Stories: For Your Eyes Only (For Now)



Take the time to really think through each experience of your career (or education, if you are a student or recent grad). Write out your success stories. What challenges did you face? What did you do to meet those challenges? What were the results? Be as detailed as you possibly can. The more things you include the better. This exercise may even help you remember some qualities you possess that you’ve long forgotten about. More importantly, you will have great material to enhance both your resume and interviews.







How To Create A Resume That Gets Results: This resume excerpt shows how you can use Challenge – Action – Result stories to enhance your resume



In addition to giving you a much greater appreciation of your skills and the value you have brought to employers, this exercise can also develop an increased level of self-confidence when applying for jobs. One or more of the accomplishments you identify during this process may be what ends up distinguishing you from the other applicants for the position you’re seeking.



You Know The Next Step: Network!



Reconnect. With your business acquaintances, friends and relatives. It’s human nature to withdraw a bit from others when things aren’t going well. Don’t fall into this trap. Rather than retreat from others, reach out. You’ll find that the more you come in contact with others and reestablish ties, the less you’ll be stuck thinking about your own stalled job search. Other things will become more meaningful to you. It’s healthy to have a reminder that not everything is about you.



Sharing in the lives, successes, even the failures of others can help you break out of your self-imposed mental and/or emotional exile and open yourself up to a wider range of career opportunities. The more you talk to people, the more you learn: About life, about yourself and about them.



People you talk to talk to others who talk to others. In other words, taking the time and effort to reconnect with your network will actually increase its reach. We frequently hear that it’s not what you know but who you know. Maybe it’s also who they know. Expanding your network is a just one more way to bring new energy to your stalled job search.