Are you ready to tackle your financial job search with everything you have and move yourself off the market within the shortest possible time frame? Keep these tips in mind and you’ll receive an acceptable offer before long (ideally before you run out of patience with your current position).
Stay focused on a relatively narrow subset of careers.
If you know exactly what kind of financial position you’re interested in, keep your efforts tightly targeted, and don’t be tempted to widen your reach and start mass mailing resumes to every remotely relevant job post. Energy and time are defined commodities; you only have so much to invest within a twenty four hour day. So use your energy to pursue positions you’re able, willing, and excited to accept.
Exercise patience.
Sometimes financial pros and marathon runners share the same qualities—determination, patience, and the ability to stay the course even when things get difficult. If you’re ready to lie down on the floor and cry after a few weeks on the market and a few dozen rejections, you may want to rethink your approach. Play the long game. If you want an ideal outcome, expect the process to take a while. And remember: even the faintest hint of desperation will undermine your leverage at the negotiating table.
Use your network—not just your friends, but your actual network.
There’s a reason why a long contact list is described as a network—It’s because not everyone on the list will touch your life directly. Now is the time to reach out to indirect second and third degree contacts as well as direct ones. Use LinkedIn, call up old coworkers and invite them for coffee, and arrange informational interviews. Connect with your former boss’s college roommate, your friend’s parents, your parent’s friends, and people who might know people who might know people. Be polite, but be bold about reaching out.
Turn every stone.
If you hear about a lead that interests you, follow it, even if it seems like a long shot. And get help. Have a professional editor take a look at your resume and cover letter.
Find the best recruiters.
Nothing helps you reach your job search goals faster than an experienced, well-connected financial recruiter. You can go it alone if you really want to, but the right recruiter can attach turbo boosters to your search and put you in front of employers and interviewers with whom you’d otherwise never connect. To explore your financial recruiting options, reach out to the DC staffing pros at Cordia today.
