Well I know the holidays are on your mind right now, but have you thought about what you’d like to create for your career and yourself in 2012?

The New Year is fast approaching, and it’s a wonderful time to make a fresh start, so use the holidays to think about strategies to revive a stalled job search for 2012.

Every year, I receive calls and emails from potential clients that are really down in the dumps about their job hunting, having no success whatsoever when sending out applications for government or private sector jobs.

After reviewing their applications and talking with them about their job search, it becomes evident that the majority are missing out on jobs, due to poor responses to selection criteria, not applying for relevant positions and poor job search techniques.

So if you are unhappy with the job search activities in 2011, here are some tips for 2012, which will help revive your job search for 2012.

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The internet is an amazing phenomenon and is shaping our lives every day, and this is so true in regards to the job search game.  In fact, things are changing so rapidly, that unless you keep up with all the trends – you will be left behind.

According to a report by the International Association of Career Management Professionals:

• Individuals that do not use the email will be left out
• Individuals must be able to post a resume on the internet
• Internet networking is replacing much of the traditional face-to-face interactions

This is only the beginning, with trends rapidly changing the entire job search and recruitment landscape.  As a job seeker, it is vital to ensure that at all stages during your career that you keep abreast with these changes, so that you can maximise your chances of success.

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Remember being asked that question ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ when you were young.  You saw people at work and wanted to be a fireman, nurse, doctor, teacher or postman.  You had no idea what it took to become skilled in those professions, they just sounded exciting and very grown up.

Well now that you’re grown up, the question of what you want to be is actually a little more difficult.  Yet knowing what you want is fundamental to ensuring that you find the right job, otherwise you could land up in a job from hell.  You see, some people are really suited to teaching, yet others loathe this profession and end up tired, stressed and burnt-out before reaching 50.  Likewise some people don’t want anything to do with client contact, yet others people love client contact and get maximum enjoyment from connecting with diverse people on a daily basis.

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Recruitment can be a fickle game, and one of the largest gripes from job candidates is the fact they get overlooked for a job, even though they are suitability qualified.

The reality about job-hunting is that it is often not the best qualified person that gets the job.  The person that gets the job is the one that can successfully demonstrate that they meet the employer’s requirements.

Take this example:  Frances was a qualified lawyer with extensive experience in business development and marketing obtained from a leading law firm in London.  Upon returning to Australia, Frances applied for several positions at law firms, requiring a business development and marketing expert.  She failed to secure an interview – even though she met the employer’s exact requirements (if anything, her international experience made her more qualified than other job candidates). 

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It is really interesting, but the way job-hunters generally look for work and how employer’s generally look for someone to fill a vacancy are the absolute opposites of each other.

You see a typical employer generally fills a vacancy in this order or preference:

(a) promoting within;

(b) hiring someone that is known through a network, or someone that comes recommended by a friend, or colleague;

(c) using a recruitment agency;

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I’m sure by now most of you have heard of LinkedIn, a business-related social networking site. Launched in 2003, it has grown to more than 100 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

These figures of growth are staggering, but what is more staggering, is the change from traditional job boards, to new technologies and social tools.  If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, consider the following:

• The traditional job board is on the decline and many experts believe that they are becoming archaic, with a shift to new technologies and social online tools such as LinkedIn.
• Over 83% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source talent for job openings.
• It is estimated that 80% of employers use LinkedIn to screen job candidates.
• Employers list jobs on LinkedIn.

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