How to Find Support in Your Job Search

How to Find Support in Your Job Search How to Find Support in Your Job Search 14While seeking employment, job seekers might have the mentality that they are alone in their job search. While it’s normal to view other job seekers as the “competition,” changing this mentality can strengthen your job search. Having a group of people involved in your job search as supporters and advocates is possible and a smart move to boost your employment goals! So how can you find community in your job search? If you have experience as a remote worker, you probably know it’s important to balance the time you spend working alone with time spent connecting with others face-to-face. Your job search is the same way. Here’s how you can build a support system in your  job search on and offline: Uncovering Community Online Networking is one of the most important tools for getting your foot in the door for an interview. Many job seekers feel that their network is small, but when you are able to view the many interconnections of the people you know your network becomes much bigger. Technology is a great way to discover these connections. LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking sites create an easy reference for the people you have been in touch with over the years. Look for people who you know that work at the companies, or in industries, you want to work in. They can be informational resources for you â€" giving you advice on how to go after the job you want, and leads on where there are openings. StartWire is a great tool for this type of networking. If you connect your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts, then search for jobs on StartWire, you’ll be able to see who you know at companies with relevant job postings. Making these connections can give you a leg up in your job search. Finding Community Face-to-Face One of the best ways to get involved in a local job seeking community is to join a job club. Dick Bolles, author of ‘What Color is Your Parachute?’, says job club membership results in an 84% success rate for job seekers. Here are a few reasons why. Job clubs are easy ways to network. Even if other members are job hunting like you, chances are they’re looking for different kinds of jobs than you are. They’ll have a unique network that consists of friends, families and acquaintances that might have positions in the field you’re looking in. They can help pass on your resume, give you advice in the application process, and refer you to positions that are the right fit for you. Meeting with other job seekers gives emotional support and boosts morale. The job search process can get stressful and lonely, but here you find yourself in a room with 30 other people who are experiencing the same tiresome job search and they understand.   Employed friends and family might mean well when they ask why your job search is taking so long, but it usually adds more stress to the search. Fellow job club members wear the same job hunt shoes and provide that understanding and support you might need. Finally, job clubs boost productivity. Knowing that those in your job club expect to hear progress updates on your job search, you become more productive to get things done before the next club meeting. If you get discouraged in your job search, seeing that you aren’t alone in your struggle is a good boost to continue the search. Want to get started in a job club? You can find a directory of job clubs here. You can also search for “Careers Business” groups on MeetUp.com. So, the next time you feel alone in your job search, remember it doesn’t have to be that way. Reach out, online and offline, to find the job seeking community around you…and work with your community to find the job you want! Todays guest post comes from Startwire, a job search service that allows job seekers to receive automatic updates on their job applications from 8200+ employers! StartWire is a free, private site you can use to streamline your job search by getting recommendations on where to apply and receiving feedback on the status of your job applications. Learn more at www.Startwire.com. Readers, how do you find support in your job search? Tell us in the comments below!