Completing a 26-mile marathon race shares some characteristics with a successful job search.

There is one “winner” who crosses the finish line first. There are the many who quit before they’ve completed the race. Finally, there are the rest of us who don’t finish first, but are determined to complete the race nevertheless.

For most of us, half the battle is finishing the race, regardless of where we place among the finishers. The same goes for a job search.

I’m a veteran of three career changes and numerous job searches. For me, job hunting made flying during turbulence, nails dug into the arms of my seat, seem relaxing by comparison. Yet it was a learning experience; what some call a “character builder.” The good news is that after each episode of job hunting, I became better at the game. I also noticed that job hunting always strengthened and prepared me for my next job. Looking both at my own growth plus that of other successful job seekers, it boils down to 5 characteristics.

Here are Five Secrets of Winning Job Hunters:

1. Visualize: Marathon runners and other goal-directed athletes are great at visualization. They set a goal and see themselves achieving it. The same applies for your job search. Set a goal and see yourself achieving it. No matter how many setbacks you have, hold that vision of the job you want. Continue to hold it. Focus on the outcome you want, and not on how you’re going to achieve it. Picture it in your mind. Be specific. What is your supervisor like? How about your co-workers? What is your workspace like? What is your workday like? How do you dress? What hours do you work? Including your right brain in the imagination and visualization process enhances the achievement of your goal.
2. Be Persistent: Just as in running a marathon, nothing worth having is ever easy to achieve. There is a lot of rejection in job search. Sometimes it seems as if you’ll never get a “yes”. Remember what good sales people already know. That winning a sale, a job, or any other goal is a numbers game. Commission sales people will tell you that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes”. When you can see your process from a more objective viewpoint, knowing that you’re one more rejection closer to a “yes”, you’ll be less inclined to take the “no’s” personally, and less likely to get discouraged.
3. Replenish Yourself: The job search process, like a marathon race, can be an endurance test with a lot of disappointments and setbacks. It can also go on for weeks, months, and for some people, even a year or more. Top marathoners know that they have to nourish their bodies in order to prevail. You need to nourish your mind and spirit as well. If you’re going to outlast this process and prevail, you have to take care of yourself. This means taking time to relax to take your mind off the challenges, frustrations and rejections. Work hard on your job search, then take time out to exercise and pursue activities that bring you joy and replenish you.
4. Inoculate Yourself Against Negative Messages: Succeeding at a job search is a mental process, and negative input from anywhere can poison your mental outlook and encourage fear, discouragement, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions. Associate with positive people and protect yourself from all types of negativity. A job search journey can be a big undertaking. You need all of the assets and advantages that you can possibly bring to the party. You can’t afford to be exposed to the negativity of others. This includes friends, relatives and negative articles in newspapers and magazines as well as negative TV shows. Make a point of reading books and articles that motivate, encourage and inspire you. Avoid anything and anyone that doesn’t fall into this category.
5. Meditate: This can be the most important secret, yet it can be very simple. Take some time every day to be still and to get away from the “white noise” of life. Whether you are a spiritual person or not, commit to some quiet time away from the noise of TV, radio and other distractions. Give yourself the gift of quietness to contemplate, calm down and center yourself. Even five minutes of quiet time can make a positive difference in your life. This is an opportunity to relax, focus, and renew yourself. It will ground you and make it easier to face and overcome the stresses of your job search journey ahead.

As with successful marathoners, job hunters have some secret tactics that make their success look easy to others. Winning the job search game has a mental component. Developing the above five winning secret tactics will enhance your chances of success, and make the process more pleasant and less stressful.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Known on the Internet as “The Job Search Guy”, Joe has also authored ‘how-to’ books on interviewing and job search. He’s been interviewed on several radio talk shows. Discover more insider job search secrets by visiting: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.

Image Source: Triumph Books

Everybody loves a story with a happy ending, right?

Well, here’s one about an Ontario man who got the job he wanted in exactly 31 days, with lessons that can help you do the same.

Rod Sider, from Waterloo, Ontario, sent me an email describing the success he had after reading my ebook, “Guerrilla Resumes.” We later spoke by phone and I asked Rod what the most important change was that he made in his job search. His answer: “Focus. I narrowed my search to one type of job, sales, in two industries: home remodeling and new cars.”

Your Lesson: Start your job search by thinking clearly of what you want. Rod aimed at one specific position — sales — and two industries. As a result, he was able to produce results quickly, like sunlight focused through a magnifying glass.

In the words of Robert Collier: “The time you put in aimlessly dreaming and wishing would accomplish marvels if it were concentrated on one definite subject.”

Next, I asked Rod about his resume.

“Among the changes I made to my resume was to put in comments from past clients,” said Rod. Including testimonials like this helped prove the claims he made in his resume, because praise about you is more believable when it comes from somebody else.

Your Lesson: Watch any TV infomercial and you’ll find that at least 30-50% of the program is made up of testimonials from happy customers. That’s no accident. Testimonials are incredibly powerful. In your resume, including two or three testimonials — brief quotes from clients or managers — can be just as powerful.

Now. How many employers did Rod contact, and how did he find them?

“I faxed, emailed and mailed my resume to 19 companies that I wanted to work for. I found 16 of them just by driving around near my home and looking. I located more than 50 potential employers this way. Then, I researched them on Google, narrowing the list and finding contact information for executives I wanted to meet. The interesting part was, only one of the 19 companies I contacted was hiring, but I got a total of 5 job interviews.”

Your Lesson: When most folks look for work, they look for a job. Why not look for an employer instead? That’s what Rod did. He created his own job market by targeting companies within 20 minutes of his home. Rod didn’t wait for his ideal employers to advertise an opening — he simply went after them. You can, too.

What happened after he sent out his resumes and cover letters?

“For the first few days, there were no calls. I got a bit discouraged. But, I called all 19 employers to see if they got my resume and cover letter. Then things started to snowball. I received a total of 12 responses, resulting in four in-person interviews and one phone interview. On day 30, I was called back for a second interview and offered a position 5 minutes from home. On day 31, I accepted the job, selling new cars.”

Your Lesson: This one has two parts.

First, you must follow up. Rod called each of his 19 target employers to make sure they got his resume. If a company is worth identifying, researching, and applying to, it’s worth a phone call to make sure your materials were read.

Second, if you persist, you will succeed. If you don’t, you won’t. While Rod felt dejected after not hearing back from employers, he never quit. Instead, he got busy calling employers to follow up. One good thing led to another, until he had the job he wanted within 31 days.

If you never give up, you’ll never fail. It’s just that simple.

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

Image Source: Wikipedia

The American Chronicle has an article giving 10 tips on how to make the best out of job fairs. Of the few important tips to remember:

• take it easy and enjoy the day;
• be ready to meet with the top 10 employers for which you’d like to work for and that will be present at the fair;
• try to look professional;
• bring many copies of your resume with you;
• bring a notepad to write down the names of the people with whom you’ve talked;
• be ready to answer questions;
• ask for business cards; and
• follow-up after the fair.

Making a Job Fair Work for You, The American Chronicle