By Kristin Scarth, Career Services Manager, Employment BOOST

The week before and after Easter is a dead zone for recruiting and hiring. So, getting right back into the groove of searching for a job after spring break is a must. Get on LinkedIn and start reaching out to hiring managers directly so that they would see value in your communications and PR background. Sometimes, applying through a corporate website is a waste of time as you will end up in an applicant tracking system which is really just a fancy term for the blackhole resume database. Those in HR and the resume screeners alike may not see the value in your skill set and education as someone who understands your expertise will, so contacting hiring managers directly can increase your chances. This is especially the case when seeking a new graduate job as summer approaches. 

When you are last minute shopping for a job, you will need all the help that you can get. Make sure to contact companies where the founders or executives went to your same college and leverage that in your pitch letter as that is one of the easiest edges that you can use to get a job going into the summer season after all of the career fairs are done.

If you’re applying for PR and creative roles, think of ways to get your name inside people’s heads at your target companies. Think back to when Donny Deutsch did something crazy like sending a bumper to a prospective client with a sticker saying “we will cover your rear end.” In the same sense, you can do the same for a job! Maybe it’s worth spending $50 on 5 job prospects and mailing something directly to an executive, maybe a letter or a dimensional mailer to catch their attention, then follow up with an email/phone call. In a field with such a large candidate pool, sometimes you have to do something to stand out.

Lastly, make sure your resume is on all the job boards so that recruiters at external recruitment agencies and internal recruiters at corporations can find you. As an insider’s trick, make sure that you log into the database every week and make a little change on your resume. When recruiters search the databases, they are always looking for those most recently updated as an indicator of someone that is motivated.

[author]About the Author: Ms. Scarth is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and Career Services Manager at Employment BOOST. Ms. Scarth has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Oakland University. She has written resumes for some of the world’s top executives and countless curriculum vitae for leading scientific researchers, military veterans, and those making difficult career transitions. Ms. Scarth has become an expert in career evaluations, coaching, and career planning through hands-on work with the JMJ Phillip Group of companies, including experience in recruiting, research, talent evaluation, and compensation negotiations for candidates. [/author]