How to Speed Up Your Job Search and Find a Job Fast

How to Speed Up Your Job Search and Find a Job Fast Sometimes you have the luxury of spending months and months looking for your next job: plenty of time to fine-tune your resume and your interview handshake, lots of time to pick over jobs that don’t really feel right for you. Other times, you need a job now. Maybe you’ve just lost your current job, or things are so miserable at work that the thought of staying there six more months makes you want to curl into a ball under your desk and wait until everyone else goes home. Whatever the reason, you can take steps to accelerate your job search. It doesn’t guarantee a new job tomorrow, but if you’re willing to use every tool at your disposal, you can get an edge. According to a 2014 survey by Jobvite, 71% of Americans are either actively looking for a job, or open to switching jobs. That’s a lot of people on the market. Add that to the conventional wisdom that one should expect to spend a month for every $10,000 you earn in salary. ($60,000 = six months of sometimes-soul-sucking job search). With factors like that, the prospect of finding a new job quickly can be awfully daunting. So to help speed things along, you should be prepared to put all your energy into prepping yourself fast, and using a number of different tools to get to your outcome faster.1. Use Job Boards Wisely  2. Your Social Network  3. Self-Makeover  Use Job Boards Wisely  Online job boards can be extremely useful as a starting point. Jobs! Industry-specific jobs! At your fingertips! However, they can also complicate matters, so use them with savvy. Relying on job boards can take away from the urgency of your hunt†¦if you fall into a habit of waiting for the right job to pop up, you could be waiting a long time indeed. The Muse has some great tips on how to refine your job board search to keep your search active and hopping, including:Find industry-specific job boards, so you’re not slogging through truck driving jobs when you’re really looking for medical assistant jobs.Double-check the dates on job postings. Found the perfect job opening? Well, crap†¦it was posted and filled six months ago. Be wary of job postings older than a month, because they might be out of date.Use very specific keywords when searching job boards. Use filters to really drill down into what you want- and if possible experience level. You don’t want to have your heart set on a posting, only to find out that it’s out of bounds for your experience.Put robots to work for you. More specifically, set up saved searches and email alerts to let you know when postings come up that meet particular criteria.Do more than search for jobs on the sites. This applies especially if you’re using a niche job board, but general career sites also have a lot of useful content beyond the job posts. Whether that means specific company profiles or tips for your job hunt, maximize your time on the sites by pulling as much info as you can duri ng your daily checks.Pay Attention to Your Social Network  I can vouch for the power of your social network: for my two most recent jobs, I got notes from former colleagues/current friends who said, â€Å"Hey, there’s an opening at my company and I think you’d be great for it.† One came while I was actively looking, and the other came out of the blue. Both were great opportunities that I never would have found (or even thought to seek, really) via conventional means. So the moral of the story is this: never underestimate the connections you already have.RELATED:  The 7 Biggest Social Media Mistakes You Can Make During Your Job SearchThis is a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon. According to the 2014 Jobvite survey, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are some of the biggest social media drivers connecting people with job opportunities. [via Jobvite]The advantage of using your social network for your job search is also the benefit and curse of the in ternet in general: you get exposure and feedback pretty instantly. A quick private message (PM) to a friend at XYZ Corp. could get you an emailed link to an internal job opening the next day. Or maybe your former boss from three jobs ago is connected to someone at your dream job company- could she introduce the two of you? The advantages are there, but before you start leveraging your virtual cocktail party into actual career opportunities, you should make sure your digital footprint is in order.Vet your virtual selfThis means you should update your LinkedIn profile with your most recent resume points, areas of experience, and skills. For your Twitter feed that you mostly use to express how terrible the umpire was in last night’s game, and OMG, how terrible is the Post Office?, well†¦consider setting it to private and setting up a professional-only account where you share interesting links about your field.For Facebook, take a close look at your security settings, and ma ke sure that anything you wouldn’t want a recruiter or HR rep to see is well hidden behind an â€Å"only you† or â€Å"friends only† barrier (though that can still be risky). No profanity, no suggestive material, no extreme political opinions (no matter how much you might hate the Bull-Moose Party, sorry).For LinkedIn, make sure you’ve got your profile filled out, up-to-date, and looking professional. The place is crawling with recruiters and like-minded professionals, so you really want to make sure that you’re showing your most engaged, shining, professional self.Talk up topics related to your professionIf you don’t already do this, cultivate a professional voice with your social media accounts. Link to others in the field, and try to join (or start) conversations in comments sections. If you don’t get out there an engage, how will people know to engage with youFind your peopleLook for groups and communities devoted to your industry . It’s a great way to start connecting to people if your existing social media is mostly social friends from other parts of your life. According to U.S. News and World Report, becoming a social media â€Å"savant† is one of the most effective ways to speed up your job search, because that’s where employers are focusing their hiring energies these days.Perform a Self-Makeover Every Few Months  If you’re looking for a job right this minute, you don’t have time to slowly curate every detail in your professional package, so you need to have everything ready to go. Make sure you’re ready to go as soon as you hear about that opportunity via online tools or your network- you don’t want the hot tip to grow cold while you futz around with your resume. So before you even think about putting yourself out there like a press release, make sure things are all set behind the scenes.Update your resumeIt would be great to rebuild it from scratch, bu t if you don’t have the time, a good scrub of your current one will do. Make sure all of your work experience, accomplishments, and skills are up to date. Right before you submit, do a quick tailoring to make sure that your skills and experience dovetail with the job opening.RELATED:  The Ultimate Resume Guide for Every Job SeekerWork interview practice into your routinesIf you do find a great lead, you could move quickly through the process. If you’re asked to come in for an interview next week, don’t wait until the last second to get ready. Add a few minutes to your morning or bedtime routine by rehearsing your interview talking points (skills, anecdotes about your skills, even your interview smile) in the mirror.Prep your interview outfitIf your interview suit hasn’t seen the light of day since Justin Bieber was that nice young man from Canada, take it out and give it some love. Run it to the dry cleaner so that it’s ready to go if you have to move fast on an interview. Or, if it’s time to retire it and you have the resources, go shopping for a new, interview-appropriate outfit.  Knowing that you’re ready to mobilize whenever you need to can help mentally as well†¦even if you’re in a bit of a waiting period, you still have projects to work on in the meantime.If you’re looking for a job fast, being proactive is definitely the key. One of the drawbacks of the job search in general is that it can feel so stop-and-go, sapping your energy along the way and turning into a daily, demoralizing routine of â€Å"eh, anything available yet?† By taking control over your social media and networks, and making your online searches more targeted and effective, you’re increasing the chances that something will hit sooner than later. Good luck!

Biography of Nobel Prize Winner Chief Albert Luthuli

Biography of Nobel Prize Winner Chief Albert Luthuli Date of birth:  c.1898, near Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)Date of death:  21 July 1967, railway track near home at Stanger, Natal, South Africa. Early Life Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli was born sometime around 1898 near Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, the son of a Seventh Day Adventist missionary. In 1908 he was sent to his ancestral home at Groutville, Natal where he went to the mission school. Having first trained as a teacher at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg, Luthuli attended additional courses at Adams College (in 1920), and went on to become part of the college staff. He remained at the college until 1935. Life as a Preacher Albert Luthuli was deeply religious, and during his time at Adams College, he became a lay preacher. His Christian beliefs acted as a foundation for his approach to political life in South Africa at a time when many of his contemporaries were calling for a more militant response to Apartheid. Chieftancy In 1935 Luthuli accepted the chieftaincy of the Groutville reserve (this was not a hereditary position, but awarded as the result of an election) and was suddenly immersed in the realities of South Africas racial politics. The following year JBM Hertzogs United Party government introduced the Representation of Natives Act (Act No 16 of 1936) which removed Black Africans from the common voters role in the Cape (the only part of the Union to allow Black people the franchise). That year also saw the introduction of the Development Trust and Land Act (Act No 18 of 1936) which limited Black African land holding to an area of native reserves - increased under the act to 13.6%, although this percentage was not in fact achieved in practice. Chief Albert Luthuli joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1945 and was elected Natal provincial president in 1951. In 1946 he joined the Natives Representative Council. (This had been set up in 1936 to act in an advisory basis to four white senators who provided parliamentary representation for the entire Black African population.) However, as a result of a mine workers strike on the Witwatersrand gold field and the police response to protesters, relations between the Natives Representative Council and the government became strained. The Council met for the last time in 1946 and was later abolished by the government. In 1952, Chief Luthuli was one of the leading lights behind the Defiance Campaign - a non-violent protest against the pass laws. The Apartheid government was, unsurprisingly, annoyed and he was summoned to Pretoria to answer for his actions. Luthuli was given the choice of renouncing his membership of the ANC or being removed from his position as tribal chief (the post was supported and paid for by the government). Albert Luthuli refused to resign from the ANC, issued a statement to the press (The Road to Freedom is via the Cross) which reaffirmed his support for passive resistance to Apartheid  and was subsequently dismissed from his chieftaincy in November. I have joined my people in the new spirit that moves them today, the spirit that revolts openly and broadly against injustice. At the end of 1952, Albert Luthuli was elected president-general of the ANC. The previous president, Dr. James Moroka, lost support when he pleaded not-guilty to criminal charges laid as a result of his involvement in the Defiance Campaign, rather than accepting the campaigns aim of imprisonment and the tying up of government resources. (Nelson Mandela, provincial president for the ANC in Transvaal, automatically became deputy-president of the ANC.) The government responded by  banning  Luthuli, Mandela, and nearly 100 others. Luthulis Ban Luthulis ban was renewed in 1954, and in 1956 he was arrested - one of 156 people accused of high treason. Luthuli was released shortly after for lack of evidence. Repeated banning caused difficulties for the leadership of the ANC, but Luthuli was re-elected as president-general in 1955 and again 1958. In 1960, following the  Sharpeville Massacre, Luthuli led the call for protest. Once again summoned to a governmental hearing (this time in Johannesburg) Luthuli was horrified when a supporting demonstration turned violent and 72 Black Africans were shot (and another 200 injured). Luthuli responded by publicly burning his pass book. He was detained on 30 March under the State of Emergency declared by the South African government - one of 18,000 arrested in a series of police raids. On release he was confined to his home in Stanger, Natal. Later Years In 1961 Chief Albert Luthuli was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace (it had been held over that year) for his part in the anti-Apartheid struggle. In 1962, he was elected Rector of Glasgow University (an honorary position), and the following year published his autobiography, Let My People Go. Although suffering from ill health and failing eyesight, and still restricted to his home in Stanger, Albert Luthuli remained president-general of the ANC. On 21 July 1967, whilst out walking near his home, Luthuli was hit by a train and died. He was supposedly crossing the line at the time -   an explanation dismissed by many of his followers who believed more sinister forces were at work.