What To Do When You Cant Find a Job In Your Field - 11 Smart Ideas - Career Sidekick

What To Do When You Cant Find a Job In Your Field - 11 Smart Ideas - Career Sidekick What To Do When You Cant Find a Job In Your Field 11 Smart Ideas Applying for Jobs Recent Grads / https://www.edenscott.com/blog So you finished school, got your  degree and youre excited to use it. But what happens when you cant find a job in your field? Im going to show you 11 things you can do right away.Sit back, relax, grab a notepad so you remember all of this, and then scroll down to get started.I Cant Find A Job In My Field. What To Do?1. Take a closer look at your resumeIf you just put your skills and experience on your resume and sent it off, chances are youre not going to hear back or get interviews. Why? Because everyone else is doing the same thing. You need to put in extra effort to stand out or you wont get noticed.So make sure youre tailoring your resume to fit the employers needs. Its much easier than most people think if you use the method I explain in that link.Also make sure your resume has as many facts, numbers and specific accomplishments as possible. Not just general statements.2. Take a closer look at your cover letters/emails youre sendingOnce youve che cked your resume, do the same for the cover letters youre sending.Cover letters are important and one of the first things you should check when you cant find a job in your field.What should your cover letter have in it? Heres the basic ideaDont make it about you. Dont make it some long letter  about your life story. Sure, you should have some of that mixed in. But the cover letter needs to be about how you can help them.Talk about what you read on their website, on the job posting, etc. What are their needs?  Talk about how you can come in and immediately solve some of their problems, help make them  money (or save them money), etc.If you do this you will stand out from 90% of the other applicants, and you will have a much easier time finding a job in your field.3. Make sure the jobs youre applying for fit  your experience and skillsThis is one of the things I mention on my top 16 reasons you cant find a job. If you are applying for jobs that are too far outside of what youre quali fied for, it doesnt matter how good your resume is. You arent going to hear back.Test this by applying for some jobs that are lower level than what youve been looking for.  You dont have to accept those jobs, its just a test. But if  you find that all of a sudden youre getting a lot of calls and interviews, its a sign that they might be a better fit for your level.If youre looking to get that first job in your field, getting your foot in the door is more important than starting salary. You can earn more money as you go, but you need to get that first position. So keep an open mind while testing the market.4. Improve your interview  skillsIf your resume is good and your cover letter is good, and youre applying for jobs that are a reasonable fit,  you should be getting interviews.Thats only half the battle though. You need to go in ready to impress them. You need to be more impressive than the competition. And usually theres a lot  of competition to beat  for the average job out there .I recommend you check out this article of  my best tips before and during the interview. It will help you get job offers immediately. Its based on everything I learned as a recruiter for 5+ years.5. Think outside the boxI recently wrote this article for Huffington Post. Id highly recommend taking a look. Itll give you four ways to think outside the box and side-step the competition in your job search.Heres whats inside:How to get job offers from companies that  dont appear to be hiringHow to network at meetups and events to land a job fasterWhat relocating can do for your career and how to test whether its right for youHow to quickly and easily create videos to send along with your resume (you will immediately stand out if you do this)Go ahead and check it out now, youll definitely find at least one idea you can use right away.6. Make sure your social media profiles and LinkedIn look professionalEmployers almost always  look. People are going to search for you on LinkedIn, whether or not you plan on using LinkedIn to find a job.Also make  sure your Twitter and Facebook accounts are clean as well. Remove anything that could be seen as offensive, rude, or too opinionated.7. Talk to friends and networkIf your friends and former classmates dont know youre job searching, they cant help you. Dont beg for help but do make sure people know youre looking (and what youre looking for).Try to help them too. If you see a company thats hiring for a position one of your friends is looking for, tell them. That way theyll keep you in mind for the same. Or they might even find out that same company has a job for you too.8. Talk to professors and colleaguesIf youre a recent graduate looking to find that first job in your field, make sure to ask your professors for help. Theyre usually connected to a few employers one way or another. If not, they can at least offer some advice or write you a letter of recommendation.Most professors want to help you, and it makes your school look better if more people are finding jobs in their field after graduating. But if you dont ask, they cant help.9. Think about related fields and similar areasWhen you cant find a job in your field, it might just be a sign that your search is too narrow. Think about related areas. Are there other jobs or fields that would use your education and experience, but arent the typical job every person with your background goes into? If so, you might find less competition there.So look around on Google and search for the different types of jobs that people with your education or experience can do. You might be surprised what you find.You can ask for advice on your career options and potential career paths on reddit as well. Their career advice section is usually pretty good and people are helpful in general.10. Dont get discouragedWhen people  come to me and say theyre struggling to find a job and getting discouraged, I always say the same thingForget the past. Forget all the statistics. You o nly need one job.It doesnt matter if youve interviewed for 50 jobs without a job offer. It doesnt matter if you sent 200 resumes without hearing  back. You just need one. One single job. Follow the steps above, dont give up, and  youll find it.In the end, what does it matter if you got interviews from 50% of your applications or 7%. Once you find a single job, this is all over. So dont  discouraged by past statistics, and dont fall  into the trap of comparing yourself to other people.Thats the fast-lane to getting upset and discouraged, and possibly giving up. Focus on that next application you send or that next interview. You only need one to go well.11. Remember, youre not stuck in one field or one career pathHeres the realityI dont want you to read this and think Im  telling you to give up on finding a job in your field. Im not.But the truth is that there are a ton of great careers out there  that require some sort of degree (usually), but no particular field of study. So if you cant find a job in your field and youre getting frustrated, remember there are other options  out there.I majored in Finance but ended up becoming a Recruiter in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. I knew nothing about science, I just took the job and learned.But I ended up being paid very well as a recruiter, talking to PhD Scientists and learning an incredible amount about that industry.There are many other jobs like this where you can get in on the ground floor without any particular education  and eventually earn 6 figures. By eventually I mean 5-10 years if you stay focused.So here are some other ideas of careers that almost anyone can get into:A career in salesProject managementMarketingPRWriting (copywriting, technical writing, etc.)Operations managementHRRecruitingThere are many more too.Obviously if you want to be a Nurse you need the appropriate degree. If you want to be an Accountant you probably need one too. But for the vast majority of successful people out ther e, if you ask whether they use their education or degree, theyll say No.The most successful salesperson at one of my past jobs earned $1 million per year (yes, working on commission in sales can be incredibly lucrative), and he had a degree in English. The second best guy had a degree in History I think.So focus on getting an entry level job in a company with good leadership and strong growth. Youll  be in a growing environment and  can get promoted quickly.You might join as an associate, learn the ropes, and then move into Project Management once you understand their system. Or you might join as an assistant in Operations and then become a Manager and then a Director. Those are just examples. There are a lot of other paths you can take with any degree.Remember youre  not trapped.Good luck and happy hunting!UPDATE:  If  you have interviews coming up and don’t want to leave anything to chance, I’ve created a  new guide where you can copy  my exact  step-by-step method for getting job offers. You can  get more details here.