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I was curious as to what others did on a daily and weekly basis as part of the job search. Below is mine, and I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions.
First, I am new to the process after retiring from a police department. I will have to work again, but I am in a position where I can be a bit selective. Primarily, I am targeting corporate security and civilian positions relating to homeland security and law enforcement.
Job Research
I spend about an hour on Indeed.com every two hours. At this point, I have stopped researching Monster, GlassDoor, and others as all of those jobs seem to be posted on Indeed. Please correct me if I am wrong or if there is another site I should be researching.
I have a list of about 18 titles I search through. Unfortunately, in my target industry the same position could be called several different things: director of security, security manager, vice-president of security, director of asset protection, etc. I do the same with LinkedIn.
I then go through the us.gov site looking for related positions near the counties where I reside. I do the same on the New Jersey government jobs sites.
I have slowly been assembling a list of target companies and agencies that interest me. I check their career sections every few days as well.
Resume
My resume is a three-page document. Each time I apply for a job, I cut it down to two pages deleting the sections least relevant to the position for which I am applying. I am a big believer in less is more, but I cannot fit much of my background on a one-page resume. I then review the job announcement and customize the resume even further.
Each week I go through resumes of others in the positions I am targeting. You can do this on Indeed and on LinkedIn. Every time I do this I find phrasing, terminology or something that I like and bring back to mine. My resume (and LinkedIn profile) is constantly improving and looks nothing like the one I began with several months ago.
Self Improvement
While I have this downtime, I am in the process of completing industry certifications that will further improve my resume. I am also finishing up my degree.
That is about it. Any suggestions or better tactics? Thanks.
Narrow your search down to 5 companies and resolve that you will get a job at one of those 5 places.
Figure out if you know someone or have any connections within the target companies.
For each job you want, call the HR department and ask nicely about the hiring manager's name and title so you can address your cover letter better. In reality, you should use the name and title to find out the contact information for this person. Try googling email or use a site like www.leadferret.com
Once you apply online send a direct email to the hirin manager introducing yourself and ask for permission to send them your resume. Do not attach as emails with attachments can be discarded without reading.
I suggest you take a bit more proactive approach rather than reactive as you are doing now.
In addition to applying to posted openings, you should be networking as much as possible. Getting to know people and making yourself known is a better path to a job these days.
I'm wondering about how much "applying" is completed? I'm no expert on finding a job, but I didn't hear how many jobs were applied to. I think you could cut way back how much time is spent on indeed. Just enough time to see what has changed from a previous day and apply to jobs that you like.
Like capschick mentioned, its all about networking these days. It sucks and the change is because of trust issues and getting burned. Taking most all the time spent on indeed and putting it towards hobbiest(sp) things that Police like to do will be well spent. Events, shooting ranges and whatever you can think of.
I'm confused... you want to be a director of something and yet spoke nothing of your network in that field?
I have an okay but improving network. I am now in several industry organizations that meet regularly and am also in the process of creating another. I have also reconnected with some contacts from when I previously worked in private security.
how have you worked your way up and not made contacts in that industry that you can reach out to? so... you haven't finished school yet and want to be in management?[/quote]
In my previous position, I moved up quickly and served in several management positions. In addition, I led several specialized units and bureaus. I was also the press information officer for my agency and ran the entire weapons program.
During most of my career, I had a business in addition to my primary profession. There, I got extensive experience in numerous other skill sets.
Not to sound vain, but I am very good at what I do.
I know that most of the private sector is hung up on the degree, so I am finishing up and will be done by the end of the year. I enjoy school and I am learning a lot, but no matter what anyone says, the 30 years of practical experience is what I will bring to the table, not the 4-year certificate, but that's a discussion for another time.
I have learned a lot on here from reading the previous posts and am working even further to improve my skill sets. I was just curious as to ideas for enhancing my job search effort and making it more efficient and effective.
seemed odd, thought even most police these days have a degree by the time they make it up ladder
anyways, if you are retired, why not try go get on as a security guard at a local school? Not sure how much of this is you needing the money or you wanting to be out and working again...
blackwater seems to hire ex-military/police, maybe look into them?
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