In today’s economy, the time to innovate isn’t when you begin your new job, it’ when you want to create an effective job search.

The first way to innovate is with the kinds of questions you ask, because they set the course for the direction you are going to take, according to business analysts Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen. For example, instead of asking what kind of job you can find, ask yourself what kind of job you can create. Dyer and Gregersen suggest spending several minutes each day writing down questions during your job search. You may start out by asking “How can I find a job that will pay a lot of money?”, but over time that may change into “What will make me happy in the long run?”

Another way to innovate, the analysts say, is to look at the work that companies need to have done, rather than focusing on the job that you used to do. You need to look at what people need products and services for. And then ask yourself what service or job are you good at that provides these products or services that people want. In fact, the authors suggest that to find the things that people want, you must spend some time routinely observing what people do to see what you could provide for them.

In the same way, you need to network innovatively by contacting people to create a job, rather than to just find a job. You do this not by talking with the people you would usually contact – those in the same area as you – but with people who are in different areas, people who look at things differently than you do. Then you talk with them about the jobs that need to be done, and in this way you can develop new ideas that might help your search.

Another way to be innovative is to experiment, to try new things, to take things apart, or to take an idea and see if it will work, no matter how oddball it may be. For example, if you want to try new things, you could look at hobbies or at developing skills you currently don’t have that might lead to something new.

Innovation in a job search is important, but don’t forget that a staffing service also can help you land work – and relatively quickly. Contact RealStreet Staffing today for positions in Washington DC’s IT, engineering, construction and architecture sectors.