Top 5 Job Hunting Tips
5 Job Searching Tips: Find your next job faster
Make a Plan
Have you ever heard the phrase, “the time to get the map is before you enter the woods.” Making a plan will help you stay on track, feel productive, and have a clear vision of your short-term and long-term employment goals. Be sure to set daily, weekly and monthly goals. I also recommend using a notebook or spreadsheet to stay organized. You can also “save” jobs on indeed to keep potential opportunities organized.
Some questions to ask yourself during the planning process:
What industries are you passionate about?
What are the top local companies in that industry?
Where do you want to be in 3-5 years?
How many jobs will you apply for each day?
Financially by when do you absolutely need to be employed?
It is extremely important in your plan to decide what industry or what kind of jobs you will be focusing on because everything you do in the next steps needs to align and support that direction. Planning may take a little more time upfront, but it will help you be successful in your job search. Take some time to dig deep about your career goals, research and even reach out or connect with others in that industry.
Update Your Resume
Seems obvious right? However, you would be amazed at the number of applicants we receive without an updated work history. Why is it important to update your resume? Most resumes are scanned by an ATS or Applicant Tracking System. This software scan resumes for keywords and experience that aligns with the open position. If your updated experience and skills are not on your resume you may be passed up for a position that is perfect for you. Also, on average if your resume is looked over by a human it is for 6-8 seconds! Needless to say, you need to make a great first impression and quickly. There are plenty of free resume templates available online including resumegenius.com, resume.com and StaffEase also holds weekly resume review workshops (email us you schedule your appointment).
Professionally Proof Yourself – Social Media and Voicemail
Would you ever turn in your resume or cover letter without proofing it? The same can be said for your presence on the internet. 39% of employers google potential candidates online. Be sure that your posts, comments and photos on social media sites are professional and positive. You can also leverage yourself online by joining industry groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. This will show employers you say informed on the industry, are eager to learn and are truly interested and invested. In addition, please set up your voicemail professionally. True story, this may be shocking: your voicemail has a fart sound or the “hello….hello….just kidding” it makes you look less professional Be sure to either update or use a standard greeting.
Make yourself visible to Recruiters
A good first step to finding a new opportunity is to let others know you’re looking. Sites like LinkedIn and Indeed have made it easy to privately signal recruiters that you’re open to working, specify the types of jobs you’re interested in, and indicate your preferred start date and location, ensuring you show up in more recruiter search results. By changing the settings on your indeed profile you can make your resume visible to anyone. However, your phone number and email address are provided only to employers to whom you apply. You can also you can let recruiters and your network on LinkedIn know you’re open to new job opportunities. If you specify the types of job opportunities that you’re interested in and your preferred location, we’ll help your profile show up in search results when recruiters look for suitable job candidates.
For LinkedIn:
Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn
Click View profile.
Click the Add profile section button to the right of your profile photo.
Click Intro.
Click Looking for job opportunities.
Provide the requested information in the pop-up window that appears.
Set Up Search Alerts
Multiple job platforms have great proactive features that will email you if positions that are relating to your search results are posted.
For Indeed Job Alerts work in two ways:
Receive daily emails containing recommended jobs based on the information you have provided to Indeed;
Get notifications for jobs that become available within those sectors that you have an interest in.
If you want to work in digital marketing, as an example, you can set up an alert to trigger an email notification whenever a suitable digital marketing position is uploaded. These alerts can be sent out daily, if you’re actively looking for a new job, or weekly if your search is much more passive.
Setting up email alerts is simple:
Start by performing a job search using the ‘what’ and ‘where’ search fields on the website.
Once you have performed your search, click the ‘Save this search as an email job alert’ link that you will see at the top of your search, enter your email address and click ‘Save Alert’.
You will be sent an email and will be required to click a link to confirm your job alert.
Once you have confirmed, you will be able to edit the search alert to tell Indeed how often you want to receive it.
Email alerts display the type of jobs available within the sector and in your location, the company or agency advertising the position and, in most cases, the salary range advertised.
Remember, Stay Positive!
Last and most importantly when job hunting it is extremely easy to get overwhelmed or start to feel insecure. Remember, that everything starts with your mindset. Stay focused, stay positive and trust in your skills and ability!
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