It can be overwhelming looking for a new job with the endless tools, sites, questionnaires, and alerts. One of the best ways to move ahead with your job search is to put efficient habits into place that will help you to land an interview or two!
1st Habit: Make your job search a part-time job. Make the job search process as efficient and precise as possible by creating a daily routine. Creating a structured routine makes it easy to keep a record of progress, and breaks everything down into palatable tasks. Block off an hour or two a day to look for new roles that were posted. Maybe you start your hour with a LinkedIn open job search by title, then move on a similar search on indeed. From there you can move to following up on resumes/application you have already sent out to ask for updates which leads us to the 2nd habit.
2nd Habit: We recommend keeping track of all your applications & resume submittals, either virtually in a spreadsheet or on a notepad. Being consistent in updating a spreadsheet with the progress of each application will make it easier to keep track as no one wants to remember what point they’re at for multiple application processes. Keeping a record can also help to keep you motivated as you’ll be able to see movement forward on your efforts. As with most things in life, consistency and patience are key, so give your routine a chance to show results before you make tweaks.
3rd Habit: Take a look at your employment history and pick out keywords and phrases that sum up a list of skills that you enjoy the most in your job, then match open job applications with them. It's a well-known tip to tailor the resume and cover letter to each application, so it will be much less work to customize applications that are all within similar skill areas. In addition, these will yield the highest probability for success. It pays to prioritize quality over quantity. Once you've gone through the prioritized listings as mentioned above, then why not add one or two that sit outside your comfort zone? Make no mistake, these still require a high level of attention and focus, but it can be useful and surprising to add some diversity.
4th Habit - Learn. Learn. Learn. Being able to keep up, or even increasing your learning
capabilities through upskilling and enhancing existing skills, can complement your job search
nicely. It can also be a good source of conversation if you are asked to explain any gaps in your employment. Reading, taking courses, or practicing learned techniques will not only break up the applications, but will make you more “employable” over time too. This point is so important that we recommend everyone keep learning regardless of where you are in your career.
Bonus tip! Making time to follow up with each application shows you're organized and highly
interested in the role which is something employers are looking for. This tip is often forgotten by those who are uncoordinated and mass apply to positions without ever looking back.
To sum up, job hunting shouldn't be something that gets 50% of your effort and attention. Giving it your full focus will most likely make the job hunt more successful and ultimately, a lot shorter.
With the right consistency and dedication, taking the time to hone in on those prioritized
positions whilst upskilling existing capabilities, the chances of success will be increased
dramatically.
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