Getting Ready To Start Your Job Search
The job market can be an intimidating place, often times it can feel as if you're given a map and a place to go, but you were never told where you're starting from. So, like most people you dust off the old resume and go with the spray and pray method. Well no more, here are our top 5 tips and tricks to help line you up for career search success!
1. Collect A List of Your Top Companies/Positions You Plan To Apply For
Gathering this information on the front end will save you time and give you a point in which to start your search. From here, we recommend taking a few hours to research the company/positions first to see if you're a good fit. Look at job descriptions, interview processes, resumes' from previous hires, etc. This is all good information to be will give you a great benchmark for how your resume should look, the skills/experience you should have, etc. Although it's a bit of a chore, it'll end up saving you time in the long run!
2. Do an audit of your online presence.
By this point this one should be a no brainer, but we've all heard the horror stories of "so and so didn't get the job because of a picture of him riding a bear" well maybe not that exactly...but you get the point! So, before you start sending that resume be sure to check the following:
- TikTok
- Youtube
- etc.
3. Update/Create Your Current Resume To Meet The Position You're Trying To Fill.
Before ever sending out your resume, be sure to give it a once over and add any additional experience you've had, or get rid of any outdated/Irrelevant info. In addition to this, it's always good to let another set of eyes take a look at it and give you there thoughts! Don't have any good resources to reach out to? Check out these great resources for updating/creating your resume!
4. Check Your Network To See If You Have Any Connections You Can Leverage.
Before Sending your resume, look at the companies you intend to apply to and see if you, or anyone you know has any connections you could leverage. Regardless of whether or not they're able to help you, reaching out achieves 2 things:
- It let's someone working at the company know you're interested in working there as well.
- It allows you to expand your network/strengthen your relationship with this person. Which who knows, doing this might just help you land the job.
5. Send Your Resume...
A common misconception people often have when applying to jobs is that once they've sent their resume to the company, this means the work is over. Right? WRONG! Once you send in your resume be sure to go back and first read through the job posting to see if you've got any questions regarding the position, timeline, etc. It's good to get answers to questions on the front end. If you don't have any questions, it's still good to reach out and let whoever posting the listing 1. that you applied, and 2. that you really hope to hear back and would love to work there.
While this guide will not guarantee you get the job of your dreams, it still holds valuable information that we've found, in many cases, to help keep you top of mind over the rest of the applicants! And when it comes to job hunting, being the first person someone thinks about is (almost) Always a good thing.