Our Best Tips for Effective Job Hunting

We all know job hunting is a job in itself these days. Here are some of our best tips for an effective job hunt to land your dream job.

Hello lovelies!

For those of you who are just entering the workforce or even re-entering, job hunting can be both intimidating and stressful. You’re applying for as many jobs as you can, hoping to get a call back and potentially with no method to the madness. Today I’m sharing some of the best tips I have for job hunters out there. All of these tips are actions you can implement in your job search instantly and will help make your job search less of a headache. These tips are things that have positively impacted my job search and I encourage you all to tailor them to fit your current needs.

1. Figure out what you want to do- This may seem like it goes without saying but think about how often people apply for jobs just to pay the bills. You don’t have to have your entire career trajectory planned out but it’s very helpful to know what kind of work you want to do. It’s also helpful to research companies and have a few that you’re most interested in. Figuring out what you like to do, what you’re skilled in or what you have your degree in will help you tailor your search. If you know what kinds of jobs you’re looking for, it’ll save you the time and energy of looking through jobs that don’t apply to you.
2. Update your resume- Please keep your resume updated! It helps to update your resume once a quarter so you’re not doing a complete overhaul of your resume. Keep track of your most recent job experience (this should be at the top) and any projects you’ve worked on to better your company or department. It’s a great feeling when you can just send your resume off without having to change a million things on it first.
3. Write a cover letter- I know, I know, I know. We hate cover letters too! But honestly speaking, many companies request them as part of your application. You might as well bear down and write a good one! If you know the type of job you want you can create a cover letter that you can use to apply for multiple jobs. Think of your cover letter as a brief introduction to you: the kind of job you’re looking for, what you hope to gain and contribute to your new company and an accomplishment you’re most proud of. You can make small changes like the name of the company and the job title as you navigate applications.
4. Use the job description to your advantage- When you’re looking at a job posting, notice the key skills they’re looking for. Those are words you can add to your resume and/or cover letter to help ensure your resume doesn’t get bypassed. A lot of companies use automated software to sort through resumes, so you’ll want to make sure yours is reflective of a resume worth keeping. If your resume doesn’t contain any of the keywords they’re looking for you’re at risk of your resume being discarded. Sprinkle in some of those key terms to secure the bag (literally and figuratively)!
5. Utilize sites like LinkedIn- I can honestly say that LinkedIn has played a major role in my career success thus far. The position I have now an the one I had before were both a result of LinkedIn job postings. I highly recommend keeping your profile updated (more on that later). During times when I was looking for a job I found that LinkedIn had job posting that I wasn’t seeing on other job search sites. The fact that LinkedIn works as a social media platform and job search engine is a job hunter’s dream! When you start your search you can look up contacts that may work at the company you’re applying at and provide insight and maybe even recommend you for a job. In some cases, you can also reach out directly to the HR person or recruiter hiring for the position and introduce yourself. This and other features like seeing where you rank among other applicants are typically perks of having a premium account and honestly I think it’s worth it! If you have the option to try a premium account for free, go for it! If not, it may still be worth your while to pay a few dollars to have access to the useful resources LinkedIn premium offers
6. Tap into your network- If you know someone doing what you want to do or working for a company you’re interested in, reach out to them. Ask them out to coffee or for a brief phone call to find out if they can lend a helping hand. People who are currently in your network may know of current job openings or be able to get your resume in front of HR. Even if they can’t help in those ways, they may be willing to do something like give you feedback on your resume, which is also extremely helpful. There are plenty of ways you can tap into your network while job hunting that will help you get ahead. Don’t be afraid to reach out!

Have you tried any of these methods and they’ve worked for you? Or do you have other job hunting tips that you want to share with our community? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Until next time,