Are you about to start your job search and feeling overwhelmed by the entire process lying before you?
Not to worry!
Whether you’re looking for your first job ever or you’re a veteran to the job search game, our guide will give you the best advice, strategies, and tips for job search success.
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Here’s our list of the top job search tips to keep in mind:
1. Get Organized
Prior to getting started on your job search, taking 15 minutes to create an organizational system will ensure you don’t make a job search faux pas. I mean, the HR manager reviewing your resume won’t be impressed if they find a second job application from you because you applied twice by accident! Also, what a time waster!
If you want a simple way to organize your job search, create a spreadsheet in Google Drive or Microsoft Office. Make a column each for the company name, date applied, application status, email address, contact’s name, and any other fields you might want.
If you are set on applying to dozens of jobs, managing them effectively and efficiently with a spreadsheet is the answer!
2. DON’T Prepare Your Resumes & Cover Letters
Your resume and cover letter are just about the most important documents needed for getting a job, but that doesn’t mean you should prepare them just yet.
One of the most important job search tips to keep in mind is to apply to each and every job with a unique resume and cover letter tailored specifically for it. Recruiters hate generic resumes and cover letters, and these will likely just get passed over for a candidate who took the time to get it right.
However, you don’t want to start from scratch when you find your dream job advertisement, either. Time is critical, so prepare yourself a master resume and cover letter first. Then, when the time comes to tailor a resume and cover letter just for this dream job, you can pick and choose which items to include and tweak the words and tone to fit them.
Related Read: 55 Resume Tips, Hacks & Expert Advice to Help You Score a Job Interview
3. Update Your Professional Profiles Online
Before you get started searching for jobs, fix up your professional profiles.
LinkedIn is the recruiter favorites, so make sure it’s up to date and detailed. Ask friends and past colleagues for references which you can display proudly on your LinkedIn profile, and get your connections to endorse your most important skills.
Over at Goodwall, update your web profile page to include your life experiences, academic achievements, and other wins which might have gotten overlooked on LinkedIn. It’s a great way of showing the hiring manager the complete picture of you as the candidate!
If other professional profiles are relevant to you and your industry, update those as well. For instance, if you’re a graphic designer, spruce up your Dribbble and Behance pages so they can see the most current projects you’ve worked on.
Related Read: How to Use Goodwall’s Web Profile to Land a Job Opportunity
4. Sanitize Your Online Presence
Before you apply for any job, you had better check your presence online. You’ve fixed up your Goodwall profile and LinkedIn account, but what about your personal pages?
Google yourself. Do you have any tweets which could be considered offensive? Are there any images or videos public on your Facebook profile which might turn the hiring manager off?
Go through all your social media profiles and either remove any questionable material or at least set it to private!
5. Scour the Best Job Search Sites
There are plenty of job search sites out there on the web, and it can be daunting deciding which one to choose.
First, try Google. Believe it or not, they have their own job board built right into the search results page. All you have to do is search for “creative jobs” or “sales jobs,” and you should see a blue box at the top of the page with a few job opportunities curated from around the web. Click into that blue box and you have a full-fledged job board powered by Google’s can’t-be-beat search engine.
Other great job sites include Indeed, Zip Recruiter, and Monster, among others. To see our top picks for best job websites, click the link below to read our blog post.
Related Read: Best Job Sites to Check Out if You’re Looking for Employment
6. Visit Goodwall Opportunities
Goodwall Opportunities is our very own job search board, and you don’t even have to leave this site!
By partnering with some of the best job boards on the internet, you can get the most relevant job advertisements from all around the world right in one place. We’ve got entry-level positions through to leadership openings. On top of the standard jobs, you can find hundreds of internship opportunities, as well!
7. Research Them Before Applying
Blind applications are almost as bad as sending in a generic resume.
To up the likelihood of getting called in for an interview, research the company. Find out their short-term and long-term goals, and get a sense for what obstacles they face at the moment. Armed with this information, you’ll be better prepared to write a resume they find compelling.
Also, researching the company, the culture, and even the person who might later interview you will give you plenty of things to talk about when the interview opportunity comes around!
8. Check Your Inbox Carefully
After you send in your job application, monitor your email inbox regularly. Also, be careful with your junk mail folder, since their reply could have been routed there. During the employment process, treat your spam folder the same way you do your regular inbox, so as not to miss anything important.
While you’re at it, check your LinkedIn messages, as well. Someone from the company could reach out to you through that platform after researching your profile, so log in at least twice a day to be safe.
9. Practice Common Interview Questions
Every interview for a job will be different, but there are many similarities. An interview is meant for the interviewer, and through them the company, to get to know you, so there are common interview questions asked at most interviews.
Which means you can prepare!
The best interview questions to ready yourself for are:
- Tell me a little bit about yourself.
- Why do you want to work here?
- What are your strengths?
- What motivates or inspires you?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What do you do in your spare time?
- Why should I hire you for this position?
- How well will you perform the job responsibilities?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Don’t memorize a particular phrase, as you don’t want your answer to sound robotic and rehearsed. Rather, it should be answered naturally, so practice these questions to understand the gist of what you’ll say in response.
Related Read: How to Prepare for an Interview
10. Ask Them Questions, Too!
An interview should be a conversation rather than an interrogation. Though they’ll ask you many interview questions (that’s the point), you should come prepared with a few of your own. Toward the end of an interview, the hiring manager is likely to ask something along the lines of, “Do you have any questions for us?”
Always ask a question!
Have a few questions in mind when they ask, as you also don’t want to try to come up with one on the spot. Ask a question about the work you’ll be doing, the team you’ll be working with, the company culture, or anything else with meat and substance.
Don’t ask questions which could be easily answered from the company’s website (which is why you should research the company beforehand!), as this’ll just look as if you don’t know where you’re interviewing. Finally, don’t ask about your pay or benefits, as this simply makes you look like you’re jumping to conclusions at best, or greedy at worst.
Related Read: What to Bring to an Interview?
11. Write a Thank You Email After the Interview
A day or two after your job interview, write a thank you letter as an email to the employer. Tell them that you appreciate their time, and that you have your fingers crossed about their answer. Be courteous and enthusiastic. Not only will this give you bonus points towards your candidate score, but it may also serve as a gentle reminder for them, letting them know that you are still there and waiting for their decision without being impolite about it.
12. Don’t Give Up
Whether you sent in one application and didn’t get a reply or you made it all the way to a final interview only to be turned down, don’t give up!
The employment process can be tough, and it may be easy to get discouraged. However, if you follow the job search tips above and nail your resume and cover letter, you’re bound to get a positive response in no time.
Well, that’s all our job searching tips and tricks for now, and we hope they help you to find the job you’re looking for and land that interview! Got any questions, feedback, or other job search tips we should include on our list? Let us know in the comments below, and thank you for reading!