Whether you’re a recent college graduate or a seasoned employee, a job search can be stressful and overwhelming. After all, there is no clear-cut or one size fits all strategy for the job search. Then, there is so much information available online that it can easily overwhelm you. Hence, we are trying to give you 360-degree insights and perspectives on the job search process. Previously, we have covered the following articles related to job search:
How to Stay Competitive in the 21st Century Job Market (Part 1)
How to Stay Competitive in the 21st Century Job Market (Part 2)
LinkedIn Guide to Getting Hired in 2018 – Review & Analysis
Top 5 Job Search Tips for Freshers
How do I Land My Dream Job after Graduation
Tips for Online Presence and Personal Branding in Today’s Job Market
Networking – The Most Effective Job Search Strategy
4 Elements that Make Great Resumes and 10 Resume Dos and Don’ts with Examples
5 Ways to be Different While Applying for a Job
Career Coach vs Mentor vs Recruitment (Placement) Consultant vs Headhunter
In this post, guest blogger Nilesh Jha will talk about core job search tips that really work. Over to Nilesh…
Job Search Tips that Really Work
By Nilesh Jha
Anyone that has searched for a job will testify, it is a cumbersome process. Job searches are rife with writing CVs, browsing newspaper and online ads, getting references from relatives and friends and lots of other mundane and often stressful activities.
Another element of job searches is expectation followed by disappointment. We apply for positions at topmost companies hoping to make a career, only to find the application turned down or perhaps, not even considered.
There are several reasons we find job searches as tiring. Most expectations and disappointments are unnecessary. Instead, job searches can be fun and exciting.
If you are wondering how the fearful prospect of searching for jobs can become enjoyable, continue to read.
Where do Job Seekers go wrong with Job Searches?
This is the first question you need to ask yourself. Why are you looking for a job? Understandably, the main reason is to get gainful employment, make money and develop a career. But this is where the majority of job seekers get it wrong, causing their applications to get rejected.
Instead, focus on how you can bring value to an employer with your qualifications, skills, and experience if any. Try and convince an employer through your application and CV, they have found the right person and need not look any further. Once you learn these few tricks, job searches become easier and fun. Follow these simple tips we list below.
10 Basic Job Search Tips That Always Work
Regardless of whether you are fresher or experienced candidate, employers will judge you according to their own parameters. There is little you can do to influence that process. Yet, you can alter the outcomes by following some simple job search tips.
Choose Your Field Wisely
Most job seekers are keen to find employment at the earliest. Hence, they are willing to apply for any and every job that loosely suits their qualifications and possibly some assorted skills. This can prove fatal to your career.
Instead, select the specific field where you wish to work. Make an astute decision of what career you wish to pursue. Finalize long-term objectives you wish to achieve in a chosen field. Weigh pros, cons and future prospects in that field before embarking on a job search. Also, the employers do use some effective ways to assess a candidate’s soft skills for which you need to know what should be your reaction towards their questions and actions.
Read: How Soft Skills Can Help You Land a Job
Get Documents Ready
This suggestion sounds absurd. But read on. By documents, we do not imply you have your academic, work experience and other certificates ready. It means getting your bio-data, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and resume ready. Because, bio-data, CV and resume are three distinct documents. Never commit the blunder of sending a wrong document: it can cost you that dream job.
When applying for a job, read carefully which document the prospective employer wants- a CV, bio-data or resume. While some employers may accept any of these three, larger companies and foreign corporations will discard or accept your application only if you have attached or submit what they want.
Nowadays, we can find professional CV writers online and at various offices. They charge fees to create your CV, resume, and bio-data. Utilizing their services is your choice.
State Your Profile or Career Summary
Any successful job search begins with sending your application. The first element of your application or resume that an employer will usually read is your profile – who you are and what value you will bring to the table.
Please get rid of that career objective saying want to a part of the successful business organization blah blah blah
Career objective on CV tells the employer what you’re looking for from a job or organization.
A profile or career summary will give an employer insights into your skill set and value propositions.
Refer to various guidelines on how to write a great profile or career summary. Your profile appears on top of the resume. You can also frame it as your personal vision and mission statement. But, whatever you put there, it has to be your USP.
The career summary or profile also helps them know whether you are clear about personal goals. Further, the two or three lines of a career objective also know what you can bring to the proverbial table if given the job.
Go Online
Thanks to the Internet, job searches have become speedier and efficient. There are several highly respected job portals in India where you can register for free and search jobs. Most of these portals will also ask you to post your CV using their specific template online. Additionally, you also need up upload a resume or bio-data. Some portals also ask for a profile picture. Uploading a profile picture is your discretion.
Usually, renowned job portals do not ask you to pay any money as recruitment fees. Therefore, you can register at two or more job portals while looking for employment. Remember to provide proper definitions or designations for the job you are searching for. Update your online resume regularly. You can also download apps from these job portals on a smartphone: they enable you to apply instantly if your profile and resume are updated.
Limit Your Location
Coming back to online job portals, be very specific about the location you wish to work to make job searches really work. Generally, every job portal will present multiple choices of location when you register. This includes the very ambiguous “All Locations” option. While this option helps your online profile to be seen by a much wider, nationwide and sometimes international audience, it will also dilute your job search efforts.
Once you select ‘All Locations’ or ‘Any Locations’ on a job portal, you will get floods of emails from recruitment companies that are located in distant parts of the country. Worse, you render yourself open to spam emails and calls by recruiters with dubious credentials. By selecting a specific location, your job search is limited to the city or place you really wish to work. It dispenses with the need to relocate.
LinkedIn Profile
Professional networking website LinkedIn allows you to create a free profile. Make an excellent LinkedIn profile and include its link while registering on any online job portal. Also, include your like to your LinkedIn profile on your resume. A good LinkedIn profile works as a force multiplier of sorts and helps your job search to really work.
Nowadays, a lot of large companies look or even ask for a LinkedIn profile of jobseekers. It gives them quicker access to your details including academic achievements, work experience, and references. The number of people you connect with on LinkedIn and their profiles also make an immense difference among prospective employers. LinkedIn also has a recruitment service that can help you find a great job.
Read Job Trends
Current and existing job trends can be easily found on the Internet. They are available for free. Reading existing job trends helps you know where or how you are positioned in the broader job market. Trends give you insights into what is happening in your specific industry, who is hiring, who is firing and why. You also get to know future prospects in your chosen career.
Job trends are usually written by industry analysts that consist of human resource development managers and decision makers. They help understand what skills are in demand and where anticipated increase or decrease in hiring and future outlook for the career. Hence, you can narrow down job searches to a certain industry and ensure they really work.
Read: Tips on Going Back to Work after Maternity Leave
Understand Salary Trends
Websites like Payscale.com provide vital information about ongoing salary trends at your location. They contain information such as how much salary a fresher or a person with a certain number of years can expect from an employer. These websites will also carry some details about the highest paying employers that enables you to seek better jobs.
Knowing salary trends is also very useful when it boils down to quoting your Cost-To-Company (CTC) while applying for a job and also during the final stages of a job interview. They enable you to get the right wages for your work. Usually, job seekers tend to undersell themselves in a bid to grab a job. By understanding salary trends, you avoid this mistake of selling your experience and services for cheap.
Read Job Ads Too
Despite the onslaught of the Internet, advertisements for jobs continue to appear in all newspapers. In fact, some companies also place advertisements in newspapers to find how many candidates quote they are applying in response. It helps employers to somewhat know whether the jobseeker actually reads newspapers or whiles away time on fruitless pursuits such as playing games and watching videos on a smartphone.
Further, thousands of reputable employers are not comfortable with using job portals to advertise their vacancies for many reasons. One of them is subscription costs. Others advertise in newspapers because they are looking for candidates who may not be net savvy. Regardless of employers, you can make job search really work by scanning newspapers for employment opportunities. Some newspapers have dedicated sections for employment-related advertisements.
Visit Corporate Websites
Usually, large corporations that have own websites will not advertise vacancies on recruitment portals and newspapers. They have a separate ‘Careers’ or ‘Work With Us’ and similarly named sections on their own website. Usually, these websites will also have online application forms or provide a link or email ID where you can send your application.
Should you be very serious about job searches that really work, also visit corporate websites of large companies. You may get lucky and find a vacancy that suits your qualifications and work experience. Keeping a CV, resume, and bio-data ready will help apply instantly for these jobs through company websites.
In Conclusion
Remember, a job search becomes stressful only when you are unprepared or perform it unwillingly. Another simple yet difficult way to make job searches really work is to avoid lying on your application and personal details. Fibbing about your qualifications, experience, salary, and other details can cause your application to be rejected instantly. Recruiters are not fools to be blinded by lies. Therefore, use these job search tips that really work.
