Finding a new career is one of the most common New Year resolutions… but it can’t be just any new career! Start identifying your dream job: If you could do anything, what would it be and why? Let’s start visualising. Write down a list of everything you’d want in your new job, as precisely as you can:
- Salary
- Hours
- Responsibilities
- Environment
- Location
- Team size
- Boss
- top 5-10 places you would love to work for
Can you actually see it? Now off to get it!
Here are our 5 job search tips to find a job quickly:
- Apply for advertised jobs. Tailor your CV for the job so that everything in your job application will be done from the perspective of the employer, from your CV to the covering letter to the interview to the reference check. Never send a generic CV or cover letter for any job. Before sending in your CV for any role look at it side by side with the job description and ask yourself if does your CV look like the ‘perfect fit’ for the job; if what is most important to the employer is reflected clearly in your CV; if your CV seems to meet ALL of the criteria listed in the job description; if you’d call yourself, based on your CV and cover letter. If the answers are all YES, then upload them and apply!
- Send your CV to multiple recruitment agencies: even if you’re not shortlisted or suitable for a specific job, your CV will still be kept in their database for future roles. Make sure you follow up with a phone call within 48 hours to get feedback on your CV and to find out if they might have anything else suitable for you. Take your time during this phone call to ask as many questions and feedback as you can, like what would they rate your CV, LinkedIn profile, presentation, cover letter and interview skills out of 10 and how could you improve them, in their opinion; where do you rank compared to other candidates they think you’d be best suited to.
- Send your CV directly to the direct employer company you wish you work for. In your visualisation exercise, a few minutes ago, you targeted some specific companies, didn’t you? Now let them receive your (targeted) CV and covering letter through their online job portals. Once again, don’t forget the follow-up phone call (possibly straight to Recruitment number or HR if it’s really not possible to speak to any hiring manager), within 48 hours to introduce yourself and to briefly explain what you love about the company and what specific skills/experience/value you bring to the table. Do this in a non-needy, non-pushy, non-salesy, friendly kind of way, please. The best day for the call would be a Friday since most people are happier on a Friday and are therefore more likely to say yes to an interview! If an employer didn’t have anything suitable/wasn’t looking for anyone, I would ask them if they knew of anyone else who might be hiring or if there was anyone else they recommend I speak to. If you can’t get anyone on the phone after several attempts (don’t leave any voicemail, they’d be useless…), send personalized LinkedIn invitations to the few very targeted people in those companies. Most will accept your invitation (if it’s correctly personalized) and they might even give you some information about how recruitment is done and how you could get a foot in the door.
- Use your own network of friends, ex-colleagues, ex-managers and other people you know to see if they have a job or know of anything going. Would a stranger or a friend be more likely to offer you a job, a pay rise or a promotion? Friends will hire you for positions other people won’t and they will often pay you and treat you better than strangers will.
- Change your mindset: finding a job is a full time job in itself. You just won’t passively “be found”. The more jobs you apply for, the more conversations you have going, the more interviews you go to, the more job offers you are likely to get. If you are to succeed you must take matters into your own hands and don’t hold your breath waiting for anyone to do what they said they were going to do!
