5 Tips to Help Maximize Your Job Search - CareerAlley

5 Tips to Help Maximize Your Job Search - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. So many resumes, so few jobs. Lets face it, job search sucks. Tons of competition, ads for jobs that dont exist and endless rabbit holes. If youve leveraged any of the countless online job search sites and submitted your resume for a specific job, you are not alone. In fact, there are upwards of several hundred applications for each job posted on a job search site (this is not a misprint). Its just way too easy to submit your resume even if you are only marginally qualified for the job (tell me youve never done this). If your resume/submission is not an exact fit or is submitted after the job has been posted for a few days, you are probably wasting your time. So how do you cut through all of the worthless garbage on job search sites to get to the real jobs? What if you need resume assistance? How do you maximize the time you spend looking for a job and minimize the time it takes to land a job? Well, Id be the first to tell you that there is no secret fast track to finding a job, but there are lots of things you can do to make your job search more efficient. If your resume/submission is not an exact fit or is submitted after the job has been posted for a few days, you are probably wasting your time. Tweet This Maximize Your Job Applications/Submissions Hereare three basic tips you can follow that will help you target your search. Planning and targeting your search should be on the top of your list: Leverage your job search plan and focus on your target companies first. No job search plan? Take a look here first: Job Search Planning. Only apply for jobs that closely match your experience and/or education. While there will be an urge to apply for jobs that loosely fit your background, this is not the best way to spend your time. Dont waste your time responding to older job listings. Any listing older than two weeks (and possibly even one week) has probably had dozens (and maybe even hundreds) of applications submitted. Focus on all relatively new listings. If you run out of new listings, you can revisit the older listings. Minimize Your Use of Job Search Boards There are hundreds of job search boards/engines on the Internet. Quite a few are useless and there is generally huge overlap across similar sites: Use no more than 3-5 job search engines. Any more than that yields a diminishing return. A quick list of top sites to consider can be found here: 80 Job Search Resources for Your Job Hunt 12 of the Best College Grad Job Search Links At least one of the sites you use should be career-focused (such as finance or medical job search sites). Leverage email alerts on job search sites. Use alternate days or time frames across the sites and create specifically targeted searches. Launch a Marketing Campaign Its Not What You Know, Its What People Think You Know If you dont have a job search marketing plan then now is the time to get started. While you will need to put in a little time at the start, a job search marketing plan will help you find your dream job in a shorter period of time: What should your plan include? In addition to your resume and cover letter, you should have a list of your targeted companies (where you would like to work). A good marketing plan includes an advertising campaign. While Im not suggesting that you place a full-page ad in the NY Times, you should ensure that everyone who can help you find a job knows you are looking. Take a look at these books to get started: Focus Your Search with Research You should have a very good idea of where you would like to work prior to starting your search. This includes: A list of your dream companies. If you could pick the top 10 companies where you would like to work, which ones would be on your list? A list is great, but knowing which companies offer the best career opportunities for you should be one of your core criteria. Who wants to work for a crappy company? Make sure you also do research on companies you should avoid and companies that have a great reputation (the Best Places to Work) Networking Strategies To Find Jobs in the Hidden Job Market: A Recruiter Reveals: Insider Secrets Price: $4.97 Buy Now from Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Last Updated: March 2, 2020 Maximize Your Network Im sure youve heard it before, but your network is the best tool in your job search. These are people who know who you are, what you do and how you do it. You should focus at least 25%-50% of your time on leveraging your network in your job search and targeting your time as follows: Focus on those in your network who are in your field and can provide introductions and leads Friend of a friend works really well in job search. Who in your network knows someone that can help you? Find out and cultivate those relationships Remember your list of dream companies from the topic above? Now is the time to leverage those in your network who can help you land a job at your dream company New to leveraging your network for job search, take a look at the book The 2-Hour Job Search: Using Technology to Get the Right Job Faster Price: $9.69 Buy Now from Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Last Updated: March 2, 2020 Like everything else in life, job search is a process. Remain focused and follow the tips above to maximize your search. What's next? Ready to take action? 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