In this article on how to organize your job search, I share with you 12 tips that will help you be more effective in your job search.
Whether you are already an experienced professional or looking for your first job, you will find in this article several tips to succeed in your job search.
1 – Define your job search goals
Defining your career goals is one of the most essential steps in the job search process.
Doing so has multiple benefits, here are the main ones.
First, having a clear vision of what is important to you in a job allows you to maximize your chances of finding a position where you can thrive.
Second, you avoid wasting time and energy sending applications and attending interviews for roles that do not interest you. It also prevents you from turning your work search into a daily source of stress.
Secondly, by knowing your needs, desires, and personal constraints precisely, you can more easily determine which types of jobs are the most appropriate for you.
Finally, you increase your chances of getting interviews and a suitable job because by reducing the number of applications you send out, you can take the time to customize your resume and cover letter for each job opening.
If you don’t know how to set your goals, I invite you to read my article on how to set and achieve goals.
2 – Set up a job search schedule
Setting up a job search calendar is essential to effectively managing your time and having a written record of the actions you took during the week.
Doing so will allow you to plan ahead for the tasks you need to complete to be successful in your job search and will save you time and effort in deciding which action to begin each day.
You will be able to set intermediate goals that you want to achieve and check in at the end of each week to see if you have made progress as planned or if you need to readjust your strategy.
Be careful not to make the mistake of not setting specific times to carry out your job search.
It is important to also take care of your well-being and health and to plan other activities that are important to you.
Learning how to manage your time effectively is an essential skill to succeed in your job search and accomplish all the other life projects that are priorities for you.
One of the main difficulties of time management is procrastination, the tendency to put off important activities.
If you are concerned by this issue, I invite you to read my article on how to stop procrastinating. If you want to learn more about time management, I invite you to watch my free course on time management.
3 – Identify your main skills and qualities
Understanding, identifying, and highlighting the skills and qualities that will help you stand out from other applicants is essential to a successful job search.
These skills fall into two broad categories: soft skills and technical skills or hard skills related to the execution of the job.
Soft skills are personal qualities that are applied to the professional world, such as communication, time management, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, etc.
Technical skills are practical skills, knowledge, and abilities related to a given field and profession. They are skills acquired through practice, training, research, etc.
Here’s how you can go about highlighting your skills to personalize your resume and improve your chances of getting an interview.
First, take a sheet of paper and draw a vertical line dividing the page in two.
In the first column write job skills and in the other column list interpersonal skills.
On another sheet of paper, write down all the qualities you possess for 5 minutes.
Then, put each quality in the right column. Then, reread the job offer and write down the human and technical qualities required by the company.
Check your list to see if you have these qualities or similar ones and include them in your resume.
Then, for each quality, specify at least one professional or personal experience or training that proves that you have this quality.
Your goal is to show that your skills and qualities are able to help the company achieve its goals.
Doing so will allow you to create a coherent application that will make the recruiter want to contact you.
If you don’t have all the skills the company is looking for, send in your application anyway because recruiters are looking for the perfect fit and tend to put an exaggerated amount of skills in job offers.
It is also important to create an action plan to improve your practical and interpersonal skills if your job search is not progressing as you would like.
You may need to attend training, read personal development books, meet with people who can advise you, etc.
You can then partially fill in these skill gaps by explaining in your resume or cover letter that you are taking steps to improve yourself.
Doing this will help you apply with more confidence and ensure that you are ready for professional opportunities.
If you want to be supported in this process of identifying and highlighting your skills, you can take advantage of the expertise of a career coach.
4 – Prepare your resume and cover letter
Preparing your resume and cover letter is essential to effectively present your skills to recruiters.
If you have not followed the previous steps, your applications will not be effective.
If you need actionable tips, I invite you to read my two articles on how to write a resume and how to write a cover letter.
Once you have written these two documents, do not assume that your work is done.
Instead, you should consider that this is only the beginning of your efforts to find a job.
As I mentioned earlier, to maximize your chances of being called and finding a job, you should personalize your resume and cover letter as much as possible.
Doing this can be time-consuming and stressful, but if you prefer not to do this, you can still strengthen your applications by having someone else write your resume and cover letter for you.
If you are interested, I recommend you take a look at our personalized resume writing and customized cover letter writing services.
5 – Identify the companies that need your skills
Another strategy for organizing your job search is to look for companies that are looking for your skills.
Here are a few ideas to try out.
To start, you can use your job search to find competitors of companies that offer job openings consistent with your skills.
For example, you can read the summary that presents the company in the job offer or visit their website.
Then you will extract keywords from this description and search for them on the Internet by adding a location to find a company near your home.
A second solution is to use online business directories that will allow you to make very targeted searches and find companies that are often less known and need your professional abilities.
A third solution is to use professional networks such as LinkedIn or Xing to find or be found by companies that need you.
You will want to create a professional profile that is attractive to recruiters and highlight your human and technical skills.
You can also join the pages of companies that interest you to follow their news and groups focused on topics related to your field of activity.
A fourth solution is to use sites that provide reviews of companies written by former employees.
When in doubt about a company, look at reviews on at least two different websites.
With this strategy, you will also avoid a poor-quality work environment.
6 – Attend trade shows
Most people attend job fairs, but have you considered attending other trade shows?
There are many more and even if their purpose is not specifically to provide jobs, these events can still give you additional exposure and bring you more opportunities because the competition is smaller.
To maximize your impact, first, select the trade shows that interest you the most.
Then, research the companies you like in advance and mentally schedule meetings to speak directly with one of their representatives.
Show your interest in the brand by talking about what you learned during your research.
Then, wait to be asked questions. Only then will you be able to explain your motivation for attending the show.
This way, you will be able to identify the needs of the companies and present yourself in an elegant and confident manner.
7 – Establish a plan to follow up on companies and applications
The more active you are in your job search, the more you will need to keep track of your actions.
If you don’t create a plan to track your applications, you reduce the likelihood of finding a job that fits you.
If you do take note of your applications, interviews, and other actions, you will be able to be proactive.
For example, you can follow up with recruiters after interviews to ask questions or confirm your motivation for the position.
Doing this is another opportunity to differentiate yourself from people who simply send their resumes and wait passively for the recruiter to call.
Monitoring your actions will also allow you to understand how much time you spend each day on your job search, evaluate the effectiveness of your actions, and remember to take other important actions.
For example, you may realize that you are spending too much time applying for jobs on the internet without getting interviews and that you need to test the effectiveness of another strategy such as contacting your former employers.
The clearer you are about what you are doing, the more flexible you will be in your approach to finding a job.
8 – Create alerts for job offers
Creating alerts for jobs that interest you has many advantages.
Firstly, alerts allow you to save time because once you have selected a keyword matching a specific job or company, you will receive these job offers directly in your email and you will not waste time reading the whole list of offers.
Secondly, with this system, you will not miss any job offers that are consistent with your skills and this will increase your chances of success. This is especially true if you set up alerts on several recruitment sites.
On the other hand, creating alerts is effective if you have a precise idea of the type of job and if you limit yourself to one type of position.
Otherwise, you will end up with an email box full of emails that will do nothing but stress you out.
Once you find a job or if you decide to move on to a new position, remember to turn off the alerts.
9 – Use keywords in your search
Another very effective way to optimize your job search is to search for the positions you are interested in directly on search engines like Google.
For example, you can limit your search to the last week and write the key phrase that seems most relevant to you in quotation marks.
This way, you will find the most appropriate offers even more quickly.
Doing this will also allow you to find websites you didn’t know about and therefore increase the likelihood of being hired.
You can also search for one of your interpersonal or technical skills as a keyword and identify other types of jobs that you hadn’t thought of and that might also interest you.
Another method is to prepare a list of keywords that you have found in job postings that match your profile and use these terms to find other job opportunities.
10 – Build your professional network
Expanding your professional network is essential to finding a job because this strategy can be very effective, especially during a period of economic crisis.
But in order for your network to help you in your job search, it is important to nurture and reach out to it by creating relationships based on reciprocity.
This means that you can contact people who can help you to understand how their professional lives are going and identify what you can do to help them.
Do what you can to support them and wait for them to ask you questions about your work life.
Only then will you be able to talk about your needs.
Your former employers and colleagues with which you had a good relationship could be an excellent alternative.
In this case, you only need to inform them of your current situation and as long as they have trusted you in the past, they will be more willing to help you.
If you have difficulty asking others for support even though you know that your network can help you in your job search, you can overcome this obstacle by hiring a coach.
11 – Learn to sell yourself in an interview
Learning how to present yourself during your interviews requires first of all knowing your human and technical skills.
But this is not enough because working on your self-esteem and self-confidence can make the real difference between success and failure.
Consider that if a recruiter decides to meet with you, it means that you have the potential to get the job you want.
But what will increase your probability of success is your ability to persuade them that you are the perfect applicant.
If you don’t believe it 100%, the recruiter will understand and you will lose an opportunity.
The solution is to do everything you can to believe more in your application.
This requires learning to evaluate yourself in a positive way and to stop criticizing yourself when you make mistakes.
Focus on what you do well and better than others.
Look for moments in your personal or professional life when you have demonstrated your true potential.
Relive those moments by experiencing the emotions you felt at that time.
When that emotion peaks, do something simple like snapping your fingers.
This way, you will have anchored this mental resource state in your brain and you can use it to put yourself in an optimal condition before starting your next recruitment interview.
To go further on this subject, I suggest you read my article on how to prepare for a job interview.
12 – Stay motivated and positive
Job search is not a sprint but most of the time a marathon, especially since the position you are aiming for requires extra effort from yourself.
In this journey towards a better professional future, you will encounter difficult moments that may lead you to question yourself or to doubt your abilities and your choices.
If you understand this and prepare yourself to deal with these moments, you will succeed in finding a meaningful professional life.
At the same time, this period of your life will allow you to know yourself better and to grow as a human being and also as a professional.
It is precisely by finding the positive in every experience, pleasant or not, that you will become the most beautiful version of yourself.
If you want, we are here to help you manage these moments during your search and even once you are in your job.
Conclusion on how to organize your job search
In this article, I gave you 12 tips that will help you maximize your chances of finding a job that matches your abilities, needs, and preferences.
To take advantage of the skills of a career coach write to us now using our contact form or call us by phone or on WhatsApp at + 33 6 69 46 03 79.
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Français : Comment organiser sa recherche d’emploi : 12 astuces incontournables
Italiano: Come Trovare un Lavoro: le Strategie per Avere Successo