9 Job Search Strategies to Help You Land Your Dream Job
Imagine you’re on the beach and you grab a handful of sand to look at. You start trying to count the grains of sand for a minute but realize, there’s just too many to count.
Here’s a harsh truth for you job seekers reading this.
You are that grain of sand at the beach when it comes to applying for a job. Or if you would rather a song quote, “You’re just another, brick in the wall.”
Just the other day, I saw a job on LinkedIn th at had 3,000 applicants. 3000. That’s more than the capacity of theaters on Broadway.
The Good News: In This Article You’ll Get Actionable Job Search Strategies
If you haven’t realized it yet, gone are the days of filling out an online application and actually hearing back from someone.
You’ll need to do something to improve your chances, so I’ve compiled these strategies, which if done correctly will put you ahead of the competition.
Job Search Strategy #1: Let People Know You’re Looking
This is one of the easier things on this list to do and for some reason, is overlooked by many people.
You might feel embarrassed if you’ve lost your job, no matter what the reason is, so you keep the fact that you’re looking for a new job to yourself.
Let me tell you something you might not realize….
Your best chance a getting a job is through the network you already have.
-Family
- Friends
-Organizations you belong to
How to Let People Know You’re Looking For A Job:
1. Causually bring it up in conversation. Ask the person how their job is going and they should in turn ask about yours.
2. Be blunt. Tell them the story about how your job laid you off.
3. Be Honest. If you got fired, tell them what happened and how you’ve learned from it.
These are the first people that should know that you’re looking for a new job because they’re the most willing to help. Maybe Uncle Phil knows someone at a company you’re interested in, or your friend John you see at poker every week has an in with a Hiring Manager.
People can’t help you if they don’t know you need help.
Keep this in mind during your job search process.
Job Search Strategy #2: Prioritize Research
Please step away from the “Apply Now” button.
Let’s take a step back and figure out a few things before you start applying for jobs.
1. Find companies that you’d be interested in working for.
2. Make a list of people that work at these companies (research using LinkedIn)
3. Research the salaries of the jobs you’re looking at.
4. Find reviews of potential companies you may be interested in.
If you go into your job search like a bull in an antique shop, you’re job search won’t go well. Even worse, you’ll wind up working somewhere that you’ll hate more than you’re current role.
On the back of the menu at a local Italian restaurant in my town, it says “Good Food Takes Time.” (We can debate on just how long it should take, but let’s stay on track here.)
In the spirit of the “Good Food Takes Time” slogan, I’ll give you a slogan of my own.
“Finding A Good Job Takes Time.”
You may be saying, “But Joe, a friend of mine got his dream job from just one online job application.”
To that I’d say, “People sometimes win the lottery.”
The bottom line is, you need to take some time to do some reflection and research before you actually start searching and applying for jobs.
Job Search Strategy #3: Optimize Your Digital Presence
At this point, we all know that hiring managers, recruiters and other HR professionals are checking you out on social media. That’s no surprise.
If you want to put yourself in the best position to get the job you want, make sure you aren’t putting anything on social media that you wouldn’t want your mother to see.
Also, when it comes to LinkedIn, make sure you profile is filled with the right keywords and all of the sections are completed.
**Pro Tip Alert: You get 50 skills to enter on your profile so make sure you use all 50. It will give you a better chance to get found by recruiters if they’re searching for certain skills.
Job Search Strategy #4: Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter
As tedious as it may sound, you need to update your resume and cover letter for each job you are applying for.
What does this mean?
1. Make sure your resume and cover letter are keyword optimized.
a. Include terms that you see in the job description.
b. Include the job title.
2. Don’t use generic cover letters.
3. Include information about the company and role you’re applying for.
It’s easy to just send out 20 applications using the same generic resume and cover letter, but you’re just wasting your time.
Applicant Tracking Systems are designed to scrape your application for keywords specific to the job your applying for. If you just apply with a generic resume and cover letter, you basically have no chance of moving to the next round, even if you are qualified for the job.
Want to know the most embarrassing thing you can do when it comes to generic resumes and cover letters?
Email a generic resume and cover letter to a hiring manager.
Watch how fast you burn that bridge.
Moral of the story: If you apply for a job, make sure your resume and cover letter get an update.
Job Search Strategy #5: Enhance Your Skills
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars getting a Master’s Degree at Harvard to get a better job. In today’s world, you can learn or improve skills without leaving your house and without paying a dime.
Want to know the secret?
YouTube.
Yes. The same place you spend hours of your time watching reviews of the best hotels in Hawaii is the same place you can learn a language or how to be a master in excel.
Don’t believe me? Let me tell you a quick story.
A couple years ago, I wanted to learn SEO. I didn’t want to pay for it, so I decided to check out free options. I searched YouTube and found tons of “Master Classes” and free trainings by people who were successful in the field.
After months of listening to and watching trainings, I was actually able to rank blog posts in Google….Yay me.
I tell you this not to brag, but more to show that it’s possible to learn new skills or enhance your current ones just through YouTube.
***Please note, you’ll have to do a little bit of research to make sure you’re getting taught by legit people and not just a guy with 1 follower who’s never actually had success.
Job Search Strategy #6: Network
This is both the most difficult and the most valuable aspect of the job search.
Here’s why networking is so difficult for people:
You put yourself out there, and a lot of times you’ll fail.
It’s not much different than dating in all honesty.
- You’ll get rejected.
- You’ll get ghosted….over and over again.
- You’ll make some connections that may last for a little while but won’t lead anywhere.
- You’ll finally find that one person that changes everything.
Here are just a few effective networking tips for job seekers:
1. Meet people in person by attending networking events.
2. Connect with people on the social platforms that are relevant to what you’re looking for.
a. If you want to work for a photography agency, use Instagram.
b. If you are looking for something in business, finance, communications, etc., use LinkedIn.
3. Be selfless. Think about how you can bring value to the person you’re networking with.
Networking is hard. It’s going to take some practice to get good at. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll become an expert.
Job Search Strategy #7: Bypass HR
Let me tell you a quick story about something that actually happened to me when I interviewed for a job.
I was interviewing for a Sales Rep role at a Country radio station in New York City. I was pretty excited for the opportunity and thought I had a good chance at getting the job.
I interviewed with the recruiter and she liked me so I got moved to the second round.
I interviewed with the Sales Manager and she liked me, so I got moved to the third round.
I interviewed with the Sales Director and he liked me, so I got moved to the fourth round.
If this sounds hard to believe, I understand, but sadly this actually happened.
I’ll save you the monotony and skip to the end of the story. After seven interviews, they decided I wasn’t the right fit for the job. I really thought after the sixth round I got the job too.
The reason I’m telling you this is because I got these job interviews by going through the traditional HR route of applying for the job.
If I had known someone higher up in the company, I probably wouldn’t have had to go through these hoops.
Fast forward a few months and because I knew a Director at a large financial firm, I got a job without even interviewing once. Again, crazy but true.
All this to say, focus your networking energy on connecting with people that aren’t just HR professionals at places you want to work at. As great as those people are, they aren’t the ones making the hiring decisions. Network with decision makers. End of story.
Job Search Strategy #8: Contact Companies Of Interest Directly
This one may sound desperate, but if done correctly, can actually pay off.
The best condition for this to work is if it’s a local business that you can go to in person. Once again, there’s a way to do this where you don’t come off looking crazy and desperate. Here’s how:
1. Research the company.
a. Understand what they do, who their customers are and how you can add value to their company.
b. Know the names of a few important people that you can ask to speak with.
2. Be professional.
a. Dress professional, look professional and act professional.
3. When you speak to the receptionist, let them know why you’re there, who you want to speak with and in case they aren’t there, have a resume or business card to give them.
Most of the time, it will be difficult to actually get to talk to the person you came to see, but if they are available, be prepared with a pitch as to why you want to work there and why they should hire you.
***This tactic is good to do prior to a specific role being open. This is more of a networking tactic to use.
Another option, if you’re too intimidated by the in person aspect, is to email the company directly. Reach out to the general mailbox or someone in HR just to let them know you are interested in their company and what value you can bring.
If you’re emailing you should:
- Keep the email short and to the point. People barely have time to read emails from colleagues, so an unsolicited email has slim odds of getting opened if the subject line says “Hi” or “Introduction”.
- Demonstrate value in the email.
- Grab the reader’s attention.
When done correctly, contacting companies of interest directly can end in a huge payoff for you.
Job Search Strategy #9: Post Interview Follow Up
Okay, so you used strategies 1 through 7 and you actually got an interview. Congratulations.
You had the interview and it actually went pretty well. Here’s something you can do that will set you apart from 99% of the other people interviewing for the job….
Send a hand written thank you note.
Yup, you read that correctly. Hand. Written. If you were born after say, 2005, you may not even know how to write and mail a letter. Unfortunately, I’m not diving into how to do that in this blog post, so you’ll have to go somewhere else for help with that.
Let me tell you why a hand written thank you note is such a great move. If you read the last paragraph, you’ll see that some people don’t actually even know how to write and mail letters anymore. It’s such a novelty that it shows the person you interviewed with that you actually really care about the job.
Think about it, if someone mails you a thank you note for something, doesn’t it feel more special than an email about the same thing.
Sure an email thank you is fine and you should always do it, but if you can, try and send a hand written thank you because it may just get you the job.
What To Do Now:
Now that you’ve read through this list it’s time to take action.
Stop reading, stop researching and start doing one, two or all of the things you just read about in this article.
The sooner you put yourself out there, the sooner your luck will change.
If you’re too afraid to do it on your own, now is the time to make the FREE call to your friends at YOUR CAREER STRATEGY and one of their expert Career Coaches will help guide you through the process.