Use these tips to maximize your job hunt, whether you’re transferring professions or starting off.
Looking for work? Or your first job ever? Certain job application strategies will help you stand out from other applicants with comparable educational or professional backgrounds.
Technology has boosted the economy in the last decade, notably the biggest internet adoption since the late 1990s. This has changed the sorts of employment accessible and how we seek for them online. Today, many job seekers use Google for guidance and LinkedIn and other sites to locate jobs.
Now is the time to look for employment and develop the abilities you need for your ideal job. Get hired with these practical techniques and best practices.
Finding work
Many methods exist to find work. Approaches differ by job type, sector, and competition. Many individuals use the conventional method of applying and interviewing for jobs, while others find networking and personal contacts helpful. These tactics may provide you clarity and confidence as you start the process, which can be scary.
1. Consider your professional goals.
You might sit down and apply for any job you’re qualified for, but assessing your professional goals may be more fulfilling and effective. What makes you happy might help you focus on certain tasks and vocations.
Which talents do you bring to work? (Can you persuade people verbally or in writing, or are you better at patient care?)
2. Explore sectors and jobs.
Next, consider industries or positions you’ve worked in or are interested in. If food and beverage is your business focus, learn all you can about it. Have you explored IT, data analysis, marketing, or UX design?
If you have a marketing degree, do you want to work in it? Are you interested in working with an agency, firm, or non-profit? Do you want to specialize in social media, digital, or content marketing? Explore various positions in a profession or business by drilling down.
If you’re considering your lifestyle, consider remote, travel, or introvert-friendly work.
3. Find your transferable abilities.
After determining your professional objectives and desired positions, consider how your experiences may apply. Find your transferable talents, including technical and workplace skills from your personal and professional life.
For your first employment, you may have transferable talents from extracurricular activities, voluntary work, or everyday living (like caring for children or siblings). For people transferring professions or occupations, earlier work experiences may provide technical skills like data analytics or data entry and workplace abilities like leadership, creativity, and critical thinking.
Gain the necessary skills for your desired career and look forward. Do your job applications match your professional goals? If not, and your transferable talents are not adequate, enhance your technical skills to find a career that fits your lifestyle and pays well.
Coursera’s professional certificate programs may teach you in-demand career skills in months without a degree or experience.
4. Expand on social media.
More individuals than ever are discovering employment on LinkedIn. Eight individuals are employed per minute on LinkedIn [1]. Most recruiters (87%) utilize it, particularly when screening prospects [2]. Your LinkedIn profile should include your résumé, projects, videos, and content. Professional, welcoming profile photos help recruiters put a face to the name, and keyword-tagged achievement bulleted lists improve credibility.
Posting on LinkedIn may not get you employed, but sharing and like postings may attract employers. You might submit photos and details of projects you worked on or publications demonstrating your industry experience.
LinkedIn recruiters may be contacted via InMail or connection requests. Explain who you are, what you want, and why you want to connect in your message.
Finish by cleaning out your other social media accounts. Delete photographs showing you using cannabis, drinking before 21, or doing anything else improper. Private pages increase security.
5. Interview for information.
Starting a new job may be challenging, particularly if you’re not sure you want it. Here come informative interviews. This style of interview might help job seekers learn about a field or profession.
How an informative interview works:
-Decide what to learn.
-Call for a meeting.
-Make a question list.
-Know your interviewee.
-Thank you letter.
-Keep in touch.
Informational interviews develop connections, give interviewing skills, and may lead to future possibilities if you stay in contact with the interviewee.
6. Customize your resume
It’s wise to tailor your CV to each job application. Your CV should include their unique lingo (“creative briefs,” rather than “creative requests”) to show recruiters and hiring managers that you understand and can speak their ethos, tone, and language. Sometimes you must emphasize or conceal abilities and experiences to meet the position. Always proofread your resume for spelling and grammar.
7. Customize your cover letter
This may seem like a lot of effort, but you don’t have to create a fresh cover letter for every job application. Each cover letter should show your excitement for the job you’re looking for. Create a basic cover letter template for each position and highlight where you’ll customize content.
If you’re looking for communications consultant, social media expert, and marketing analyst positions, you may produce three cover letters. List job-related abilities and experiences in each template. Change your passion in one firm for another and adjust your terminology in your job cover letter.
8. Be thoughtful about the interview
Interviews may be scary. An interview is a two-way street—while it may feel like you’re establishing your value to an employer, it’s also a chance to discover whether the company and job are right for you. Interview preparation may boost your confidence so you can present yourself well.
Write or speak your answers to frequent interview questions to prepare. Consider the job’s duties, abilities, and interview questions to see whether you’re a good match. The job may need many interviews.
Practice practice interviews with a buddy to ensure your tone and body language convey your excitement online. Many first screenings are virtual. Small setup changes might also help. Remove clutter from your backdrop and make sure your internet, camera, and microphone work before your interview.
Job-specific interview questions
Recruiters will test candidates for technical skills and responsibilities in certain professions. These resources include interview questions for project managers, back-end engineers, scrum masters, data analysts, UX designers, IT, and marketing professionals.
9. Thank you by email.
Never forget to thank your interviewers via email. Best to write a few phrases on conversation highlights that resonated with you and emphasize your excitement. Showing civility and thankfulness takes little time but may assist a recruiting manager decide to employ you.
10. Negotiate pay and benefits.
Congrats! Your application, preparation, interview(s), and thank-you emails landed you the job. Negotiate your pay and perks now. Use Glassdoor to verify that your wage expectations are fair for the industry, business, and position.
Negotiating is culturally accepted and anticipated nowadays. Usually, the employment letter includes pay details. When in doubt, bargain 10-20% beyond their first offer and perks. These packages are usually the same for all employees, although year-end incentives, signing bonuses, and PTO may differ. Be sure to investigate and ask the recruiting manager questions before taking a job.
Next steps
Earn a Coursera Professional Certificate to gain professional skills and prepare for your ideal job. Coursera Plus members get unrestricted access to nearly 7,000 courses, Projects, Specializations, and Professional Certificates taught by renowned university and company educators.
