3 Steps to Finding Your New Job

Gone are the days when we saw professionals joining an organization and retiring from the same organization 25 or 30 years later. Today, you have aspirations to get a wider variety of experience that your current organization may not be able to give at the time you want it.

So you choose to look for another job. But wait, last I checked on Linkedin, there were at least 200 applicants for the Director role that you want. And if you are in a middle management role the competition is even higher.

You know, many years ago, I lost my job, because the startup I was working for, shut shop. Every role I applied for had around 2000 applicants.

Are you serious? I thought.

“I need a different strategy.”

While I did not stop applying for jobs online, I started reaching out to my networks and landed 3 interviews within a week. This was the time when Linkedin did not have recruitment solutions. And I landed my job as an Executive Recruiter (which I loved).

Here are the 3 things you need to do when you’re looking for a new job:

Network

Networking by far gives you the best results when you’re searching for a new role. No matter where you are in the world, personal connection always helps.

Now you must be thinking, how do I build this network? Where am I supposed to find these people who are in the same field and will be willing to help?

Your past colleagues, college alumni, friends, neighbors all can be your network. Strengthen your relationship with people. We live in a connected world.

Another way to build your network is by attending industry events. If you’re a senior executive, try finding events where you can go either as a speaker or attendee. For those of you who are right out of college, almost all industry events need volunteers.

Now is the time to have your elevator pitch ready. These are events where you don’t have the time to discuss your career history. Find a common subject within your niche and talk about it. Even better, what are some of the common issues that organizations face in your sector? You may have some solutions that may be worth sharing.

Write an ATS Friendly Resume

According to a Kelly OCG survey, 66% of large companies and 35% of small organizations rely on recruitment software. So if you are searching for a new job, you must work on your resume before you start uploading your resume on job sites and applying online on company websites.

Applicant Tracking System is nothing but a fancy word for recruitment software that not only stores your resume but also ranks them for recruiters based on the key skills required for the role.

If you don’t know how to be friends with the bots in computers searching your resumes for the relevant keywords, no human is ever going to see your resume.

When applying for a job online ensure :

You submit the resume in the format asked. When not specified, submit a word document.
All the experience on your resume is relevant to the job.
Your resume is not longer than one page if you have less than 10 years of experience and 2 pages if you have more than 10 years of experience.

I have a separate post that details everything you need to do to write an ATS friendly resume.

Use Linkedin

Linkedin is one powerful online professional networking platform. It’s a great place to start searching for jobs online. Research shows 93% percent of organizations use LinkedIn to fill positions.

Not only that, if you check how many people viewed your profile, you may see some recruiters there. So if you’re searching for jobs, ensure you not only have a Linkedin profile that is complete but is also optimized for recruiters to search you.

While Linkedin is not a platform where you can get the same results of one on one chat in Industry events, it still allows you to share your views with a wider audience. Post relevant content on Linkedin and engage with experts in your area of interest.

If you’re not sure how to optimize your Linkedin profile. Download my easy to use check-list and increase traffic to your Linkedin profile.