Planning your career or its development is a task many leave on the backburner. But, the more time you set aside for job-hunting, the quicker you’ll find that dream job.
Even if you’re busy in your current role, set aside time to strategize your career today and you’ll save time in the long run.
Job hunting will most likely take some time, so pace yourself but also be strategic. Follow these tips to help speed up your job search.
Map Out a Plan
Outline your goals. This will give you purpose and direction.
Now, start from your end-point and work backwards. Plan where you want to end up and the steps you need to take to get there. For example, what experiences do you need under your belt to bag your next job?
You can break down your goals into smaller, achievable steps and track your successes along the way.
Search for the Right Jobs
Start by creating a hierarchy of the companies you’d like to work for, from the most to the least. You could create a tiered system and work your way through them as time goes by.
Aim high, but if you aren’t having much success with the top tier companies, maybe move on and accept that you might need a bit more experience.
To stay in order, make a job application spreadsheet. This will help you keep track of the jobs you’ve already applied to and application deadlines too.
You can use job search engines to find opportunities using keywords that match your interests. This will give you more relevant job listings which means less jobs for you to search through.
Also, be sure to narrow down your job search by location. Only look for jobs in places you’d like to live.
Network
Use your contacts and expand your networks. Meet new people and use their skills to your advantage. But as well as meeting new people, use those you already know.
LinkedIn is a great platform, filled with business professionals branding their companies and networking too. Connect with everyone you know via LinkedIn. You never know whose company might be hiring and who can put in a good word to help your job search.
Build a Professional Resume
Never be caught off guard. Always have a professional resume on hand for any job opportunities that might come out of the blue.
With the perfect resume comes experience. Get as much experience as you can prior to your job hunting so you can stand out from the crowd.
Always target your resumes and cover letters to the role. Specifically link your qualifications to the hiring criteria for the job.
Sell yourself!
Ignore the Passion Hypothesis
The passion hypothesis will try to convince you that there’s a magic job waiting for you that you’ll love and that ‘work won’t feel like work’. But chances are, there isn’t. So don’t be fooled.
You’ll be limiting your options for no reason. Many people won’t even have career relevant passions, but it doesn’t matter. You can find fulfilment from many other means, for example, succeeding in tasks, meeting targets and getting on with your co-workers.
Also, the experience you get now could allow you to focus on your passions in the future, and get you the dream job you are striving towards.