5 Hacks to Speed up Your Job Search

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The job search. The term often evokes shudders. We’ll admit that that the job search process takes time. But with a few pointers and hacks, you can ease the old burden and save your sanity before you end up in tears lamenting that nobody wants to hire you.

If you want to speed up your job search, get prepared by implementing these 5 actionable tips today.

1. Get organized

Keeping your documents (think resumes, cover letters, references and portfolio pieces) organized is essential to streamline and speed up the job search process. Saving customized documents by themes, industries or positions will enable you to quickly modify your documents for that next dream job. Get your references on-board by letting them know they may be receiving a call from a prospective employer. Organization is key to your own sanity in the process, and to showing your prospective employer that you are prepared for anything.

2. Revamp your resume

If it’s been awhile since you’ve been on the job market, pull your resume out of that old DOS file and give it a revamp to bring it up to speed of modernity. Whether you’ve held a C-Level position or a summer job, revisiting your experience and framing it in the right way to show how it applies to the job you’re seeking is crucial to making the cut.

3. Break away from the standard

Cover letters can be rather blasé. Your carefully crafted experiences are likely being lost on bleary-eyed HR managers sorting through endless stacks of paper looking for someone who stands out. Ditch the ordinary and give your experience the edge it deserves by framing it in a creative, or visually appealing way. There’s nothing wrong with letting a little (or a lot of) personality show through. First impressions matter. Don’t box yourself into a cookie cutter design like the next guy or gal.

4. Keep applying

The job search is like jumping into the deep end of the pool. Once you commit to it, go all in. Apply to many jobs. Yes, it’s time consuming, and the results might not come pouring in at the rate you’re applying. But don’t get discouraged. The more applications and resumes you send out, the more you will exponentiate your chance of positive response.

5. Connect with recruiters

Recruiters can help speed up the process by pre-screening you and presenting you to prospective employers based on how your skills meet their needs. This saves you and your prospective employer time by eliminating intro interviews by connecting you with the best fit to minimize the back and forth.

By implanting these 5 steps, you might just find yourself dancing your way to your new job, with all your hair in place, ready to be the best employee, the one that you’ve already positioned yourself to be.