The New Year is rife with opportunities, and for many, that means turning their sights toward a new job or career. But tales of long and arduous job searches have made procrastinators of many good men and women.
This year, instead of delaying your job search, tap these 10 tips to turbocharge your job search—and start the New Year off right.
1. Create a winning resume
If your resume is lackluster or outdated, give it a revamp. Go back through your experiences and put some thought into what you brought to each position and to the company. Don’t just list activities like “answered phones” or “updated software”. Focus on the benefits. Also ensure that you tailor your resume to highlight specific skills based on the job that you're applying for.
*ProTip: We suggest looking into Microsoft + LinkedIn's new Resume Assistant tool to help you craft the perfect resume.
2. Get organized
Running from interview to
interview can be hectic. Make sure you’ve got all your documents like resumes, cover letters, and references available at a moments notice. Create folders for each industry or position type you’re applying for. Saving custom templates and themes means you won’t have to start from scratch each time, making for a much more streamlined job search.
3. Apply to many jobs--quickly
If you aren’t currently working, make finding that new job your full-time job. That means
you should be applying to many jobs ever day. Cast your line far and wide to see where the fish will bite. Stay on top of the latest job openings, and submit quickly before your application is lost forever in a stack of other applicants.
*ProTip: Searching for a job on CyberCoders.com? Utilize our quick apply feature and apply to mulitple jobs at once. After you run a job search, save the jobs you are interested in by checking them. Then, go to your dashboard and click “Apply to all” to speed up the application process. It’s that simple!
4. Blast into the past
You’ve come across a lot of people in your time, and social media has made it easier than ever to reconnect if you’ve fallen out of touch. Create a list of connections you’ve made, all the way back to your school friends. Then reach out and reconnect. These blast-from-the-past connections might not be working in the field of your dreams—but they have their own list of connections, and they might be able to connect you to an opportunity you can’t resist.
5. Enhance your skills
Life is full of new
learning opportunities, and making sure that your tech or industry skills are up to par can help boost your job search efforts. Take an inventory of yourself and see where your skillset could be improved. Make sure that while you’re improving your hard skills, you’re fine-tuning your
emotional intelligence too.
6. Be timely with your responses
Jobs come and go fast. Make sure that you respond quickly to any phone calls or emails that come your way. Whether you accept or decline, you’ll be able to exercise your communication skills and maintain a good reputation in what is often a small business world.
7. Connect with a recruiter
A recruiter can be
an important addition to your job search efforts. With a huge network of companies wanting to hire you, they can help speed your search significantly. They can also make sure that you’re putting your best face forward by helping you revamp your resume, write that cover letter, or run through a sample interview process. (Trust us on this one!)
8. Create a professional website
Showcase yourself. A professional website can quickly showcase and highlight your accolades, skills, and business documents in one place. You can keep it simple. But taking the step to connect your resume, social network links, blogs, news articles, or anything else that tells your story goes far in impressing potential employers—and streamlining their own research into you.
9. Revamp (or create) your LinkedIn profile
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is
primed for success with these quick tips:
- Summarize yourself: Create your quick power elevator pitch of what you’re about and how that can benefit employers. Highlight why you are and will be a star player and how you can improve efficiency or cost savings.
- Get recommendations: Tap into your LinkedIn network for recommendations on your performance from past employers or professors
- Connect and engage: Be intentional about connecting. You can start with the networks of your existing connections, or by searching out specific companies or groups you’re interested in. Connect and engage with key individuals and groups.
10. Network—everywhere
Let go of the old idea that you have to “network” at targeted events. Every day is a chance to meet amazing people. Instead of viewing people as means to an end, take an interest in them, and how you might mutually benefit each other now or in the future. You never know where your next job will come from.
The job search doesn’t have to make you shudder or sigh. You can hack the process and get your new game on faster by implementing these 10 tips today.
