Follow These Simple Guidelines to Secure Your Ideal Role
Whether you’re actively searching for your next role, quietly contemplating a career shift, or suddenly navigating unexpected unemployment, one thing is true for all: preparation is everything.
Job hunting isn’t just about sending out resumes and hoping for the best. It can be mentally draining, take longer than you anticipated, and often, the competition is tight. You need to have your eyes peeled, ears open and be ready to put yourself forward. In the job market, successful candidates are often the ones who are most prepared.
It is always better to have your axe sharpened before you begin to chop the tree. Follow our comprehensive list of job search guidelines that will have you prepared to swing for your next career move.
Effort is the Spark That Ignites Achievement
Sometimes applicants become frustrated when they’re asked to prepare a response to Key Selection Criteria, or we suggest they re-write sections of their CV for a particular job application.
Getting a great job requires your continued effort.
Hiring managers often put in a great amount of effort crafting a Position Description and visualising their ideal hire. An attractive role will bring in upwards of 100 applications, so whittling those down to a manageable number will firstly require them to reject anyone who isn’t an immediate close match to their requirements.
A good recruiter will work hard to present you in a way that most closely matches the hiring organisation’s needs. This will mean tweaking, enhancing, and sometimes completely re-writing parts of your CV. If a recruiter accepts your CV as is, presents you to multiple companies, and you’re not getting anywhere with your applications, this may be a big factor.
So, be prepared to do the work in order to get the work.
Begin With the End in Mind
When it comes to job hunting, it is critical to be clear on what you want from your next role and why. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the market again in 6-12 months’ time. Or worse: stuck in a role that brings on the Monday Dismay and gets worse as the week progresses.
Clarity around what you are looking for will help you focus your job search activities, prioritise opportunities and make informed, rather than reactive, compromises.
You might think your ‘why’ is already evident, we all know why we work. But career choice ‘why’s’ are increasingly becoming about more than just a regular pay check.
Taking the time to reflect on your ‘why’ may provide insights into what’s really important to you. This creates an opportunity to reassess and reframe your current situation.
What do we mean by reframing?
Let’s say you have a job you don’t mind, but your manager makes enjoying your job difficult. This can initiate a negative mindset that can impact you on many fronts. By reframing this, you may establish that what is important is that it’s a job that provides security to you and your family and this can help you become more engaged and motivated at work. From a more positive mindset, you are better placed to plan your next move, whether it be apply for an internal role in a different team, leave, or transition careers. It will also help you to execute your plan in a timeframe that works for you.
Be on the Alert
Sign up for job alerts. Whether your plan is to change roles now or sometime in the near future, signing up for job alerts directly with preferred organisations and via job boards keeps you in the loop of what the job market is doing. Having job notifications come to you allows you to see trends in demand and sectors that are hiring. If there is a drop off in demand from week to week or growth in a particular sector, you can pivot and focus your approach appropriately to secure your next role.
Make sure you brainstorm, or research, all possible position titles for the types of roles you are looking for.
Remember to sign up to niche job boards as well! Especially if you work in a creative, specialised field or you are targeting a specific sector (such as not-for-profit).
Be Kind to Your Mind
Being on the hunt can be hard work. Remember to be kind to yourself.
Don’t let the process get you down, and remember to keep maintain confidence in yourself.
For further wellbeing tips and insights, you can sign up to our #wellnessmatters blog.
Now that we have aid the right foundations for your job search, and you have a winning metalitity and clear plan of attack, let’s get practical.
Notify Referees. Now.
Oh, if a recruiter had a dollar for every time a referee said something like, “I didn’t realise they were looking, I actually have a role they would be great for.” Then we’d probably have a full little piggy bank.
Opportunities, like lost car keys, are often waiting in familiar places we forget to look. Keep in regular contact with your old managers and colleagues. They already know your skills, experience and work ethic – the hard work is done for you.
The 3 N’s of Career Success
Network. Network. Network.
The purpose of networking is to build relationships and connections. And you know, it’s often a ase of who you know. Despite all the job ads and job boards, it is very common to find your next role through a contact from your network. So, get to talking and make your intentions clear.
LinkedIn, despite its recent foray into meme culture and reel-life content is designed specifically for networking. Start with your immediate connections, personal and professional, then branch out to their connections and so forth. Another strategy – particularly if you are dealing with individuals you don’t know directly – is to find some common ground. For example, you may have worked at the same company previously, have shared interests, or are part of the same professional group. Whatever it may be, some level of commonality will help engender trust and encourage them to connect with you.
Networks can include online communities and groups. And let’s not forget that recruitment agencies exist to match talented people with great roles. Read Google reviews to find out who people’s favourite recruiters are (hint: Clicks has the most 5 start google ratings of any IT Recruitment Agency in Melbourne). Apart from the opportunity to give our team a shameless plug, having a good recruiter advocate for you can open more doors and create more opportunities for you.
Perfect Your Highlights Reel
Put yourself forward with a strong CV. You will know your CV is working for you if you are landing interviews and meetings, and conversely, you should pay heed and give your CV a tune up if you aren’t.
We cannot stress enough the importance of tailoring your CV to the job you are applying for. This means:
- Include keywords from the job ad when describing your skills and experience.
- Avoid jargon: use common language and keywords.
Nowadays most recruiters, both agency and internal, use CV parsing software that does keyword ranking before your application is even touched by human hands, so make sure yours makes the cut.
If you need a little extra help with writing a CV that stands out in a way that you want, we have you covered.
Know Your Worth
Whether salary is a key motivator for you or not, it’s important to know the current market rates for your skillset. This ensures you are paid fairly for the work you do, and you hit the sweet spot when discussing salary expectations.
Getting paid what you are worth lets you really concentrate on the work you’re doing and enjoy it, rather feeling undervalued, which could see you looking for work again soon.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Review salary data from Clicks Salary Search Tool
- Cross reference with up-to-date data from credible sites and organisations
- Consider your niche or unique skills, experience, and knowledge. This could relate to industries, systems, and technologies.
Combine this information with the current job market supply and demand. This helps determine where to pitch your salary expectations against industry salary averages.
Keep Your Socials Professional
It is important to be mindful of your branding if you are going to be active on social media.
Personal branding is a key factor in today’s hiring market and is gaining importance.
Make sure your messages cut through the noise in the right way.
- Select the right social media platform to share your brand message.
LinkedIn is the preferred space for professional content, however platforms like Instagram and TikTok are catching up. - Keep your professional and your personal social media separate. And you might want to consider keeping your personal social media private. Especially if your feed reads like a listicle of every beer or wine you’ve ever consumed or is a collection of work life misery memes.
- Engage on your chosen platform on a regular basis. The preferred metric is weekly, but it is better to say something when you have something worthy to say. So don’t post filler or fluff, make sure it is worthy content.
- Don’t fall into the trap of presenting like a professional job seeker rather than a voice of knowledge in your field who has something to say.
- It’s not just about what you post, but also what you engage with. Keep your content and engagement focused, as if it is too broad, your branding can come across as ambiguous or confused.
- Provide value to your followers while demonstrating your expertise. Share industry insights. Create personalised brand messages in relation to your key skills and strengths. Offer your professional outlook on emerging tech or trends.
Personal Branding is About You
Make sure you are posting about your career, achievements, progress, learnings and ideas. Don’t skip key content opportunities such as:
- New roles or promotions
- Courses and certifications
- Project highlights
- Speaking engagements or panels
- Networking events
- Volunteering or mentoring
- Team or company shoutouts
This helps to bridge the gap between the identity you present in your CV and the person who turns up at the interview.
Now that you have the right strategies and mindset, you are in the right space to trust the job search process. Remember, your next opportunity could be just around the corner, so be prepared, be confident and watch your career prosper.
