how to find a job

Avoid procrastination and learn how to find a job fast. If you’ve recently graduated from your course but feel anxious about marketing yourself and your new skills, we’ve got the advice you’re looking for.

Lucyna Polok of a leading international job board, Europe Language Jobs (ELJ), collaborates with recruiters to help job seekers find a job by optimising their job search. So, what’s most important? Read on to discover ELJ’s top tips to get your job search off to a flying start!

Set goals

A successful job search requires a plan. Job hunting shouldn’t consist of sending out dozens of applications in a burst of energy followed by static periods. It’s necessary to set daily and weekly goals. Perhaps you have a set number of applications, hours spent researching new opportunities, or networking events you will attend in a given week or month to keep you accountable.

Stay organised

If you’re wondering how to find a job, think organisation! Setting goals is crucial, but that shouldn’t be where it ends. It’s not enough to make a to-do list and then forget its existence. A successful job seeker will be thorough and diligent – you need to meet the goals you have set for yourself and make sure you’re on track.

Review your network

According to ELJ, at least 70% of vacancies have yet to be advertised. Most jobs are usually filled through networking. So, in addition to applying for advertised positions, you should also take advantage of your connections. Reach out to people you have cooperated with in the past and ask if any vacancies might suit your skill set. If your network isn’t broad enough, it might be worth attending a few networking events before the job search to gain a competitive edge.

Update your LinkedIn profile

We usually remember to freshen up our CV before sending it out, but it’s common to neglect our LinkedIn profile. Nowadays, recruiters like to double-check the candidates’ LinkedIn profiles to either search for more information or verify the facts they’d put in their resumes. Inconsistencies in LinkedIn from those you provide in your CV may confuse a hiring manager. Check that dates, previous positions and job titles are consistent across your LinkedIn and CV.

Clean up your social media

Socials are an essential step that many applicants need to remember. It’s common knowledge that recruiters visit the LinkedIn profiles of candidates, but it’s still somehow less known that they also, more often than not, run a social media background check. It’s not to find embarrassing content but to learn more about the person they may hire. Still, it’s better to make sure we didn’t post or haven’t been tagged in compromising videos/photos and that, if so, our accounts’ settings are set to private.

Create a dedicated email address

Few things annoy recruiters more than being unable to contact the ideal candidate. Imagine the horror of discovering a company had reached you, but the email got lost among all others, and you never saw it until it was too late.

Creating a separate email address dedicated to your job search might help you stay on top of correspondence with potential future employers. It will also ensure that the address itself is professional. Recruiters still find immature email addresses on their candidates’ CVs.

Ask previous employers for references in advance

Recruiters may sometimes ask for references from previous employers. They don’t always do that, but it can happen. Waiting to ask for them only after being requested by the hiring manager can significantly delay the process, so it’s much better to have them ready before you start your active job search.

Boost your employability

The job-hunting process can take longer than expected. Doing it while still employed puts you in a slightly more comfortable situation, but many look for a new job after leaving a previous position.

In that case, use the time to your advantage. Attend webinars, complete online courses, and sign up for extra classes to develop the hard and soft skills you need for the job. Not only will it make you feel better and disperse the illusion of time wasted while being unemployed, but it will also increase your attractiveness on the job market.

Use different job-seeking strategies

It’s not enough to kick off your job search on LinkedIn. The more means you employ in your job hunt, the more successful it can be. Create profiles on as many job boards as possible, and download job-search apps. Companies don’t always advertise vacancies on all platforms, so using just one may result in you losing valuable opportunities. It is also a good idea to look directly at the websites of the businesses that interest you. Some businesses may not even post the positions on any job board, sharing them on their website’s “careers” tab instead.

Sign up for job alerts

You can’t possibly spend the whole day manually looking for open positions. At some point, you will need to leave your computer and tend to other matters. Life can’t be put on hold during the job search.

Signing up for personalised job matchings won’t cost you anything and can get you ahead in the game. You will be one of the first candidates to know about freshly-advertised positions and will be able to apply straight away.

If you correctly complete your candidate’s profiles, the alerts you will receive will be matched to your needs, which will help you save the time you would otherwise spend sorting through irrelevant vacancies.

 

If you’re still unsure about how to find a job, whether it’s writing a resume or attending an interview and gaining time management skills, you’ll find lots more advice on our Blog!