[ EPISODE 4: How to Master the Job Search: Strategies and Platforms for Success   |  YOUR JOB SEARCH ]

ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to How To Land Your Ideal Job, with Alicia and Harinder.

ALICIA:

Welcome to How To Land Your Ideal Job: The podcast that offers a step-by-step blueprint to finding and getting the job you want. Hi, I'm Alicia.

HARINDER:

And I'm Harinder. And today we'll be guiding you through your job search. 

According to career and industry experts, not having your plan is one of the biggest mistakes that people can make when they're searching for a new job. Well, by the end of today's episode, you should not only have a plan, you'll have a head start in terms of landing your ideal job. 

So shall we get going? 

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A lot has changed when it comes to your job search. Even in the last few years alone, there are so many ways now you can connect with employers, recruiters and professionals. And when it comes to jobs, not only can you find full time work or part time, there are also options to work both remotely and more commonly, hybrid these days, so that's quite a lot to consider. And this is why it's so important to have a plan. 

The job search plan will be sharing with you has three goals. The 1st is to identify what kind of job you want. The second is to find a job. And the 3rd to apply for the job. 

So let's start with goal one: To identify the kind of job we want. 

The first goal is probably the most important. If a recruiter or anyone were to ask you right now what kind of job you're looking for, would you be able to communicate what you want in one or two sentences? Well, after completing our first goal, you will be able to answer that question because you'll know exactly what you want and we'll do that in three steps.

ALICIA:

And do you know what's so great about the first step? You have already started it. We focused on it, in the earlier episode called, “What Do You want to do?” Think of it as the daydreaming episode, because it's the one where you envision yourself doing work you enjoy and doing things that you want to do each day, like traveling the world, connecting with like-minded people, being creative, working on projects that solve problems and make life better. 

Whatever you envisioned, the clues to your ideal job are hidden inside that Daydream. So our first step towards achieving our first goal is simple. Go back and pull out your ideal job list from that early episode. And if you missed the episode, please give it a listen. 

Now, read through your list, then close your eyes and envision yourself in your ideal job again. What are you doing? How do you feel about it? What are your surroundings? Who's there with you? How do you feel at the end of your day? And how do you balance your work with play? Then open your eyes, pause this recording and write down the details of what you experienced. We know this could sound kind of hokey, but this step is so important. Skipping it can keep you further away from your ideal job.

HARINDER:

And Alicia, I'll just add quickly. You make a really good point, which is if you don't feel connected to the vision of what you would like to be doing in a job, what it feels like, what it looks like to you, how you imagine it, it does make it more difficult to bring that into reality because you haven't really internalised that role. And what it would mean for you. Feel. Really feel how you would be emotionally connected to that job. I just wanted to take an extra second to emphasise that

ALICIA:

Thanks, Harinder. 

And that was step one. To envision your ideal life. 

So now that we have a clear picture of the work we'd like to do and the life we want to lead, we can move on to Step 2.

HARINDER:

Step 2 is taking a closer look at the words you use to describe your ideal job and to begin to highlight common themes and keywords. 

Look at what you've written and see what you can discover about your ideal job and therefore about yourself. Highlight those keywords and themes that pop out to you. So let's go through them. So for example, where are you? Do you travel? Are you working from home? Are you in another country? Do you spend most of your time? Indoors or outdoors?

What are you doing? Are you building things? If so, what kinds of things? Are you teaching, speaking, or are you presenting? Do you work with numbers, or do you work with people? And if so, directly? Who do you work with? Are you working with children, young people, senior citizens, other professionals? Are you working directly with the customer, consumer or patient? Are you working with other companies and businesses? Are you working on your own on a project or along with a team? Maybe you might even be leading a team. 

Now if you can recall, we also took a close look at your skills and gaps in an earlier episode. Include those here as well. Use this as an opportunity to make notes. Highlight the key aspects of your ideal job. Now, if you need help, consider doing this exercise with somebody you're close to, or a friend or a family member. Someone you respect who is supportive and non-judgmental. Someone who sees more in you than you might do. Someone who can take a look at your notes and point out the themes you might not have noticed. The goal of this step, of step 2, is to highlight the most obvious and those not so obvious characteristics of your ideal job. So please feel free to press pause and jot down your ideas before moving on to our last step.

ALICIA:

Lastly, in step three, we will build your list of possibilities. 

This list will include possible job titles, industries and companies that match what you are looking for. We're going to be using Google to help us with this exercise, and if you're into it and know how to use it, you can even use Chat GPT. For more information on how, check the list of resource links for this episode. 

OK, let's start our list of possibilities by looking at job titles. 

Take a look at the themes and the keywords in the notes for your ideal job. What types of roles jump out at you? Are you a salesperson, a content creator, business analyst, fitness trainer, travel guide? This list can go on and on, but the simplest way to discover more possible job titles is to search for titles on Google. 

Try it. Go to Google and enter the following phrase into the search box. Type in, “List of job titles for fitness trainers” and hit return. Notice that the results include titles you'd expect like, personal trainer, and fitness coach. But Google also returned some really surprising titles like, Corporate Wellness Manager, Injury prevention specialist, even fitness apparel designer. See the beauty of this exercise is that the results themselves present you with even more possible career paths. 

Try entering these additional phrases into the search field: “Lists of job titles for outdoor jobs” or “lists of job titles in marketing and advertising.” You can even make those phrases more specific, like “lists of job titles for graduating students and marketing and advertising.” Each of these entries is going to return something different, yet pretty interesting. 

Your turn. And just be creative. Pause this recording. Pick a job title that you're interested in. Do a Google search and write down what you discover. 

Now let's look at industries. What types of industries appeal to you? Fashion, finance, food, technology, travel, communications? If something doesn't jump out at you from your ideal list, consider industries you've probably never even thought about. And here's what I mean. I studied architecture and after getting my degree, the logical next step was to look for work with an architectural firm, right? Unfortunately, I was in a car accident right before starting my job search and I couldn't travel for several weeks while I was recuperating. I asked, where else can I use my training? Long story short, I landed a job at a healthcare company designing and building hospital additions. And not only was the pay better than what I would have earned at an entry level architectural position, but for me, the work was far more satisfying because I was creating spaces that directly impacted how patients and doctors experienced health. And it happened because I looked past the walls of where I was expected to work. So don't limit yourself to tech companies if you're in tech or finance companies. If you're in finance. 

Try it. Google the term “industries” for a list of ideas. You can even add a specific function to that search entry to get more specific results like entering “finance jobs in fashion.” Remember that jobs and sales support and marketing exist in all industries, and some industries offer more opportunities for growth than you might expect. 

And lastly, let's look at companies. Do you see yourself working at a large company or a small company? Are there specific companies you'd like to work for or with? Try Google again. Search for companies that fall within the industries you're interested in. Then add those opportunities to your list too. 

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Congratulations guys. You have just completed your first goal: To know the type of job you want. Not only do you know what kind of job you want, you now have a list of job titles, industries and companies to help guide your job search with the first of our three job search goals complete, we can move on to goal number 2.

HARINDER:

The second goal of the job search plan is to find a job. 

Where would you go to find a job today? If you go to the classified section of your locally printed newspaper, you'd no doubt find listings for local job openings. Perhaps more. Thankfully, that's not the only way these days to find a job. And to be honest, I can't actually remember the last time I saw job adverts in my local newspaper. Though these might appear in a national newspaper, for example, the Financial Times, on a Thursday. Today, we want to highlight the best places to find job opportunities and we've pulled them into a nice tidy list for you. 

But before we start, know that you can take two approaches to finding a job, you can make a virtual connection and you can make a live connection. So an example of what a virtual connection might be is applying for jobs online. So you don't really have any one to one interactions with anyone and that's quite common. Making a live connection, though, involves reaching out and interacting with real people, like recruiters or people within organisations, and you can do both online or offline. We're going to share a list that's going to cover both anyway, but please keep working on what we call your brand assets. These are your LinkedIn profile, your CV, your cover letter and if possible your list of references, because once the job connection is made, you'll need them handy. And now here's a list of 10 ways to find a job. I'm going to hand it back over to Alicia.

ALICIA:

So number one on our list of “10 ways to find a job” is job boards. Job boards are websites where employers can list job openings and week job seekers can apply for them. Monster.com was one of the first job boards out there and today some of the more well-known job boards include sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, Career Jet, ZIP recruiter, and there's even one called Flex Jobs, touted as the number one job site for remote jobs. 

There are also industry specific job boards like BeHance which is used by graphic designers and other creatives. And all these job boards also have loads of resources to help you out, like helpful articles and tools. The first thing you're going to want to do once you hit a job board site is to learn how to use their job search filters. Because searching by title, industry, company, location or even job post-date is going to serve up different results. And again, here's why we keep stressing the importance of having your brand assets ready. Because when you go to the job board and you find a job that you like, you'll need to upload your CV and be ready for people to visit your LinkedIn profile. 

Please remember that some of these job boards use technology that can unintentionally chop off chunks of really important information from your CV. If it isn't properly formatted, check out our brand episode for more details on this topic.

HARINDER:

#2 on our list is company websites. It's if you're a fan or you have your sights set on working for a particular company, just go to their website, scroll down to the bottom of their web page, and look for careers or job page or about page. Whilst you're there, you can learn about the company, its culture, its language, its uses, etcetera. And after a while it will help you work out whether this is a company or organization that would be a good fit for you too.

ALICIA:

You know, a few months ago I bought a package of gluten free almond flour tortillas that were so tasty I went online to see what else the company offered. And on their website, I learned that when the President of the company was a teenager, she had been diagnosed with a really serious autoimmune condition. So she had to go on a special diet, and her family joined her. Her family loved the gluten free tortillas she made so much that all seven family members joined together and they formed Siete Family Foods. Reading that story inspired me to check out their career section. And you know what? The company had job openings available. So if you have a favorite product, check out that company's website, visit their career section. Who knows, they may have openings available and who better to work for than a company that makes something you love, right? 

#3 on the list is LinkedIn. If you Google how to search for jobs on LinkedIn, you'll be led to the LinkedIn jobs page, and that's perhaps the most obvious way to use LinkedIn. But here are three additional ways to connect with recruiters and find jobs on LinkedIn. 

First search LinkedIn for people with similar profiles to yours. See what companies they work for, and while you're there, look at the LinkedIn profiles or those companies and check out their job listings. 

The 2nd way is to optimize your profile so that recruiters find you. This is another reason why we recommend you go back to the brand episode and make sure your LinkedIn profile is full of the most useful keywords. 

And the 3rd way is for you to weave in words like seeking position or something like that into your LinkedIn title so that it's clear to a recruiter that you're interested in a new position. 

Job boards, company websites, and LinkedIn. Together, these first three virtual ways to find a job are gold because you can see what job descriptions look like. They reveal the specific words that recruiters are searching for in a title and a resume, and these are the words in the language that you can weave into your own brand assets to be found and get noticed. 

Now let's get into the live ways to find a job.

HARINDER:

So moving on to Number 4, Recruiters. 

You can Google recruiters that specialize in particular fields of employment or industries. It's very easy, and once you start looking, you'll find that there are hundreds of them out there. I would suggest this as a place to start your search. 

Number 5, Career fairs 

Schools will usually have information and a range of career fairs with large organizations. I remember when they did that for me when I was at school for our whole school year and that basically allowed us to shop around and to decide what sort of career we wanted. There are job fairs for working and non working adults too. Do a search for career and job fair events running locally and virtually. Having a look online is probably the best place to find out what's happening from a career fair perspective. 

Number six, internships and apprenticeships. 

Typically you'll find these in many large organizations. To guarantee a place you may need to apply early, and you'll probably need to go through some sort of assessment center. So get clarity on the types of roles that interest you and potential organisations that might provide this sort of opportunity for you. Timing is important too when applying for an internship or apprenticeship. Now it may also depend on the size of the company larger companies because they have a wider application process, they're going to be more competitive. And therefore probably have earlier application dates. So think about doing a bit of planning upfront and then get in touch with these organizations to find out what their recruitment timelines are like. 

Number 7, student company programs.

If there's a company you really want to work for, take the time to search for that companies website. As we've already discussed. See if there are any programs or business competitions for which students can apply for. Not only will they look good on your CV, they can definitely improve your chances of working for that company in the future.

ALICIA:

Number 8 on the list is school contacts. 

If you're a student, reach out to your guidance counselor. They are there to help you with more than just school. They're there to help you with your career aspirations too. If you like the academic environment, why not just visit the HR department to see if they have any openings available on campus? And if you're not a student and you're listening to the series like maybe you're a parent with kids in school or look at other parents as if they were a useful network that you could tap into for more job opportunities too. And we'll talk more about that topic a bit later.

HARINDER:

Number 9 on the list is volunteer work. 

If you're doing volunteer work today for an organization, ask if they know of any paid openings. Or better yet, ask them if they can recommend you for any of them. 

Now, before we get to #10, let's recount the first nine.

Number one, Job boards 

Number 2, the company website.

Number 3, LinkedIn.

Number 4, recruiters.

Number 5, career fairs.

Number 6, internships or apprenticeships.

Number 7, student company programs.

Number 8, school contacts

And Number 9, volunteer work. So what's Number 10, Alicia?

ALICIA:

Number 10, is your personal network. 

We saved this one for last because when done with care and consideration, your private network could be the most effective way to find and secure a job. Did you know that some companies offer a referral bonus for job candidates? That means that if someone you know tells you about an opening at their company and you apply and get the job, that employee would get a bonus for finding you because they're essentially the job recruiter in this site. Reports have shown that 20% of hires, 20%, come from a referral pool. That means that someone you know could be your connection to your ideal job. And to help explain the power of your network, we'd like to share an example given by Dr. Dawn Graham, a career switch coach. 

She says that your network, which includes your siblings, neighbors, yoga buddies, classmates, your hairdresser, and anyone you see regularly, can all be a bridge to opportunities through their own contacts – if they only knew more about your career. She says, unfortunately, when most of us have conversations about our job socially, it goes something like this… “Hey, how's work? Are you still traveling a lot? Yeah, a bit. Hey, could you pass me the salt?” But if you change that reply to something like, “well actually I'm looking for a new opportunity in new. York right now.” If you replied like that, you would have just kicked off a chain of events in your favor, especially if you could summarize your expertise in one or two sentences.

HARINDER:

So let me share a quick story that supports this. I remember I was on my way to work in another city and happened to bump into a former colleague of mine from a previous company that I worked for. It was a random occurrence and I hadn't seen him in three or four years. And we spoke for a couple of minutes and he asked me whether or not I was looking for another role, and I said, absolutely. I would be completely open to that. He worked in an industry I was very passionate about, in fashion. So he suggested that he would have a conversation with his manager and see if there were any opportunities where he worked. And sure enough, a few weeks later I had a phone conversation with his manager who was very engaging. It was a wonderful conversation and that opened up a new and very exciting opportunity for me a few months later. And that was randomly at a train station on my way to work. So it just goes to show actually how timing can be impeccable. 

So don't shy away from being crystal clear about what it is that you do want, because there may be some synergies that may emerge and open doors for you that you may not have previously considered.

ALICIA:

What a great successful networking example. Thank you, Harinder. And there you have it. Ten ways to find a job, use them to find opportunities that interest you. Then join us as we take on the third and last goal of our job search plan to apply for the job. 

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So we've identified the kind of job you want, we found jobs you're interested in, and now that we've completed the first and second goal of our job search plan, we can take on our third and last goal. To apply for the job. And to do that, we're going to review the job description, submit our assets and track our progress.

HARINDER:

The first thing to do before you apply for a job is to review the job description to make sure that you understand exactly what it is that you're applying for. And for this, I'm just going to lay out some things to consider when you look through the job description. 

Ask yourself the following questions. What are the job requirements and do I actually understand them? Would I like the work that I would be doing here? Do I have the skills that they're looking for and can I get the skills if I don't have them right now? For example, are they offering any training. Also ask yourself who would I be working with and who will I be working for? When would I need to start? Where's the job located and what does that mean for me in terms of travel time and potential cost of travel? Would I have to relocate to make this job opportunity work? Would I like this job? And how can I prove that I'm the ideal candidate for this job? 

Again, feel free to pause this recording and jot down your thoughts and remember to trust your gut instincts and the awareness that comes up as you go through those. Really listen to what your body is telling you.

ALICIA:

And when it comes to skills, don't count yourself out if you don't have all the skills listed in the job description. See it as a chance to show your prospective employer that you're willing and eager to learn, because everything is negotiable. In fact, most companies even offer on-the-job training to keep their staff up to speed.

HARINDER:

Absolutely. And I remember when I first started working, I was offered internal audit training as a certification and it was fantastic. So look out for training that might be offered and also all the resources that are already available to you free online. For example, there are lots of YouTube videos out there in terms of how you can scale up on certain things. LinkedIn also has a premium program that you can sign up for where they offer lots of different courses that you can learn stuff on a subscription basis. 

I was reflecting on this the other day. About how nobody knows everything when they start a new role and that's part and parcel of being vulnerable. And there are a number of areas that I'm personally not familiar with and I'm happy to own those upfront. Owning what you don't know comes from a sign of maturity. You know who you are. You know what you have to offer. And you know where your areas are that require further development. In fact, everyone I've ever given advice to, to be crystal clear about what they don't know, have found out that they were the more attractive candidate. It sounds counterintuitive. But because they were honest about it, and that was a characteristic their employer valued. And understanding what you don't know enables a recruiter to focus on the skills you do have, which is often enough for them to offer you the role and determine exactly what additional training you might need. Consider it all as an opportunity to grow, learn, and build your brand. 

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So now that you've gone through the job description, we can take action and officially apply for the job by submitting our assets. This usually requires you to either connect directly with the recruiter or just upload your CV to a job board or a designated online location. 

If you're connecting with an assigned recruiter online or via the telephone, make sure to be responsive. Call them back if they've left a message for you. If you're applying online and completing a form, don't rush through and don't make assumptions on the sorts of questions you might be asked. Take your time, read the question and respond in that way. Make sure you've reviewed what you've typed. Make sure you've done a thorough spell check and that the sentences make grammatical sense before you submit the form. Do all those sorts of checks and balances to make sure that your response is as professional as possible, and if you need to send your resume or your CV and a cover letter, make sure you've tailored your assets to that specific role.

Now you might decide that you don't want to change your CV or your cover letter. That's fine, but sometimes it could be a costly mistake. So really take the time to determine whether or not your existing version of your CV is appropriate and is being lined up with the role that you want to apply for in terms of what's being requested. 

Employers want to feel special and they want you to write a resume for them specifically. They won't tell you that, but it's true. They would expect you to show clearly how and why you would be the ideal candidate for that organization. So really think about it. Adjust your title and your summary. Maybe swap out certain achievements and reorganise things so that you are the person that they're looking for. Think about keywords that have popped up in the job description. Weave them into your CV and your cover letter so that the job description and your assets match up. And if you're sending a cover letter. Please make sure that your contacts name is spelled correctly. Alicia I'm sure you might know of some other costly mistakes that candidates have made in their CVs or their cover letters.

ALICIA:

I do. I ran across a list by recruiters of 16 costume mistakes candidates have made on their CV's and cover letters.

Mistake #1, typos and grammatical errors. It's a simple solution. Use free tools that read the text out loud for you and tools like Grammarly to help you check your work. 

Mistake #2 incorrect or missing contact information. So double check your contact info because one typo could cost you a call back from a recruiter. 

Mistake #3 unprofessional e-mail addresses. So if the e-mail on your CV reads hotpants55@something.com it's pretty safe to say that your resume is going to be placed aside. 

Mistake number four, job title is not customized. Companies want to see that you are applying for a specific role, right? So if you can match the job title on your resume with the job title they posted, you're one step closer to being their perfect match. 

Mistake #5 poor summary statement. As we discussed in our brand episode, your summary statement is not just the list of your responsibilities, it's a summary of the outcomes you've accomplished and it shines a light on the results you can deliver to your prospective employer. 

Mistake number six, listing your responsibilities instead of your accomplishments. So in addition to your summary statement, make sure your job bullets focus on the results you've been able to deliver. 

Mistake #7 is the lack of specifics. Refer to our brand episode. The more specifics you share about the measurable results you delivered and how you accomplish them, the clearer your value. 

Mistake #8, not using action verbs. Use powerful action verbs in your brand materials like Led, Spearheaded, Designed, Managed. Verbs that show you are someone who takes action and makes things happen. 

Mistake #9, including irrelevant skills. Remember how in your LinkedIn profile you might have a whole listing of all the things you've accomplished? When you customize your resume or your CV, only share what's pertinent to that position. 

Mistake #10, leaving out important information. You may be tempted, for example, to not mention the jobs you took to earn extra money for school, but the soft skills that you gained through those experiences, like time management or your work ethic are more important to employers than you might think. 

Mistake #11, using fonts and formatting that's hard to read. Having a clean font makes it easier for people to read through your resume, especially if you have a lot of information on there. 

Mistake #12, is using too many industry words. So while employers might understand the industry words that you're using, the recruiters, the people who are looking for you may not know or be familiar with those terms. So try to strike a balance and take care when using acronyms. 

Mistake #13, adding references to a resume. Unless you're asked to do so, don't list references directly on your resume. Do, however, have a separate list of references handy in case you're asked for some. 

Mistake #14, including personal information. This is a professional document. Unless it's relevant to your job, there is no need to include information about your nationality, marital status, beliefs, or anything like that. 

Mistake #15 including salary requirements in your CV. Salary is something you can negotiate later after you've gone through the process and they've shown an interest. 

And costly mistake #16. The biggest mistake of them all. Lying about their achievements.

HARINDER:

Well, there were some real golden nuggets in what you've shared there, Alicia. Thank you, and especially about making grandiose statements about what you've done, especially when you haven't. I think we mentioned this in a previous podcast. You've got to be prepared to back up and go into specifics and provide very detailed examples should you get an interview. 

And now on to our last step. Tracking our progress. 

After submitting your assets and applying for the job, what we would suggest is that you follow up and you track your progress. Now for me personally I use an Excel spreadsheet, but you can use Google Sheets to track and note things such as the position you've applied for, the date you applied, your contacts information, status updates, follow up steps, etc. or any other headers that you might choose to use. Tracking your progress is particularly helpful if you've applied for lots and lots of jobs. What it will do is prevent you from applying for the same role twice because it might come up later with a different recruiter on a different website at a different time, and you might think, oh, this looks good and realize you've already applied for it. Next.

Also consider setting up reminders in your calendar to follow up with the new recruiters on where your application has got to and if they have any news for you. Just to keep you front and centre of the recruiters minds.

ALICIA:

And there you have it. Your job search plan. 

You've identified the kind of job you want and pull together a list of job possibilities. 

You now have 10 ways to find a job. 

And you know how to apply for the job. 

Give yourself a big hand. Allow yourself some time to let this soak in. And to quote life Coach, Laura Berman Fortgang, remember that “Career satisfaction doesn't come from what you do. It comes from who you get to be while doing it.”

HARINDER:

So. Be amazing people.

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HARINDER:

Do make sure to visit our resources page where we include links to all the articles and the tools that we've referenced to today and check out our other episodes. Because when you combine the information with what was discussed today, you do level up your chances of landing your ideal job.

ALICIA:

We hope this episode has been helpful, and if you know of anyone else who would appreciate this information, please share it with them. We look forward to sharing more on how to land your ideal job.