Job search during unprecedented times such as these could be draining . It’s essential to know beforehand what could potentially drain your energy in a job search. At times this leads to several emotional disturbances that will try to drift us away from our goal that is ‘to get hired in our dream job’.
Here are some tips by our recruitment consultants to help you regain your confidence and inch yourself closer toward landing your dream job.
Plan:
During job hunt: A proper planning is very important during a job hunt. Applying for jobs without understanding your industry preference or job responsibilities or doing a market research will only land you in disappointment. Do a market research to understand what opportunities are out there in the fields that you’re interested in. Have a look at the various job boards, or the company websites of industries you are interested in. At times, some roles are not advertised due to confidentiality of business, so if you know people who are working in those fields start networking with them.
Before an interview: Just as we expect the hiring manager to review our resume, likewise the hiring manager also expects us to do our homework. A proper planning and study on the job roles, responsibilities, company is a must. Knowing how you could fit into the company culture, what does your role signify and how important your role is to shape the business are some of the question you need to prepare before an interview.
Update your resume with the right keywords: They say, your resume is like an entry ticket for an interview. A strong resume can help you stand out from the crowd. You can do so by reviewing your resume and adding relevant keywords related to your core skills, competencies, industry and functions. Know more on the tips and keywords for your resume.
Promote yourself by building your personal brand: In todays digital world, it is highly important to build an online persona based on your experience, expertise or your unique selling point (USP).
While building your personal brand, it important to first make a self-analysis by creating a SWOT chart. Analyze the areas where you are strong and start building a strategy to help you develop your personal identity. Ask yourself what you want to be known for? Understand which digital platform works the best for you and start creating your story line. Stories that include your active participation in thought leadership, milestones, recent project achievements, making a difference in society, community impact, etc. That story you communicate, combined with those everyday interactions, ultimately define your personal brand.
Connect with a recruitment consultant of your industry: It is always good to build your network with recruitment consultants, decision makers and hiring managers related to you industry. Start a conversation with them to understand their industry, hiring patterns and communicate to them about your competencies. You don’t want to sound as an imposter at this stage. Always be specific and honest in your communications.
Keep a close eye on market and upgrade your skills as per your industry demands: The pandemic situation has led to organizations demanding specific niche skills especially in digital domain from their employees. Try to analyze what are your core competencies and areas of opportunities that require certain skills. Pick one or two skills that you really need that will help you land your dream job or get promoted at your current job and start developing yourself to master it. There are various online platforms and institutes offering training courses on skills that are in demand and can be easily learnt examined and certified by trusted authorities.
Create and update your LinkedIn profile: There are many ways to update your LinkedIn profile, such as using the right keywords and job summary, choosing the right picture and cover photo that showcases your professional image, having a short summary about your work experience and core competencies and most importantly having good corporate recommendations from trusted sources always makes you a step ahead of the crowd.
Build your online network: There are various ways to strengthen your online networks, such as joining online forums related to your industry or function, joining groups with similar interest/ behaviors, looking out for virtual events that invites professionals expertise into your industry. Always focus on right target group, have clear and transparent communication on why you would like to network with a certain professional.
Gain recommendations and references: Asking for recommendation especially on professional networking platforms after you deliver a project or achieved milestone that can help you secure work by providing a competitive advantage over other candidates.
Rehearse before an interview and be presentable: Making an elevator pitch or a brief script about what you have done, how you could contribute, what makes you unique this would help you practice a technique for an interview and gives you an ability to recognize the areas that needs to be focused during an interview conversation. Also it is important to consider the way you dress for an interview, whether the interview is face-to-face or done virtual, it gives potential employers their first impression of how you present yourself professionally.
Learn from your previous interviews by asking feedback: You wonder, what went wrong? What could I have done differently? Why don’t they want me? Understanding your critics is a great way to improvise and learn from the past interviews. For example if weren’t dressed appropriately or your resume has skills and capabilities that are not in par with reality. Even if you disagree with the feedback, it can help you prepare to avoid similar misunderstandings next time.
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