Do you find the process of job hunting daunting? Does it scare you and keep you up at night? Are you afraid of never having a successful career? Have you been looking for a job since you graduated and still no luck?
Let’s be honest, looking for a job is freakin’ hard.
It doesn’t matter if you just graduated this May or if you graduated 3 years ago. Just the thought of having to find a job is scary, but there is a method to finding a decent position quickly and even the perfect job for you. However, it won’t come easy. You will spend hours on job boards and you must invest time in creating the best resume, but it’s possible.
I’m not a licensed career coach or a recruiter, although I’ve spent some time working with both. However, I did have 5 job offers from major companies in my field of choice by Thanksgiving of my senior year of college for me to choose from. Not the most anyone’s ever had, but I do know a handful of people from my college graduating class still looking and it’s been over a year.
I’d like to put a disclaimer that this isn’t the only method to finding a job, it has worked for me, and it has gotten me results quickly. It is probably best for those looking for there first or second job.
Resume Reset
The first thing you need to do is get your resume squared away. Go seek out a professional that can help you make that resume the best it can possibly or ask a friend, family member, whoever it may be if money is tight. Make multiple versions of your resume that are tailored to the industries you are looking into. You may need to go back to your resume as your applying to make tweaks for whatever job posting you find. Don’t be afraid to make changes.
Rapid Search
Once your resume is ready, we can start looking. I recommend using Indeed, Linkedin, Builtin(if you are looking for tech startups), and MOST IMPORTANTLY if you are a recent grad or about to graduate, any university job boards/resources. University resources are the greatest places to look because employers list their openings there specifically looking for people from your school so the pool is much, much smaller.
Figure out what the keywords you are going to want to search are. I know when I was in college the only keywords I needed was “entry level”. As you start opening job ads, sites like Indeed and Linkedin will get smarter and recognize what is relevant to you. You might also try “entry level technology” or “entry level marketing”, whatever it is you are looking for. If this is your second or third job, you might have a better idea of what you are looking for so search by job title or industry and use filters on the sites.
Search Stage 1
Now, this is where the GRIT comes in and I know a lot of career professionals will disagree with me on this. Start opening job ads that seem interesting to you, pay attention to job titles and company’s. Open 5–8 tabs of jobs. Skim the description and go right down to the requirements. Do you meet those requirements or do you at least meet almost all of them? If you are missing one or two requirements or maybe a year short of experience, apply anyway. Especially if it’s a quick apply. Just make sure the idea of doing this job or working for this company doesn’t make you sick to your stomach.
The worst thing you can do is overthink every single job you apply too. It will eat away at your mind and there’s a 50% chance this job won’t even tell you if it’s a “no”. Just apply. Keep applying. Set aside time and apply to 20–30 jobs. I recommend forgoing positions that require a cover letter in this stage unless it’s the greatest thing you could ever imagine.
A lot of career professionals will tell you to make a list of everywhere you apply so you can track it. That’s fine and dandy if you have all the time in the world, but you are young and unemployed. It’s time to just land a position, hopefully 5+. Do this for a 2–3 days, 20/30 jobs, more if you have the stamina, applying at a rapid rate. You will get at least one call back for a phone screening.
Interview, Interview, Interview
Once they call you for an initial conversation, go into Google and find that job posting and read about the job. I don’t care if now that you have read it thoroughly, you don’t really like it. You now need to practice interviewing. Schedule the first phone screening and schedule every single one that you get for the first 2/3 weeks of your search whether you are crazy about the job or not. Keep applying to jobs at a high rate. Say yes to every interview unless it’s a pyramid scheme. This will get you in the flow of interviewing and telling your story. You will see how quickly answering whatever question they throw at you becomes second nature. This will also help you practice researching companies, get familiar with typical interview questions, and help you figure out what it is exactly that you want.
If you make it all the way to the last round during this period and they invite you on-site, that’s fantastic. Your first on-site is most likely going to be a “sacrificial lamb”. On-site is very different than phone or video so you need to get that practice in too.
Collect feedback from everyone that tells you no after an interview. This will help you refine and polish your interview skills.
However, who knows, you may find the perfect job for you in this initial period. If you don’t though, that’s fine. Once you’ve had a decent amount of interviews under your belt and you don’t even get nervous when that phone rings, you can start getting picky.
Search Stage 2
Keep going to the job boards, but now take more time reading the job descriptions. I wouldn’t recommend reading a job ad for more than 30sec-1min, after all, that’s how long a recruiter will look at your resume (and probably won’t even email you). Now is the time for cover letters. Don’t apply to just anything, think for a moment if this actually a job you’d want, but don’t overthink it. You should not spend hours, or worse DAYS, thinking about whether or not to apply. You can spend hours thinking when the offer is in your hand. If you are thinking forever about just applying, especially if all you need to do is send a resume and don’t need a cover letter, you are most likely just afraid of taking the next step.
When these jobs start calling you are ready and prepared. You’ve gotten feedback, you’ve practiced, and you can take anything they throw at you. Take all the feedback you’ve gotten in stage 1 and really WOW the jobs you applied to in Stage 2.
By now, you are used to staring at job boards and you are being picky. You’ve built up your stamina in Stage 1 and learned the value of grit. You’ve learned how to interview and the thought of one doesn’t make you slightly nervous. The right job will coming knocking any day now because you’ve developed the ability to win people over and take what you want.
Finding a job, especially your first, isn’t easy. It will take time and you will fail, but you will emerge a better person. Every interview, every email exchange, will teach you a lesson. Always ask for feedback if it’s a no and if you get ghosted by a potential employer, don’t be afraid to be annoying and follow up, but don’t ever get hung up. There are always other fish in the sea.
Just like in love, sometimes you need to go on a lot of dates before you find the right one, but you’ll never find it unless you go on lots of dates.