A Comprehensive Guide to Finding a New Job (especially during a global pandemic)
Over the span of my career, I’ve held a lot of jobs in a variety of professions. As a fresh college graduate during the 2008 recession, I was looking to make a move into marketing with zero relevant work experience. During a time where there were even less opportunities than the present situation, I spent several years clawing way up into the job market. Currently, I am an advertising professional in an industry notorious for short tenures with career and monetary advancements only available through jumping agencies. Every major career milestone I’ve achieved over the years was due to a job jump. Over the last 12 years of my professional life, I have learned a thing or two about finding a job and changing careers.
I find myself lucky to work in a field that has been one of the least disrupted by the pandemic, healthcare advertising, and I feel privileged to hold a job during a time where there is a spotlight on healthcare with a need for emerging digital tools. Digital marketing and technology roles are buzzwords right now and the industry is oversaturated with jobs and people eager to get experience. But with over 10 million people unemployed as of January 2021, how do you make yourself marketable and stand out from the crowd?
I’ve gotten jobs in every way possible- from the old fashioned way of applying online, to contacting recruiters or getting headhunted, to the tried and true way through my network. This time however, instead of mindlessly applying to jobs online, I felt the need to level up my job search and take a calculated proactive approach to building opportunity. The following is a comprehensive summary of the knowledge I’ve gathered over the years. No matter what industry you’re in, these steps will be great guidelines for you to follow!
First Things First
Before you can decide where you want to go, do your research! Take some time and make an assessment of where you are now, your interests, goals, and where you see yourself headed in the future. Take a few weeks to look through jobs online to get a feel for the market and where your skills and level are in comparison. Save job descriptions for the ones you really want and start from there.
Even if you know exactly what you want to do, making a plan is never a bad idea for anyone before you start applying to jobs. I found a great class on defining you career goals on LinkedIn Learning, however since this is only available for their Premium users, I’ve made a general outline of what I’ve learned:
- Write out ALL your current skills and what you are very good at.
- Get a job description for a job you really want, and highlight in Green —what you are good at, Yellow — what you’re ok at, and Red — what you’re not good at.
- Compare your skills. What are the top 3 skills you need in order to be qualified for the role? What areas do you need to improve? How can you obtain these skills?
You can obtain skills in a variety of ways, from getting actual on the job experience to starting a side hustle/business and creating these experiences for yourself. If you’re trying to change careers, transition to a new industry, or just level up in your current field — taking classes, getting certifications, or enrolling in boot camps are a great way to get yourself noticed and stand out to recruiters. For example, if you are a project manager, getting a PMP certification is a great way to tell recruiters you are serious about advancing your career. If you’re looking to switch to software development, rather than learning to code on your own, taking a coding boot camp will increase your exposure to industry folks and the chances of getting hired.
Once you have a plan of action, think about your long term goals, deal breakers, and must haves in a job. This is very personal to every individual and can vary such as salary, title, experience, culture, and growth opportunity. Maybe you’re willing to take less salary if it means getting that experience. Perhaps company culture is the most important to you. Or maybe money is your motivator and you won’t take less than $XX. Whatever it is, defining your goals will allow you to clearly set boundaries for yourself during the job search.
Now for the pragmatic stuff.
- Hire a professional resume writer
This is probably the single best piece of advice I can give, and one of the best investments I’ve made for my career. I’ve spent countless hours writing and re-writing my resume over the years, and while I don’t feel like I did a poor job, there are things you may not think to include or know how to articulate the way a recruiter or professional would. The majority of resumes submitted online goes through an ATS, or Applicant Tracking System. That means that your resume won’t even make it past a program and into the hands of an actual recruiter. Professional resume writers will know exactly what keywords to use so that your resume is flagged as a viable candidate and makes it through to an actual human. Suddenly your probability of getting that life changing phone call has increased dramatically. I used the freelance service website Fiverr to obtain my resume writer, but there are a myriad of ways you can find these services. Monster is offering resume services as well. A quick Google search should find you results for someone who specializes in your field!
2. Update your LinkedIn! #notsponsored
You would be surprised how many people leave this incredibly important platform off the table. LinkedIn has grown to become THE social hub for professionals. If you work in a corporate setting and you don’t have an updated LinkedIn, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. Even if you’re not looking, having an updated LinkedIn presence and friending your co-workers is the best way to grow your network and reach when the time comes for you to start looking. Sometimes, the perfect opportunity may come knocking when you’re not even looking! LinkedIn is like any other social media platform these days — the more active and developed your profile is, the more the algorithm will likely pick up your profile and make it more visible to recruiters. Make sure to fill out and customize every available field on your profile!
While this is not absolutely necessary, if you’re actively looking, temporarily signing up for LinkedIn Premium can help increase your chances as well. You can direct message recruiters if the job description tells you who it is and bypass the entire resume submission process altogether. I found a job like this once. I searched for the recruiter, guessed her e-mail based on other email contacts listed on their website, and sent my resume directly to her inbox! A few days later I was interviewing and landed the job!
Finally, you’re ready to apply for jobs!
You’ve made it this far, now what?
Apply, apply, apply! This sounds obvious, but looking for a job is a job in itself. Apply to every job that you genuinely would want to do. Spreading the net wide is the best way to create opportunity. Make sure to customize every application to the language used on the job description, but do NOT lie! A recruiter once told me as a rule of thumb, the top 3 bullet points on the job description are the must-have requirements a recruiter will usually not budge on. If you don’t have those, look elsewhere for an entry to market role that could get you those skills.
Don’t forget to do your due diligence on every company. Glassdoor is a great resource to find out employee satisfaction, work life balance, and overall culture of a company. On the flip side, make sure you read reviews with a grain of salt. Culture and working style can be very personal thing, what works for one person may not work for another. Different teams or departments may have different experiences, and your direct manager may impact your happiness and career growth within a role. Whatever the case may be, take all factors into consideration when forming an opinion about a company.
Chat with almost every recruiter that reaches out and explore the role. Once your LinkedIn is updated, you will likely start to have recruiters reaching out to you directly for roles. Personally, I will entertain almost every recruiter that hits my inbox, unless the job is clearly something I have no interest in. You have nothing to lose as you can always have an exploratory call and, if it’s not what you’re looking for, politely decline to move forward. In general, this is a great way to brush up on your elevator pitch, and also test the market on salary expectations compared to your experiences.
Finally, interview, interview interview! Unless you are an interviewing prodigy, for most of us this is a skill that we must practice and hone. The reason I like to entertain most jobs that come my way is to keep my interview skills sharp. Rarely does my first interview come with an offer letter (though I have surprised myself before), and it usually takes a few tries to really build my confidence. As a bonus, interviewing at multiple companies puts the ball in your court when it comes to negotiating salary.
Whether it’s your first time at interviewing or you’re a pro, preparation always wins. Google behavioral style questions and write your all answers down. If you’re applying for a more technical role, be ready to talk through those experience in depth. Glassdoor again can be a great resource to find actual interview questions directly from its reviewers.
Be open to opportunities outside of your current field. While you want to say no to jobs you have no interest in, it is also important to be open to jobs outside of what you had in mind. Be available to let go of all expectations in the event an interesting opportunity arises outside of what you had planned. It may lead you into a new career path you could have never imagined before. I’ve let go of my expected career path at least three times. Your future is a story that hasn’t been written and you never know where this crazy life may take you!
Finally, don’t let NO’s bring you down. I know in the past I’ve been crushed during the interview process when I have not been selected to move forward. Sometimes it feels like the more I want a job, the less likely I will get it. Having a scarcity mindset is a surefire way to bruise your ego and feel inadequate. Adopting a healthy mental attitude towards your job search is the best way to avoid disappointment. If the job of your dreams falls through, don’t blame yourself. It’s never personal and it’s about being at the right place, with the right experiences, at the right time. If it’s not this job, there will be another one around the corner. There are many roads to the same destination, and you may surprise yourself to discover how these different paths may lead you to renewed interests along the way.
Good luck!
