8 Secrets Of The World’s Best Job Hunters
Today, the competition for the best job openings is fierce. Companies receive hundreds of online applications in response to a job posting and only interview a few of them. The selected candidates should meet a set of criteria to their professionalism, personality traits, attitude and cultural fit. Sounds pretty challenging, doesn’t it? Still, even under these circumstances, there are people who hardly ever struggle getting the job.
These people seem to find great career opportunities everywhere and know how to make the interviewer fall in like with them. Moreover, recruiters are chasing them, offering lucrative opportunities. And even if the company is closing, they are capable of finding the new employment in no time.
So, what are the secrets of the most successful job-seekers? Of course, you need to make a professional resume if you still haven’t one; still, there are much more factors that contribute to your job search success. Today, we’ll reveal the most effective practices that will inevitably help you land the job of your dream.
8 secrets to the job hunting success
Successful job hunting isn’t determined by your professionalism and experience only. Your mindset and attitude is probably even more important at the stage when you need to impress the hiring manager and convince them that you’re exactly who they are looking to hire. The tips used by the most successful job-seekers who always get the job you want will help you get hired faster and continue building a successful career.
Secret #1. Foster positive and upbeat attitude
Job-hunting process is often accompanied by insecurity and frustration. Having spent a lot of time applying for jobs, communicating with hiring managers and attending interviews, we tend to be down on ourselves when the effort we put in doesn’t bring the desired result. This negativity, in its turn, demotivates us from going an extra mile to land a desired job.
How do successful job-seekers approach their doubts and concerns? First of all, they replace the negative thinking patterns with positive ones, for example, “I am a successful professional with good reputation, and I am capable of landing a job I’ll be happy with”. They know their professional self-worth and don’t let a drop of motivation to stop them.
To build your confidence and approach the whole job search in a more positive key, try doing the following. Write down the list of your best qualities as a person and an employee and read them aloud in front of the mirror. This will give you a confidence boost before an important event.
Need inspiration to continue the job-hunting? Check out the inspirational techniques here: https://resumeperk.com/blog/10-ways-to-find-lost-desire-and-inspiration.
Secret #2. Identify your stressors – and work with them
The job-hunting process is stressful in general; however, the particular reasons for fear are individual. And while a minor stress is normal as it’s caused by leaving the comfort zone, if your stress causes serious setbacks (such as lack of decisiveness to apply for jobs you’re perfectly qualified for or failing interviews), it’s high time that you addressed it.
First of all, understand what stresses you most about the job hunting. If it’s a concern that your resume isn’t good enough to land you an interview, consider getting a resume written by a professional writer. If this is the necessity to network that doesn’t fit your introverted communication style, opt for online networking or attend the training to reduce the anxiety. And finally, if the interview is the toughest part that you often stumble upon, be sure to do the homework thoroughly and practice answering the question in front of your friend or family member. Don’t forget to use the tips for successful job interview in your preparation.
As soon as you’ve identified the scariest part and developed the strategy to reduce the stress, you’ll be able to take your job-hunting easier and will get more successful in it.
Workplace stress isn’t a rare thing either. To find out how to cope with stressors in the office, read our guide here: https://resumeperk.com/blog/workplace-stress---manage-it-efficiently.
Secret #3. Find a passion and sense of purpose in your career
What differentiates the most successful job-hunters? They see their career not only as a primary source of income, but as a realization of their life purpose in the first place. When your career is aligned with your long-term goal, it gives you a sense of meaning and you see your daily job in a completely different light.
And this reflects on your job hunting process, too – what you’re looking for is not just the next employment to get a monthly paycheck, but another chance to develop personally and to do something you’re passionate about. During the interview, the hiring manager will definitely notice your love and genuine interest in what you do – and this is a better reason for hiring you than years of relevant experience.
So, if you’ve never thought about your career in this key, now it’s time to start. For example, if you’re a journalist, don’t just say that you ‘love to write’. In which aspect of your daily job do you express your lifelong purpose? As soon as you’ve got this question answered, you’ll feel more confident and will get the chance to find the most fulfilling role.
Do you have a suspicion that your current job isn’t the right fit for you? Here you can find out: https://resumeperk.com/blog/how-to-know-if-your-job-is-right-for-you.
Secret #4. Quality beats quantity, always
The Internet has opened the access to hundreds of job postings in your town and across the US. You might be thinking that the more companies you send your resume to, the faster you’ll land a new job. However, if you’ve tried this approach to job-hunting, you are probably aware that things don’t work this way.
Successful job-seekers know that 10 quality applications are more effective than 100 cookie-cutter resumes sent in response to every job available. To create a resume that will resonate with the employer’s needs, you need to write (or at least modify) a resume for every specific job ad and add relevant keywords. Generic applications hardly ever bring results – ATS weeds them off even before the hiring manager gets their eyes on it.
So, focus on writing personalized cover letters and targeted resumes. The better you anticipate the needs of the hiring company, the higher is the chance that you’ll get an interview invitation and a job offer afterwards.
Don’t know how to optimize your resume for ATS systems? Read our guide: https://resumeperk.com/blog/why-keywords-are-so-important-for-successful-resume.
Secret #5. Do your research and homework
It’s impossible to predict your chances for success during the job hunting process. What you can do, however, is to increase your chance to get a particular role simply by doing your homework thoroughly. This rule is obvious but is still neglected by many.
At the resume stage, be sure to optimize your resume for the role you apply for using keywords. Before writing a cover letter, do a research about the company to identify their goals, challenges and the problem they need to have solved by closing the position. If you write a cover letter with this information in mind (or, what is even better, suggest your own solutions or improvements), your chances for an interview will significantly increase. By the way, here are the cover letter writing tips from our writers: https://resumeperk.com/blog/how-to-write-winning-cover-letter-for-job-applications.
When preparing for an interview, go above and beyond reading a few quick facts on the company website or social media page. Learn and investigate as long as it takes to be able to talk business as if you were already working for the company – that’s what the best job-seekers do. For example, if you’re an online support representative, you can offer rewriting scripts to make communication with clients more effective and discuss new time optimization techniques. This approach is whole different from the typical “I want to work for the company” discussion, isn’t it?
Secret #6. Learn from your mistakes
Nobody is perfect, and every job-hunting strategy needs to be tried in the real world – and corrected accordingly. If the things don’t go smooth at the particular stage or the setbacks occur, it’s time to analyze and address your weaknesses.
As mentioned above, if you send dozens of resumes and rarely hear from someone, it’s time to rewrite it and adapt for every job posting. If you make it to the interview stage and then they don’t call you back, it means that you’ve done or said something wrong (here’s the list of forbidden job interview things). Hint: it’s a good idea to ask the interviewer how well you performed – maybe, you were under qualified for the role, or badmouthed your previous team, or looked insecure. Knowing your mistakes for sure will save you lots of time and will help perform better during the next interview.
Ability to accept criticism is one of the in-demand traits in any setting. Learn how to develop this ability: https://resumeperk.com/blog/effective-ways-to-face-criticism-at-the-workplace.
Secret #7. Take advantage of networking
The vast majority of jobs are never advertised: according to a survey, 85% of jobs are filled through networking. Therefore, the more people in your industry you know, the wider your access to the jobs which haven’t been advertised yet is. The top companies prefer hiring through an insider recommendation or recruitment agencies, and if the vacancy isn’t filled in this way, the job is being posted online.
So, if you’re job hunting now, the lion’s share of your time should be spent on networking. Reach out to everyone you’ve ever worked or studied with: former colleagues, bosses, alumni connections and ask if there are openings in their current companies. Let everyone know that you’re on the prowl (except for the case you’re looking for a new job while on the job). Leverage your personal connections, too: it might happen that your neighbor knows someone who could put in a word for you.
Making new contacts will go you a long way, too. Be sure to attend professional events or volunteer to meet new people. Finally, use LinkedIn to reconnect with your old acquaintances and establish new connections – since many companies hire through LinkedIn, the profile completed thoroughly and a great number of connections will increase your online visibility.
Social media can be used as a job hunting tool as well: learn how to use hashtags fo find a job.
Secret #8. Make your application materials perfect
Although a well-written resume and a cover letter cannot win you a job, they are very helpful in facilitating the exhausting job hunting process for you. Firstly, resumes written by a professional get higher ATS score, which means that your resume will get more consideration from a hiring manager. Secondly, quality application documents are written with an employer’s goals in mind and therefore ensure more feedback from hiring managers.
Moreover, ordering professional help automatically relieves you from the huge stress connected with writing, editing and updating your resume. You won’t need to worry about the quality of writing any longer and will be able to focus solely on networking and sourcing new opportunities. Taking advantage of professional help can save you weeks on job hunting, and the most successful job seekers know it.
At Resumeperk, you can get your resume, covering letter and LinkedIn profile written by a professional with years of industry experience – check out our prices and special offers.
Find a job faster: Secrets of the world’s best headhunters
To get the most out of your job hunting, it’s important to hear the recruiters’ and hiring managers’ opinion on the hiring process. Recruiters have their own secrets to finding, attracting and hiring the best candidates – and knowing which criteria and approaches they use will help you get more visible for headhunters and find a job faster accordingly. Below, you’ll find the simple yet effective strategies to increase your visibility for recruiters:
- LinkedIn profile matters more than you think
Today, a carefully completed LinkedIn profile is a must for a successful job search. Many recruiters start browsing candidates to fill a new job posting with this platform – so, a profile filled out completely with a big number of connections can provide you with new job opportunities with no effort from your side!
There are particular moments that the recruiters confessed paying attention to. They say that your profile should have enough information, contain a picture and at least a few highlights of your career accomplishments. Incomplete or outdated LinkedIn profile is considered as a red flag and it won’t help you in your job hunting.
Having mutual connections with the recruiter is another advantage. And if those connections share a good feedback about your job, it will put you top off mind for the recruiter. - Honesty is the best policy
Lying on a resume won’t help your career in the long run. Even if such a resume passes the ATS screening with the fake degrees and skills you don’t actually have, an interview or background check will reveal everything. However, losing your chance for the job isn’t the only consequence of resume lies. If the recruiter spreads the word about you, this fact can damage your professional reputation and close other doors for you as well. It doesn’t worth it, does it?
Always be honest in your resume and other application materials and beat the temptation to stretch the truth. Remember that most employers and hiring managers don’t tolerate cheating – here you can find more facts on resume lies. - Don’t be afraid to negotiate the salary
Most companies have a salary range fore each job opening, and the amount they offer you is unlikely to be at the top of the range. So, be sure to negotiate the higher salary. In fact, most companies don’t offer the maximum of what they have reserved for the opening as they expect you to negotiate.
However, don’t just say that you want to make more money – do a research in advance to make your claims grounded. If you have significant accomplishments or extra skills, be sure to use them as arguments for getting paid more. If the company cannot offer to pay you the money you ask for, try negotiating benefits, days off or other perks – most companies are pretty flexible in this regard.
Quite often, the reason that you aren’t paid what you worth is that you don’t ask. It is also important to know which jobs are paid better. For example, if you’re a writer, here’s the list of best paying writing jobs. - First impression is everything
Some hiring managers admit the importance of the first impression: they say that a few seconds at the beginning of the interview is enough for them to understand whether they will hire the candidate or not. Your likeability is just as important as your professionalism, as the company is interested in hiring someone who will fit well in the team. Therefore, when coming in for an interview, you need to present your best fight upfront – otherwise, it will be hard to fix the wrong first impression.
This rule works not only at the interview stage. For example, unreturned phone calls, poor manners or failure to keep an appointment all demotivate the recruiters from working with you. When it comes to constructing your right image, everything is important. Here you can find an expert advice on choosing the perfect interview outfit. - Be very choosey about the references
When preparing a list of references for the recruiter, be extremely picky about whom to include. Your best tactic is to choose those people who valued your work highly and can provide a positive feedback to a potential employer. Still, you cannot know for sure what a particular person will say about you.
Here’s the best way to manage your list of references: first of all, be sure to call the reference and ask for their permission to include them on your reference list. During the call, you might also wonder what they are planning to share if they get a phone call from the recruiter – and only then you will decide on whether to include this contact or not.
Obviously, you shouldn’t include the references into your resume – it’s considered outdated now. In our blog, you can read more facts about modern resumes. - Building an online presence is important
The fact that recruiters scan the job seeker’s social media profiles is no longer surprising. Your Facebook postings, if considered unprofessional, can destroy that positive imaged that you’ve built thoroughly in the resume. However, creating a strong online persona takes more than deleting the party pictures and avoiding creating offensive postings.
Ideally, your social media pages (even personal ones!) should convey the same message that your resume and covering letter does. The facts from online profile should complement, not contradict, the information from your resume and brings more light on your personality traits.
When improving your web presence, don’t forget to browse the web for the comments you might have left on websites such as Yahoo or Reddit. A controversial comment in blog you’ve left 5 years ago can damage your current online image.
Professional online resources, such as LinkedIn and personal website, may contain the additional information about your side gigs and career path. Job-seekers with professional online image always get more attention of the recruiters. - Don’t forget about business cards
In addition to creating a shiny resume, take care of creating attractive business cards. If you network at the industry events, courses or voluntary projects, be sure to give them out freely. You never know how it will come back to you. Maybe, the person you gave the card to would recommend you for a newly opened job in their company or they will pass your card to a recruiter who specializes in your field. One way or another, spreading the word about your occupation as well as the fact that you’re job hunting will do you any harm.
When meeting someone for the first time, you don’t only give them your card, but also typically shake hands. Meanwhile, a handshake can tell a lot about your personality type as well, so keep it short and firm. - Make a name for yourself
To receive more attractive job offers, you need to be visible. Being a well-rounded professional may help: attending professional events, volunteering, and becoming a member of various affiliations expand your networking circles and provide you with extra details to add on your resume. Nevertheless, to become a wanted employee for most companies, you need to develop yourself and contribute to your industry.
Making yourself a name in your professional sphere can be achieved through many ways: publishing the articles or even a book, becoming a conference speaker, starting a professional blog are all good ways to go. If you become an influencer, you won’t have to look for a job any longer: recruiters will contact you with attractive offers.
Become an effective job seeker with a professional resume
Your success in finding a new job heavily depends on the ability to present yourself in the most favorable light, use the right techniques and stay persistent until the goal is reached. And while the networking and interviewing skills are something that you should develop by yourself, you can give your job hunting a head start by getting your resume written by an expert.
There are no trifles when it comes to resume writing – structure, design, style of writing, grammar and keywords are all important for constructing an effective application. With deep understanding of what the modern workplace requires and how a winning resume should look like, our writers are ready to create a perfectly written resume to support your career needs and allow you to become one of the best job-hunters.
Contact us, letting the writer know your professional goals and fill out a quick questionnaire, and receive your resume in accordance with the deadline you set. Moreover, our pricing policy is flexible and we offer significant discounts off your first order.
Do you consider yourself an effective job hunter?