I've been searching for a role since July and wanted to share what I've learned along the way in case my mistakes and tips can help others.
Anonymous
I've been searching for a role since July and wanted to share what I've learned along the way in case my mistakes and tips can help others.
When I started searching, I reached to my contacts and made everyone aware that I was looking for a new position. Sadly, that didn't amount to much as while sympathetic, they didn't have the connections to aid my search.
Next, I used the usual job searching sites including LinkedIn and Indeed and added in industry specific websites. The aforementioned were hit or miss but reaching out to 6-degree of separation contacts that were listed as knowing someone at the company and forward along my resume helped a handful of times in terms of an HR interview but didn't result in a job offer.
Connections forwarding me job listings has been helpful and has resulted in some interviews but the role went to internal candidates.
Listening to everyone's input I probably have thousands of versions of resumes and made the mistake of updating my summary section each time. with the flavor of the month resumes. What I didn't realize it that due to scanning software, your roles are reviewed but not necessarily the summary and that's why your bullet points need to be tailored to the role.
The summary helped if it landed in someone's email or they HR / hiring manager was reviewing my resume not ATS or third-party vendors. The same applies to designed versions and what was working well for email didn't transmitting correctly in scanning software. I spent 3 months applying with a designed resume due to my brand marketing background thinking it would help me stand out from other applicants. What I didn't realize until one time I was able to view my scanned resume in a candidate profile was how badly it was screwing up my information.
That's why simple and straightforward works best and use STAR or action & result based bullet points. 3-5 is enough( I was using way too many at the start) and have those tailored to the role's JD.
Blasting out resumes is not the answer, spending time sometimes even hours applying for a relevant role goes a lot further than easy apply submission. A recent higher-ed application took 6 hours to complete and I took breaks in between) but resulted in an interview.
Tip: Review what's needed ahead of time for long-job applications and using the folder method, creating everything that's needed to upload during the submission process instead of remaining online. It's heartbreaking when the application times out and sometimes you lose everything if it's your first application with the organization.
Desktop folders make submitting and reviewing past applications so much easier. This one took me a long time to figure out so here's what I'm currently doing....
Starting the month off fresh with a new folder. Each application has a sub folder within that month listing the company's name. I include any material needed for the application as well as a screen shot or PDF of JD in case I needed to reference it later. This helped tremendously as I've been contacted weeks later and sometimes the JD is taken down and I wasn't sure of what I wrote in my cover letter or resume. and had to go fish through resumes to find the right one. I'm treating myself to a new laptop once I find a new role as this one is full of applications and presentations.
Finally, I call it the circle method. When preparing for an interview, I draw a circle in the middle of the page. Inside I list the position. I draw off-shoot circles and while reading the JD, add key words and requirements to those circles.
After researching the company and compiling my notes, I create my Final Circles containing what I want to address as 6-8 main components related to my experience. At the top of the page I list 3-4 questions I want to ask during the interview so I'm not caught off guard. I include the salary range, work environment and interviewer's name, contact details and date / format / time of the interview. That way, I can review one sheet before the interview commences and I feel prepared.
While I haven't found a job yet, I feel like I'm getting closer and starting to have more interviews that are a better-fit for my experience. I hope some of these tips help as I had to learn them the hard way and it's added months to my search. Sending best wishes and good luck to my fellow searchers!
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