Searching, and applying for a new job can feel so intimidating that many people put up with sub-standard employment conditions, just to avoid it. The good news is that you can make searching for a new role easier. Read on to find out how.
Have a clear idea of the salary you want before you begin your search
Applying for positions where the salary is less than you can comfortably live on is a waste of your time and effort. Instead, you need to have a clear idea of what salary figure is acceptable to you, even before you begin your search. Then you can weed out any positions that do not meet this and only apply for the ones that do.
Unfortunately, a common practice these days seems to be that businesses avoid disclosing the salary they are offering and ask the applicant to state their requirements instead. There are a few things to remember here. First of all, lowballing is never a good idea because it demonstrates that you have little confidence in your abilities. Also, if the thing an employer is most concerned with during the recruitment process is saving money rather than finding someone that is a great fit for the role, they probably aren’t going to be that great to work for.
To that end, doing some research on average salaries for people at your level in your field is essential before you begin applying for jobs. Asking for a middle to high range when applying is also a good strategy to find the best quality employers.
Identify your USPs
When it comes to selling a product USPs or unique sales propositions are a crucial part of the process. The thing is that in the recruitment process, you also need to sell yourself as a candidate. That means identifying how you are different from your competition can be very useful.
For example, your personal USPs might be that you have qualified from a top college in your field, that you have a certain number of years of experience, or that you demonstrate qualities such as being loyal or a great team player. Just be sure to mention these in your application and where possible have some examples of doing these things in practice to talk about at the interview stage.
Find out where the best jobs are being advertised
It used to be that people would wait excitedly for the newspaper to come out each week, and look for their next job in the employment section. However, this is no longer the case. Instead, the best employment opportunities tend to be available online. Indeed, to make it as easy as possible to search for Online jobs it’s best to use a site that collects the best ones for you. Then you can use their filter feature to refine your search by things like salary, skills, type of employment, and even location, which means you get the most relevant results fast and don’t have to scroll through all the listings that aren’t relevant to what you are looking for.
Manage your time well
Applying for a new job can feel like a full-time job in itself. That is why it’s so vital that you manage your time effectively during the application process. Otherwise, it can end up taking over your life, and by the time you do get a new position you can already feel burned out.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to limit the time you spend on your search to a specific amount each day. Indeed, by doing this you are much more likely to focus on submitting applications that truly matter to you. Additionally, you may even like to find some time management techniques that best fit your personality to use as you search for a new job role. This is a topic you can discover more about in our post here.
Customize your resume
Sending a stock resume out to hundreds of companies might feel as if you have achieved a lot but it’s a very ineffective way of applying for jobs. This is because organizations expect you to know something about them when you apply and demonstrate this in your letter of application.
They will also expect you to tailor your resume to the skills and qualities listed in their advertised job description. Indeed, from their perspective, they will be looking for people that best fit their needs, and the more clearly and concisely you can show this, the better your chances of getting to the next stage and getting an interview will be.
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