Tired of Doing the Job Search Hustle? ???? Refine Your Strategy with These 6 Tactics

For the first time in YEARS, job seekers are having a tough time out there. For many, this is the first time they have had to apply online for jobs, and most certainly the first time they’ve been ‘on the market’ for more than a few weeks before securing their next gig.?

But, times have changed, so you’ll need to discard outdated (or non-effective) job search strategies.

Here are 6 job search refinements to try out:

1. Employee referral programs

Identify companies that are hiring AND which have employee referral programs. Then, use your networking skills to engage with an employee of the company to get your ‘in’. It’s proven to be 30% more likely to get you hired than if you were to ‘cold-apply’.

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2. LinkedIn Premium

It’s worth paying for the upgrade (at least until you secure a new role), to be able to see who has been looking at your profile – and then to reach out to them. This will only be beneficial if you’re active with posting, reposting and commenting – which you MUST do, if you’re in job search mode.

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3. Keyword matching

Make sure that when you send your CV in relation to a job (even if it’s through a referral), that you adapt it to include keywords that match the job description. Whether or not the company is using an AI resume parser, or a human recruiter (or both), being able to easily match your skills and experience to the job description is important.

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4. CV refinement

If you haven’t formulated a CV in a while, PLEASE make sure you’re using a format that will pass through both AI and human screening with ease. There are some really great and affordable resources like resume.io (and others) to help with this.

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5. Do your research

Use ZoomInfo and Apollo.io for more information on companies and hiring managers. Their dashboards are very user friendly and easier to use than LinkedIn. While engagement with hiring managers and other key people in an organization takes place almost exclusively on LinkedIn, these other platforms are very rich sources of information.

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6. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK

This goes without saying, but ICYMI, I’ll say it again: you need to spend time engaging with your network, which includes both strong and loose/weak ties. I recently interviewed Helen Nicholson , a world-class expert on networking, on my podcast On Work & Revolution. (Ranked Top 10 Podcast in Business on Apple podcast ?? ) Trust me, it’s totally worth your time to? listen to this 35-minute episode - so many practical strategies you can implement right away and become a networking pro!

I know it’s challenging out there. Keeping a positive mindset and high levels of motivation is hardest of all.

And, if you’re needing additional support, feel free to reach out to me to find out more about Career and Job Search Coaching .