Whether you are actively looking for new opportunities or simply keeping your eyes open, a job search is cumbersome. Refining your resume, tracking your efforts, and otherwise maintaining control over the process requires a significant amount of time and attention. Plus, you have to locate vacancies that genuinely meet your needs, and that’s a feat in and unto itself.
Luckily, it is possible to tackle a job search quickly and efficiently. By adopting the right practices, you can streamline and organize your approach, leading to better results. If you don’t know where to begin, here are some habits successful job seekers share.
Don’t Rush to Apply
Often, finding opportunities is fairly easy, particularly since you can conduct searches on your phone. But that doesn’t mean applying is equally convenient. Targeting a resume through your smartphone is difficult, at best.
While you want to apply to a job opening quickly once you spot it, that doesn’t mean you should rush. Sending in an optimized application is crucial to your success, so you don’t want to sacrifice quality in the name of speed.
If you find a position but can’t dedicate the time or energy to crafting the ideal resume, save the job and come back to it at another point in the day. That way, you can give it the attention the process requires and deserves.
Track Your Progress
As you apply to vacancies, keeping track of your efforts is a must. If you simply toss your application into the digital ether and don’t give it a second thought, you may not be able to recall where you applied and when. This makes it nearly impossible to follow-up, and you could miss out on opportunities.
Whenever you send in a resume, note it. For example, you could create a spreadsheet that lets you track the job title and description, company name, contact method, and application date. This ensures you have solid records of your activities, making follow-up easier to manage and not accidentally applying to the same opening twice.
Set Reminders
The job search process involves numerous deadlines. For example, job ads may expire on a specific date, marking the moment the company stops accepting applications. There could also be cutoffs for other parts of the process, such as submitting supplementary materials or completing a skills exam.
If you apply to an opening with any form of a deadline, schedule a reminder in your calendar. That way, you can make sure you take specific steps on time or monitor when the company is moving forward in the process.
Additionally, schedule follow-up reminders as well. For instance, you may want to reach out one week after the company stops accepting applications if you haven’t heard back about your application. By setting the reminder in advance, you don’t have to worry about forgetting.
Coordinate an Effective job Search.
The team at Alpha Consulting can help if you’d like to learn more about what you can do to land an amazing opportunity. Contact us to speak with one of our recruiters today and see how our job search services can benefit you.