Collaborative Post¦ At the moment, you can’t listen to the headlines or read a paper without learning about job losses or hearing people talking about how the Covid-19 crisis has turned their lives upside down. If you’ve lost your job, or the pandemic has caused you to reconsider your career options, here are some tips to make searching for a job stress-free.
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Update your CV
If you don’t have one, create a CV! You’ll need one to apply for most jobs. Have one already? Make sure it’s up to date before you devote hours to filling in application forms or writing personal statements. If it’s been a long time since you applied for a job, the information may not be accurate, and you might not be selling yourself. Your CV should be succinct and snappy, and it should focus on your skills, your qualifications and your experience. Once you’ve updated the information, spend a few minutes tinkering with your CV to tailor it to each role you apply for. You need to be able to impress on paper because employers will often look at CVs and written forms before they invite candidates to an interview.
Look for positions online
The Internet has made looking for a job so much faster and simpler. You can now search and apply for jobs in an instant without leaving the house. To maximise your chances of success, use targeted websites like Practice Match and filter your search results based on your skills, the industry in which you want to work, your salary expectations and your experience. You can save applications to enable you to apply for multiple roles without going through the process of writing statements and answering questions over and over again, and you can upload your CV to try and attract employers. Sign up for alerts and consider joining specialist recruitment agencies if you have a specific role or sector in mind, for example, healthcare or education.
Read the details carefully
It’s not uncommon to stumble across stories in the press featuring people who have applied for hundreds of jobs without so much as an interview in return. Demand outweighs supply in many cases, but it’s also common for people to apply for roles that are not suitable for them. Read the job description carefully, and make sure you have the essential requirements before you spend time preparing an application. It’s worth throwing your hat in the ring if you meet the essential requirements, but you don’t tick all the preferred skills boxes, but you might be wasting time and energy applying for jobs that don’t match your skill set or level of expertise.
Answer the question
This may sound obvious, but many people fire off generic applications, especially when they’re losing patience and optimism and they’ve already applied for several roles without any joy. Take a moment to read the questions before you start writing or you hit the submit button. You will need to tweak previous applications to suit the individual role, even if the question is very similar.
Searching for a job can be incredibly stressful and time-consuming, but there are steps you can take to increase your chances of success and make the process less arduous. Update your CV, tailor your applications, read adverts and job descriptions carefully and use the Internet to find jobs, register with specialist recruiters and connect with employers.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.