Tips For Finding A Job

Trying to find a job? It may be time to rethink your approach

Whether you’re ready for a new challenge after a period with your current employer, currently unemployed and trying to find a job, or redirecting your career path in a new direction, job seeking is tough. In a competitive and often crowded job market, having confidence in your skills and standing out in your field is essential. 

While every industry is slightly different, there are some basic job-seeking techniques that you need to master to set yourself apart from the competition, get that interview, and secure the role you’ve always wanted. 

Job seeking techniques that actually work

Let’s tackle the fundamentals first. While nailing that job interview and securing the position of your dreams requires a unique approach, you should think of this as the icing on the cake. You need a solid foundation before adding all that gorgeous decoration and sprinkles. So, let’s recap the fundamental job seeking tips that everyone should be following:

• Nailing a killer resume

Perhaps the most prominent tip for finding a job on our list, but no less important because of that. There are two elements to consider when crafting your resume. First, you need to nail the basics — make sure that all the information is up to date, grammar and spelling are flawless, and the resume is formatted sleek and professional.

Next, you need to consider tailoring your resume to a particular job application. Cover letters are important, but they can often become detached from your resume during internal hiring processes. Your resume has to stand on its own. Subtly adjust your resume for every application by drawing on your experience that makes you best suited for the position. Highlight your best features, and consider the formatting and design choices that reflect your understanding of the industry. A beautiful, conceptual resume with bold typefaces might be perfect for graphic design or advertising but less than appropriate for finance or engineering roles.

• Leveraging your network

This is a phrase that gets bandied around a lot, so much so that it might have started to sound a bit hollow to you. Demonstrating your suitability for a role or within an organisation is all about people skills.

Suddenly, reaching out to people you’ve never met before during a job hunt is tiring and sometimes overwhelming, but it can also feel like a somewhat ineffective task. If you regularly attend networking events, stay active on LinkedIn, and think of your family and friends as part of your extended professional network, suddenly, this task is a lot less daunting. Maintain these relationships, and when it’s time to look for a new role, your well-tended connections start to come in handy.

• Focusing your application

We touched on this when talking about resumes, but imagine being the hiring manager's position for a particular role. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of applications are coming in for the same position. If your cover letter and resume aren’t focused on the skills most relevant to a job, you’ll quickly be dismissed.

When you’ve done the work in preparing for a role and researching the organisation, there’s no shame in letting hirers know! Front-load your application with relevant details about the job you’re applying for, and make it as obvious as possible that you understand the requirements of a successful applicant.

• Making use of recruiters

Just like your professional network, a powerful recruitment agency will help you form connections and cut through the crowd when trying to find a job. Not only this, but a recruiter can help make the process of hunting for jobs more focused, effective and ultimately successful for you.

By working with a recruiter, you can gain extra insights into your professional strengths, and you may even discover your suitability for roles or industries you’d never considered before. Plus, a recruiter can help you secure the best possible salary if you successfully secure a position.

• Keeping things professional

This might go without saying, but even when you’re displaying confidence through the application procedure, proving uniqueness and personality, you should never push things so far that you lose your professionalism.

Keep things formal, and don’t get too personal in correspondence or interviews. Vulnerability and honesty are fine, as long as you frame these with underlying professionalism and respect. Likewise, with dress codes, if you’re unsure of an organisation’s dress standards, err on the side of formality — it never hurts to look overdressed and show a prospective employer you take the opportunity seriously.

Tips for finding a job you love

So, you’ve made sure your basic job-seeking techniques are under control. What’s next? One of the most important things to keep in mind with any job search is your own priorities. While a scattergun approach might seem good when you’re firing off applications, the easiest way to demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for a role is to be passionate and enthusiastic about the opportunity. 

Before you start sending out applications for every position that might be remotely suitable, it’s a good idea to narrow your focus a little. We often think about job hunts from the employer's perspective — what are they looking for, and how can I meet their expectations? The employer’s perspective is a great thing to be mindful of, but what is often less obvious to people is that the job application process is a chance to discover the values and goals of an organisation and how they align with your own. And in case you think we’re encouraging you to be picky, remember that hiring managers are looking for job seekers that have done their research. Suppose you can demonstrate that you understand a company’s mission statement and that it aligns with what you value in your professional life. In that case, you’ll not only sound more focused and suitable for a job, but your extra work will also set you apart. 

Making the most of a job interview

Finally, a word on job interviews. We’ve run through many good job-seeking tips that also apply to interviews; keep things professional, focus and tailor your answers to the specific role, and don’t be afraid to show off the research you’ve done. 

Many job seekers forget that a job interview is a two-way street: it’s your chance to get to know the company better, understand what they’re looking for, and why they operate the way they do. Don’t be afraid to ask questions throughout the interview and answer them. And speaking of answers — preparation is essential, and it’s fine to have some responses a little ‘rehearsed’ to help with nerves. But don’t forget to listen too! Often, job seekers get so caught up in their prepared material; they’re not focused on having a conversation and organically responding to questions as they come up. Keep your ears open, and try to think of your interview as an open dialogue rather than a performance. 

Omni Recruit — your home for job-seeking tips and career opportunities 

If you’re looking for more job-seeking techniques to help you stand out from the crowd, Omni Recruit can help. From the latest news in employment to major hiring campaigns, we’re experts in pairing talented people with the right opportunity for the next step in their careers.

Speak to us today about realising your career aspirations and finding the role of your dreams!

Finding a job FAQs

Still feel like you need more help in your hunt for that perfect role? Take a look at our FAQs for job seekers for even more tips on finding a job you’ll love. 

What's the first step in finding a job?

They say the hardest part of a journey can be taking that first step out of your front door. If you’re feeling paralysed by indecision or just unable to get started on your job hunt, it can be hard to know what the first step to take is.

Before you open up job search websites, refresh your resume or start filling out applications, your first step on a job hunt should be forming a clear vision of what you want from your search. Define your aspirations and highest priorities for a new role, what you might be willing to compromise on, and what you absolutely won’t budge on. Is the option to work remotely a must-have for you? Perhaps you want a percentage pay rise from your current salary in line with your experience and skills.

For some people, finding a role at a company that reflects their values is the most important element. A healthy work-life balance might be your highest priority, or maybe it’s a more challenging role at a company with room for growth. Whatever the case, decide on your checklist for a new role, and keep this fresh in your mind as you start to look for a job.

Once you’ve nailed this first step, your path to finding companies and positions that might fit the bill becomes a lot easier. Target specific companies and organisations that have a reputation for being the kind of workplace you’d enjoy being a part of, whether they have advertised vacancies or not. Keep your eyes out for advertised positions, and have conversations with your network to pinpoint where your next career move might be and get a sense of the workplace culture in various companies.

From here, you can begin to build or update your resume to reflect strengths that will appeal to these companies and position you as well suited for particular roles. Keep your checklist in mind throughout your application and interview process. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions about your most essential priorities from a role in interviews, and let potential employers know what those priorities are.

How do I get a job if I have no experience?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions for job seekers. Nailing a role when you don’t have prior experience is a challenge. Many job applications include prerequisites, which might exclude people without a certain amount of experience in a field or even specific qualifications.

When it comes to experience, the amount of months or years someone has under their belt doesn’t necessarily reflect their suitability for a role. In a crowded marketplace, certain conditions are placed around a position help to narrow the field and cut down on the number of potential candidates applying for a job. This makes sense from the perspective of an HR manager or project lead who has to go through dozens, if not hundreds, of applications. However, for a potential applicant, it can be very frustrating – especially if you feel you’d be a great fit for the job.

If experience is holding you back from being considered for roles you’d love to have, it might be time to think outside the box. Keeping in touch with your extended professional network via LinkedIn and various industry events or job fairs is a good way to maintain relationships. You can start more informal conversations with decision-makers in different businesses or industries you might be interested in working in.

Through these relationships, you can learn directly from current employees or managers what roles may be available or existing opportunities within the business that haven’t been externally advertised yet. By leveraging those relationships, you can be considered for roles that would otherwise be closed to you.

What do you need before you can begin a job search?

As well as your list of priorities for your next job, there are a few essential tips for finding a job you’ll need to know to begin your search. 

• An up-to-date resume — this is a piece of advice that gets bandied around a lot, so let’s break down exactly what we mean by this. Yes, a resume should include your most recent experience, skills and education — and especially if you’ve been in a role for a while, this will probably be an extensive change you’ll need to make. If you’re moving toward a different career than the path you started, much older experience and education can be de-emphasised in favour of more relevant information. Don’t forget to check the basics, too – make sure your personal and contact information is correct, clear, and easily locatable on every page of your resume.
• A killer cover letter — it might be more time-consuming to take a personalised approach to every job application. Still, in a sea of candidates, a cover letter that clearly identifies the main tasks of the role and your suitability based on your skills and experience will stand out against other more boilerplate, generic responses. Keep it short, sweet, and highly relevant to the role. 
• A confidence-boosting interview outfit — Different industries expect different levels of formality in interviews and workwear, but erring on the side of formal wear and ensuring your interview outfit is clean and smart is essential. This will help you project a professional, calm, commanding demeanour in any interview setting.
• Research about the company or role — This goes hand in hand with preparing a good cover letter and feeling confident in an interview, but make sure you go beyond the information in a job application when applying for any role. This will give you extra insights into nailing the application and assessing your suitability for the role. It’ll also give you an edge over the competition and demonstrate to potential employers that you’ve done the work and taken the initiative.
• Questions of your own — When finding job FAQs, you'll have your own too. Naturally, you’ll have questions for an employer and answers to their own. Feel confident in asking these questions throughout the job application process – not only does it show you have clear goals and insights into a company, but it’s also a way of understanding a company's workplace culture and the demands of a particular role. If the job isn’t the right fit for you or there’s something about the employer that doesn't seem quite right, it’s better to find out at this stage and continue your search rather than waste your time on an opportunity that isn’t right for you.