If you want to spark your job search efforts in 2020, you’re not alone. A career change is often near the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolution list. January is one of the best times to start this hunt. To put yourself in the right position for that perfect opportunity, you need to start preparing now. Here are some tips from The Recruitment Alternative to help you on your way:
Update Your Resume
The purpose of a resume is to help you secure an interview with a prospective employer or recruiter. In this fast-paced world, we live in, employers and recruitment consultants often view hundreds of resumes. It’s important to showcase your expertise and suitability clearly.
Set Goals & Make Plans
Once you have decided on your new goals it makes sense to make a clear plan. To ensure you can reach your career goals, making a plan that takes you back to the basics. In conjunction with refreshing your resume, be sure to tweak your cover letter and build a professional online presence. Make a list of companies to target in your search and set realistic daily job-seeking activities. In your plan, you can dot point the next few steps such as preparing for an interview, negotiation tactics, etc.
Pick Up The Phone
Don’t solely rely on establishing your online presence and sending online applications, a personal touch never goes unnoticed. Once you have applied for a position contact the recruiter or business directly to follow up on your application. You can prepare some intelligent questions to ask about the position to help you stand out from the crowd and build an initial rapport with the hiring manager.
Research Businesses
With a ‘cultural fit’ being the deciding factor in many cases it makes sense to research companies with a focus on their culture as much as possible prior to an interview. This will help you to understand their values and if they align with your own goals. Check out their social media platforms as well for further insight.
Be Sure To Know What You Want
This may seem obvious however a lot of candidates aren’t sure what they are looking for. So when it comes to the interview process they are not as confident as they could be. Even when they are made a job offer they change their minds in terms of salary, position expectations, etc. If you know what you want you will not waste your time or anyone else’s time. Of course, sometimes it can be hard to find the ‘perfect’ job that meets all of your expectations. A good place to start is to consider the top three or four most important aspects of the next job you’d like before you apply.
Seeking a new job is always going to require exceptional effort on your part. Following these suggestions along the way should help you to move toward a successful search in the new year. Be sure to check out The Recruitment Alternative’s job board for new employment opportunities. Also, take a look at our job seeker help centre for more tips and suggestions to assist you on your job-seeking journey.
