10 TIPS FOR HOW TO FIND A NEW JOB
Having gone through a period of searching for the right job for myself, here are some tips from professionals I learnt along the way which I wanted to share to help you find your next dream job.
1. Research
If you are not sure what job you next want, you will need to do some research.
Where to start? The government national career service (see links at end) and talking to your friends/wider team colleagues/ex-colleagues are good starting points.
There are also some great career podcasts available that can be helpful as well to give you an insight into different career options. I have included a link at the bottom showing a variety of useful podcasts.
Be aware, if your dream job is in a different sector/industry/career field to your current one you may need to try and build some relevant experience through volunteering/internships/temping or accepting a more junior level position then you are currently in . But if you identify your ideal job and the path to get there – you can weigh up your options and think about different ways to get there and what works best for you.
2. Update your Linkedin profile
- Make sure your photo is up to date- a professional headshot photograph rather than selfies/poor quality photos go a long way here to make you stand out and convey a great first impression.
- Ensure your experience is up to date. Look at your privacy settings before updating your experiences if you don’t want your network to keep being notified about changes you are making as you update, until you get a new job!
- You don’t have to say on your profile that you are actively searching necessarily but there is a setting that you can turn on to show you are open to new job opportunities- so recruiters can see this and contact you.
- Check each section and tailor it accordingly to highlight any relevant skills for your dream job.
3. Reach out to your existing network
How do people find their next job?
22% through recruiters, job fairs, ads or internet postings.
78% through informal conversations or strategic social networking.
As much as most people don’t like the word, networking is key. And its not a bad thing. Networking should be a mutual exchange of information/knowledge, not just about what’s in it for you but think about what you could genuinely help the other person with either now or in the future
Old and new colleagues are a great place to start. In fact, when I reached out to an old colleague when I was job hunting, genuinely just for advice on a different sector to the one I was in, it led to him informing me he was about to ask for a budget to get a similar role recruited for that I had the skills for, and I should share my CV with him! This leads to my next tip…
4. Have an updated CV ready in the your chosen format.
Whilst you will need to tailor it to whichever job you apply for, a useful tip I have learnt is having a base CV with all your relevant experience on that you can then pick out and tailor for each job,
Whilst your base CV may be longer than 2 pages as it shows all your relevant experience- the one you send out for jobs should not usually be more than 2 pages and the simpler and clearer the formatting the better to pass automatic CV scanning tools.
It can be really useful to get a professional to help to rewrite your CV, even if you think it looks good- it may not be getting past Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), as I have learnt from my own experience and professional CV writing training. I can help you with this, just get in touch to find out more.
5. Read/listen to business news and trends:
Read financial/business news, relevant trade publications and/or interesting books related to your industry. This will help you be aware of recent trends, make you consider more about where you want to specialise and it will also be useful for both interviews and networking conversations!
6. Attend networking events to grow your network
Find conferences, check your relevant association’s online page, meetup.com, ask (ex-) colleagues if they know of any events/conferences coming up- sometimes there are free tickets going around for them!
At an event, make it a goal to talk to at least 5 different people, take a genuine interest in what they are doing and get their contact details. Try to find a genuine connection and perhaps suggest for meeting for coffee/having a call or staying in touch virtually, if you want to continue the conversation. Alternatively, try and offer to sharing something (e.g. Article/recommendations) that may be of interest to them to keep the connection going.
Why? This will help expand your network, and they may have contacts in sectors you are interested in . It is hard for people to refer/remember someone else through just 1 ad-hoc meeting, so it helps if you can make a genuine connection and keep the conversation going beyond the event.
What about during these current ‘Covid’ times? Even in the current ‘virtual’ world there is lot’s going on and it can be easier to attend more events! Search meetup live events/ groups ,Eventbrite, and see if there are any related industry conferences being run online. Also join relevant profession groups on Linkedin as events may be advertised there.
7. Upskill- Take time to get relevant certifications-redundancy packages sometimes have grant allowance for some training and if you are registered as unemployed- you sometimes get access to discounted adult education courses from local education classes/ There are also lots of free /reduced price courses online via ShawAcademy/Coursera/Udemy so keep a look out for them.
Alternatively if you are searching whilst still employed, check what training/grants your companies offer and see if there is a course you could do to help you in your dream job.
8. Take advantage of Linkedin free 1 month premium trial:
There are several useful features of Linkedin Premium that will make it particularly useful during your job hunt:
- You can see how your skills on your Linkedin profile stack up against advertised jobs key skills- so you can update accordingly your profile and CV if you do have the relevant skills to show you are a better match if the recruiter checks on Linkedin
- It allows you to reach out to people not directly in your network such as hiring managers so you can try to reach out and find out more about the job/show your interest (be wary of inundating hiring managers though!)
- You can learn as much as you like with free Linkedin training access- interview skills/leadership/new skills relevant to your industry etc and add certifications for completed Linkedin courses (and new skills) easily if you like when you finish the course.
- NB. If you don’t want to continue the subscription, make sure you cancel the subscription before your free trial ends.
9. Make time for your hobbies
Why? Not only will you want time out from your job search for your own sanity and mental health reasons but it gives you something else to talk about when you do reach out to your network or at interviews. Who knows it may also lead you to your next job- by expanding your network naturally!
If you are thinking of persuing a new hobby- you can look for lessons on it if needed/local gym groups if its a sport or check Meetup.com, Locals app, Eventbrite are all good places to start!.
10. Search your name and see what comes up
When you search your name on the internet- check what comes up, is it favourable and is it you?
You may want to make your Linkedin page searchable by Google so if a recruiter searches you online (which is likely having talked to recruiters and hiring managers) for you the right person and image appear and put a link to it on your CV so recruiters don’t get side-tracked by other non-related articles that show up if they search you!
Again this is why first impressions and having a great headshot showing your best side is important as recruiters may do a quick check online and form an impression based on what they see.
Also make sure your other social media settings e.g. Facebook are set to private if you don’t want hiring managers seeing what you get up to in your personal life (and/or make sure nothing on there you wouldn’t want them to see!)
How can BCaptures.com help?
– Update your profile with a new headshot (if you’re based around London/Surrey):- with price starting from just £99 for your professional Linkedin optimised headshots. As a London-based portrait and headshot photographer, I’ll make sure you get one you’re happy with and conveys your best professional look! Mention this article when you get in touch to save £10.
As well as with your photography, I also have extensive professional corporate experience from working for a big 4 management consulting company (KPMG) to working for FTSE100 companies directly and have undertaken professional job search, CV writing and Linkedin Training and can help you with the following:
– Reformatting and reviewing your CV to get it ATS (Application tracking system) optimised to get it past automatic filters and actually seen by a human!
– Updating your Linkedin Profile and advice on your settings.
– 121 coaching to help you set and stick to your job searching goals!
I offer low cost, reasonable prices to help you in your job search and genuinely want to help you succeed so just get in touch to find out more!
Useful links:
For researching your next career move:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
https://www.totaljobs.com/advice/what-job-can-i-do
Useful podcasts:
https://player.fm/featured/careers
Useful sites/apps for finding interesting events/hobbies to expand your network and knowledge
www.meetup.com
www.eventbrite.com
Facebook events
Locals App
www.meetup.com
www.eventbrite.com
Professional association websites
Locals Apps
Useful training sites
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course
www.linkedin.com/learning- try during 1 month premium month for free
www.udemy.com- has a range of courses covering range of skills
www.shawacademy.com
(Tip if you search courses in google -you’ll often get offers shown for the ones you may be interested in)
Bijal at B Captures Photography is a photographer and career coach with a professional FTSE 100 and big 4 consulting background and experience and professional training in job searching and writing applications- CV/cover letters and Linkedin and career coaching, so able to help you both with your photos and job applications! She can advise you how to optimise your search for jobs, how to pass the dreaded automatic scanning robots for CVs and practise mock interview questions to help you ace your interview.
.Get in touch if you for no obligation quote or to find out more information.
