When you set out to look for employment, being organized and equipped with tools is half the job. Consider job search a full-time, temporary enterprise and approach it with a focus and a schedule, taking your mind off of it at the end of the day and allowing yourself to rest.

Here are 15 tools you can set up in advance for an effective job search. We will review each of them in detail below.

1. A list of your target roles
2. A list of former colleagues and supervisors
3. Your growing LinkedIn network
4. A list of target employers
5. Indeed
6. LinkedIn Jobs
7. Your LinkedIn profile
8. Recruiters
9. Email alerts from select job boards
10. Career or recruitment center and career fairs
11. Glassdoor for company reviews
12. Associations, professional social media groups, or specialized listservs
13. Personal social media accounts
14. More than one contact per job ad
15. Self-care

1. Keep a comprehensive list of all your target roles.

This will allow you to use specific keywords and make effective searches. For example, do not just look for “Marketing Manager.” Try all the applicable titles. It’s easier when you already have them listed in one place.

2. Keep a list of all former colleagues and supervisors with whom you have good relationships.

They can be your references or know of an organization that is currently hiring. Let them know that you are looking for new employment and ask if you may use their names and contact information as references.

3. You have been growing your LinkedIn network over the years.

Notify it about the positions you are targeting and your key skills. Craft the message strategically knowing that it will be read by a broad audience and re-shared. You may choose to summarize your successes in the most recent role and mention new challenges you look forward to. Be concise and precise.

4. Keep a list of target employers.

These can be collected from conference sponsor lists, industry leaders, interesting start-ups, and companies where your LinkedIn connections and former colleagues work. Look through these companies’ career pages for current openings.

Read local or national business magazines to stay current on industry news and learn about companies’ expansion plans. Follow the company pages on social media and reach out to decision-makers on LinkedIn.

5. Use Indeed to subscribe to alerts and upload your resume.

Upload your resume on Indeed to be easily found by recruiters. You can expand your resume, make your contact information stand out, download the resume as PDF to see how it will look on the recruiters’ end, and tweak it until you’re satisfied with the final document.

6. Apply using LinkedIn Jobs.

Use your list of target roles (keywords) and look for jobs on LinkedIn using this list. You can also subscribe to alerts, apply via LinkedIn, identify key decision-makers, and send them InMail.

Search LinkedIn Content tab using phrases like “looking for…,” “recommend a …,” or “hiring a ….”

7. Make your SEO-optimized LinkedIn profile work for you.

Make sure your profile is complete, detailed, and has several recommendations so you appear frequently in the search results.

8. Connect with recruiters.

Use the main search bar to type your field + “recruiter.” For example “Government recruiter” hit search People Location (see a screenshot below). You can also search among your existing connections or 2nd and 3rd-degree connections.

Send a personalized connection request—brief and specific. Offer to speak on the phone or provide additional information, as you see fit.

Recruiters and HR professionals receive lots of resumes. To stand out from the competition, prioritize clarity and concision in your communications. Make sure your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and/or portfolio are polished before making contact.

9. Subscribe to email alerts from 1-3 job boards of your choice.

I recommend having a separate email address for this. You can decide how often you want to monitor this mailbox.

10. Make an appointment at a career/recruitment center or visit career fairs in your area.

Have hard copies of your resume and business cards with you. Be prepared to articulate your career goals to the career advisor so they can direct you to the right resources. Ask specific questions and recommendations based on your goals.

11. Use Glassdoor for company reviews.

When preparing your applications, look up target employer reviews on Glassdoor. They can often give you a good idea of the corporate culture and the state of the business. You may also ask your colleagues in closed Facebook groups or private messages about their reviews of some employers.

12. Read professional association job boards.

Some associations have free job boards and some make job ads available only to their members. Depending on your industry, there are also professional Facebook or LinkedIn groups and specialized listservs. Subscribe, run the search based on your keywords, and ask pertinent questions, while also contributing valuable content to share with your colleagues.

13. Make use of personal social media accounts.

You may want to announce your active job search status on your personal social media page. Be strategic in how you phrase it. Assume that there is no separation between the public and the private on the Internet and treat all content you post as public.

14. Make more than one contact per job ad.

You have read the job description carefully, perfected and customized your resume and cover letter based on the employer’s needs, and applied. Congratulations!

Take a step further: do not rely on technology assuming that your application will get to the right person right away. Make more than one contact to increase your chances of getting a response.

Identify a decision-maker via the company’s website or LinkedIn, send an InMail or an email, and/or try a phone call. You can leave a voice message or ask who would be the best person to contact about your target role. Any response is better than no response.

15. Enjoy your well-deserved time off.

Set the number of hours you can spend looking and applying for jobs each day and disengage at the end of the day to allow for self-care and relaxation. When the right employer comes your way, you will be energized to start the new role.

 

About the author:

Tanya Mykhaylychenko is a professional resume writer with a background in content writing and university teaching. She is a member of Career Professionals of Canada. For more information, please visit https://tm-editorial.com/about/.