How to develop a winning job search strategy

It is vital to develop a winning job search strategy if you want to be selected for the right opportunity for you, and relatively fast.

You need to establish your ‘must haves’ and then later pin down your job search strategy so that you can avoid sending off your CV to any old company when you find a spare minute in the day.

We would recommend that you start by identifying your ‘must haves’:

• Your job remit: What tasks would you perform in your dream role? For example, you may like to be given more responsibility in your new dream role, or be taken out of your comfort zone.
• Your work/life balance: Would you be interested in a more demanding role? Or a role that allows you to focus on other priorities, such as families, outside of working hours? Perhaps flexible working hours or an option to work from home? You need to pin this down before you start your job hunt.
• Company culture: Which type of company culture suits your personality type? Are you interested in a working environment where social events are common due to your outgoing and sociable personality? Or do you want to leave on Friday evening and forget about work until Monday morning?
• Preferred industry: Which industry interests you the most? What topics are you passionate about, both inside and outside of work?
• Practical considerations: What do you need in terms of salary? Are there any rewards that you would extremely benefit from? What is the maximum distance you would be willing to commute to? Is it based in the right location to suit your needs?
• Your career plan: What are your wider career goals and aspirations? How would you like your dream role to help you achieve these? Are you looking for a role with room for progression? Or somewhere where a mentor could support your development? It’s important that your next role is aligned to your future ambitions.

Once you have nailed down your ‘must have’ criteria for your next career move, we would now suggest that you start to plan your job search strategy which should include:

• Support of a recruiter:
  Enlisting the help of an expert recruiter can help you find your dream role. They will find the right roles to suit your needs and put you forward for them, which can save you a lot of time and can introduce you to roles that may not be available in the open market.
• Keeping on top of opportunities:
  Now you know which type of organisations you would love to work for, begin to follow them on social media and keep an eye on their career sites for any current vacancies or any updates. It may also be a good idea to sign up to job alerts on recruitment website so you can be the first to know about any new vacancies!
• Save your CV across all of your electronic devices:
  Missing out your work devices of course, you will then be ready to apply as and when any potential job opportunities come up, wherever you are, on whichever device you are using.
• Be organised:
  Keep track of all the jobs you have applied for, note down which stage you are at with each one and list the relevant contacts. It’s important to add in any meetings or interviews that you have arranged into your calendar (on both your mobile device and physical dairy, if you are old school) so that you don’t forget.
• Don’t lose hope:
  We understand that it can be hard to stay positive when you feel that no jobs are coming your way but it is important to keep in high spirits during your job hunt. Not every application leads to success, but do not give up – stay motivated at all times!

Nailing down what you would like to achieve from your next opportunity, finding the right time and right resources to seek these opportunities out will, in time, land you your dream role.

As communication with candidates is primarily done through the use of phones, why not also take a look at our previous post to find out if your phone is costing you your dream job.