If you graduated from college in the past couple months, nothing is more frustrating than being on the lookout for a job and feeling like nothing is coming your way. Chances are you’re burned out from your initial job search efforts and need a serious jumpstart.
Lucky for you, we’ve broken down a step-by-step guide to totally rebooting your job hunt this fall. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be signing that offer letter in no time.
Step 1: Reflect on Your Job Search
Before you start diving in and applying to jobs at a ferocious speed, take a second to think: When it comes to a job, what are you looking for in the first place?
If you’re applying without knowing what you actually want, you’ll spend a lot of time applying to opportunities you don’t necessarily like or that have nothing to do with your overall career goals.
Before you even open a new resume doc or click “Apply” on a job, ask yourself these three critical questions (and even consider writing your answers down as a reminder):
- What are the top three values I want in any company I work for? For instance, do you care about working somewhere that puts an emphasis on mentorship, showcases a commitment to diversity or has a more goal-driven philosophy?
- What’s one skill I absolutely want to take away from my first job? Do you want to walk away with strong analytical skills? Better writing skills? Management experience? These are all things to consider.
- What’s one thing I could never tolerate in a work environment, and why? For example, do you break down in an extra-competitive atmosphere?
Step 2: Do Your Research
Once you know what you actually want in your first job, it’s time to start doing your research. Note that research is absolutely something you should spend time on; don’t just start applying to the first job listing you see!
Overwhelmed by where to start? Obviously we’re a little partial to starting on WayUp, but with good reason. When you log onto WayUp, you’re able to:
- Build a profile that shows employers how amazing you are.
- Set preferences for the types of jobs you want to see.
- Get straightforward instructions for how to apply to those opportunities.
- Take a look at the companies that are offering jobs to recent grads.
In addition, there are some other ways to research companies and industries before you start applying:
- Attend informational interviews or meet for networking coffee dates with people in the workforce. It can help you better discern the type of company you want to work for and what jobs are out there.
- Attend an industry event or trade show. A great way to get the landscape of your industry is to attend an event or trade show, like a smaller career panel or a speed industry networking event.
- Ask your network. You’d be surprised by how much people around you know, even if they don’t work in the industry you want to enter. Everybody knows somebody, so don’t be afraid to tell your network what you’re looking for.
Step 3: Create a Job Search Plan
You’ve thought about your overarching career goals and done your research. It’s time to start grinding away at your job applications, right? Close, but not yet!
Before your start customizing your resumes, writing cover letters and filling out job applications, it’s important to take out your calendar, open a blank spreadsheet and make a plan. People say that the job search is a full-time job in and of itself, and you want to make sure you’ve figured out how you’re going to tackle the long road ahead, especially to avoid carelessness and burnout.
For instance, when in your schedule will you look at jobs boards and another resources to find the listings themselves? When will you do research and then actually fill out applications? When are the optimal times to schedule interviews if you have flexibility to do so?
Job search plans can be as abstract or detailed as you’d like; the biggest takeaway is that you want to be organized before you start the job hunt instead of trying to play catch-up later. Not sure what a great job search plan looks like? We have a free spreadsheet you can download here.
Step 4: Update Your Resume and Prepare Any Other Application Materials
Now that you’ve created your application plan and you know what you actually need to start applying, it’s time to get to work crafting your resume and finishing other parts of your apps. If you want to update your resume but aren’t sure where you should even begin, check out our post on 37 quick resume tweaks you can make in the next five minutes here.
Once your resume is squared away (and you’re sure that you’ve customized it for the job you’re applying for), it’s time to bring your attention to any other elements of your applications. Do some of your apps require cover letters? Do others ask you to answer a few short questions in addition to submitting your resume? It’s time to draft those answers and proofread before you submit.
A pro tip: If you have lots of apps that require multiple application materials, create separate folders for each job and label your files accordingly. You’ll be so happy you aren’t trying to decipher “Cover Letter 1” from “Cover Letter 2” when you’re applying for jobs.
Step 5: Clean Up Your Online Presence
The second-to-last step before clicking “Submit” on all those job applications? Take a look at all of your social media profiles and google yourself to make sure you know what’s out there. You don’t necessarily need to come across as inactive online; you just want to make sure you feel in control of what people are seeing online.
If you still aren’t sure if everyone’s okay, ask friends or family members to check out your profiles. What do they see? Anything that you maybe think is fine but someone else finds alarming?
Step 6: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
If you’ve been preparing lots of application materials and tweaking your resume over and over again, chances are there are mistakes in there. Read your materials from the end to the beginning, then read everything out loud and then have at least one other person read your work.
The bottom line: Every application material should be re-read at least three times (and by you and someone else, at the very least).
Step 7: Submit Your Apps and Keep Track of Your Applications
WayUp keeps track of your applications for you, but if you applied elsewhere or simply emailed your materials to a company directly, we created an easy-to-use spreadsheet for organizing your apps, which you can find here.
The most important thing, however, is that you keep track of everything somewhere that is easy-to-access and succinct. The last thing you want to do is be scrambling to find job applications or trying to remember if you actually clicked “Submit” on that one app you worked on for days.
Plus, this simple organization helps in other parts of the job search: The more organized you are with your apps, the more prepared you’ll feel going into interviews and network events, because you have a handle on what you want and what you’re doing.
Step 8: Follow Up
As you continue your job search, it’s important to reach out to companies and employers if you haven’t heard from them and to keep your applications accounted for. The rule of thumb is typically to reach out about a week after not hearing anything, so keep that in mind as you continue your job search.
Now that you’ve got your strategy, you’re ready to take on your job search and rock it in the process.
