You have that perfect resume & a great LinkedIn profile! So what is the next step? Whether you have professionally written resume or not, the following four steps will help you maximise your chances of leveraging on the opportunities & landing up with interviews:
- Online job boards: Online portals & job boards are natural choices for job seekers. However, I would like to caution job seekers here. Lot of positions posted on these portals are not viable. On a lot of occasions, the positions may go on hold or the recruiter may eliminate the role. Practically, when a company comes up with a position/role, they first try to fill it up with internal referrals or through networking. Therefore, there may be situations when companies may shortlist candidates through referrals even after posting roles on these portals. Besides, if job boards are your first choice for job search, you may be surprised to hear that 75% of jobs are filled through referrals & networking. Rather than just uploading your resume & waiting to hear back, go one step further & develop a personal contact with the company( you can find who is the relevant person to connect with by visiting the company’s linkedIn page & LinkedIn profile of company’s recruiters). When a human being is on the other side of an online application process on lookout for your resume, you stand a better chance.
- Explore unadvertised roles: Majority of roles exist which are never advertised/yet to be advertised. There are higher chances of getting selected if you can gather information about these roles before they are made public. Your first step should be to start identifying companies & find out relevant folks in your network who may be working or have worked in those organisations.Go more deep to find out challenges & opportunities within the company. Engage in an email or Inmail( on linkedIn) to share your resume along with a compelling cover letter presenting that shows how you are well equipped to solve the identified problem. Lastly follow up with a phone call &/or email.
- Work with a recruiter: It is a known fact that recruiters provide a fast track way to interview. However, it is important to understand that a recruiter’s job is not to get you a job but rather matching a candidate with the needs of their client. If your profile does not match their client requirement, they will move without giving you a heads up. There are different type of recruiters & understanding the different is of utmost importance:
- Corporate recruiters: These recruiters work for company and for no one else. They are part of the HR team. They find & place candidates for the company
- Contingency Recruiters:They only get paid if the candidate they identify gets hired. These generally work for recruitment firms.
- Retained recruiters: These are paid by the company regardless of if their candidate gets hired. They are usually hired to place six figure roles or high profile searches
With a strong LinkedIn profile & active level of activity & engagement, recruiters will often find you. You should look out for recruiters both on LinkedIn & twitter by industry &/or interest.
- Connect with your network: 85% of the job/roles get filled by networking. It is always a winning proposition for you if more professionals in your network know about your job search. You can share your job search either during a casual conversation or sending emails, you will find people who are open to helping you.Besides, you should also focus on expanding your network for the purposes of your job search to include professional contacts and alumni.
