As someone who has recently entered back into the job search market, here were a couple of things that helped me feel prepared and find a new placement, relatively quickly.

Positive state of mind: I understand that it can be stressful. Whether it's the aspect of change in environment, change in career, or just general change in norm. Change by nature can be a challenge to come to terms with but I strongly believe that an honest, positive state of mind can really help manage nerves and anxiety. A level attitude is something that will help and relay to all avenues of the process. It helps you be more open-minded to opportunities when applying, be more concise when adapting your resume to applications, and also helps with the appeal of being more confident in an interview. It might be a superficial recommendation but it is one that I truly believe in, even during times of adversity.

Adaptation to the call: A common practice that tends to hold applicants back during an active job hunt is believing that their resume is “updated” and just needs to be attached. The process of adapting and rephrasing your resume and experience to be more descriptive for every individual application can really help make sure that you are a guided fit for the specific role. When I say this, I’m not meaning to go above and beyond and lie about your qualifications. Rather use your experience and skills and rephrase them to be in an active tone with specific examples that are referring back to what the job description outlines. For example, a job description might specifically ask for “organized, takes initiative and open to change”. For someone applying for this, a better way to answer this call could be phrasing those same skills with active examples like, “implemented optimized digital filing system to help organize files so that learnings can be taken from every project and duplication of successes and recall of what needs improvement.” Yes it might just be a fancy way of stating, “had an online spreadsheet or projects that were used for record recall” but is in a much more positive and actionable tone.

Be daring in applications and open to challenges: In today's market, the possibilities for placements are endless. Post Covid, we are very much still in a remote-friendly environment. Depending on the industry you are in, you may no longer be limited to your physical location. Someone could work for a large California-based company and be located in the middle of Oklahoma. With this gain, also comes the additional challenge of oversaturation of applicants. Most recruiters are now getting 20-40% more applications of decently qualified candidates for every posting. All of this to say, don’t limit yourself to what you're applying for. Rather than only applying for jobs that you might “feel” as if you are an exact fit for, apply for ones also that you could grow and develop into. Taking on the approach of a wider net, gaining exposure to more recruiters, interview practice, and overall feedback. You never know, the one that you might not be an exact match for currently, might be one that is looking for the opportunity to mold a candidate into.

Use your network: This might be a given but use your network and resources to your advantage. Not only digitally but also community and location-based. LinkedIn is a great platform to help develop, grow and advertise your experience on a digital basis. When applying for a job, do your research on the company and if there are any mutual connections that might work there. If so, reach out to them about a specific referral link or about being able to mention them during an interview. Might not be a lot but could help be a little bit of a differentiator to other candidates. In a local stance, reach out to community recruiting agencies. Most of the time it is a completely free resource to you as a job seeker and can really help get your name out to other companies that might solely be recruiting through a private entity.

Ask for feedback: Last but not least, ask for feedback from anyone you come in contact with. More opportunities for you to optimize your interview skills, general resumes, and experience, the better. Yes, rejection sucks but use the opportunity to learn on how you can help yourself in the future. Sometimes, a recruiter or HR manager will be able to give you targeted advice on specifically why you weren't a good fit and what you could improve on. Sometimes they may even give you a referral for another opportunity either within the same company or their network. You never know and don’t really have any risk when asking in an approachable and professional manner.

All of this is to say, I know it is hard and can really take a toll on someone. Today’s market is difficult and competitive so it might take longer than expected but hopefully, these couple of tips can help make the process a bit more feasible. Best of luck!

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