It’s a challenging time to look for a new job. Job creation is relatively low and job retention is fairly high. This means that if you’re in a job, for the most part, you have a relatively low risk of losing it (compared with previous periods of economic uncertainty) but if you’re looking for a new position this can be incredibly difficult. It is even worse if you don’t currently have a job and potentially the most challenging if you’re entering the job market for the first time.
Here are some suggestions to help navigate the market. I don’t think any of these will guarantee success but small percentages can, and do, make a difference.
1) Give yourself a timeframe
The oft misattributed Narcotics Anonymous quote here comes to mind about the definition of madness. Doing the same thing over again for a limited period can be important – persistency is often a key factor in securing a job; however, at some point you may need to reevaluate and change strategy. You will give looking for jobs in your local area 3 months, say, before widening the search to a longer commute.
2) Give yourself absolute and flexible objectives
Don’t confuse flexible objectives for absolutes. The more you can be flexible on, the better your chances but there may be some non-negotiables and you should not lose sight of those. Perhaps, if you really think about it, you would drive an extra 20 mins to get to the office but working from home on a Friday is non-negotiable because of a particular outside of work commitment.
3) Understand that some of those absolutes may need to become flexible
Perhaps a list of priorities would help with this? The more inflexible you are, the more difficult it may well be to find a job but neither should you be needlessly flexible. If you know the order of your requirements it will help with offer negotiation, so you don’t needlessly turn down an opportunity. There may be a point, particularly if you are out of work, where you need to compromise on every item on your list of priorities but even there a list can help. You may compromise by a small amount on your first priority but by a much larger amount on the third. Recognising the order will mean that you won’t be distracted by the size of the compromise in one area and instead focus on the extent of the compromise in totality.
4) Do consider taking the first job you find
Having a list of objectives means that you should be able to identify a job that meets (most of) those objectives. Take that job. In a market where opportunities are scarce the first thing may well be the best thing.
5) Look in the less obvious places
Consider locations where there are a lower concentration of likely candidates; don’t only look for jobs in the places where most people advertise and keep an open mind to opportunities that you might not have normally considered.
6) Be open to conversations
The job doesn’t sound right for you, you have considerable reservations, be honest about those but assuming the employer still wants to chat, have a chat. You can’t afford to rule out opportunities without considering them at all, they may be better than you realise, they may be more willing to compromise than you realise or actually the only possible solution to give you any of what you want.
7) Be clear in what you have done so far
If you’re speaking to a recruiter, make sure you tell them what you’ve already done. If you applied to a company directly or via a recruiter in the last couple of months a new recruiter is unlikely to be able to act for you but there may be other opportunities they could consider you for. Wasting their time in respect to putting you forward to opportunities you have already applied to/been rejected from won’t help you or them. On a related point, ensure that any recruiter is clear with you as to what they are doing so you do not inadvertently cause a conflict for a future recruiter.
8) Be targeted and specific, definitely don’t apply to everything or mass apply to multiple jobs with generic applications
Some speculative applications can be beneficial. There are advantages to using a recruiter in this regard because they can approach companies for you without revealing your identity thus not limiting you from a future application if circumstances change. However, applying to hundreds of jobs, without reading the specifics or ensuring your relevancy is very unlikely to be successful and could negatively impact your mental health as your application will be rejected constantly. A more personal, researched and targeted approach has a higher probability of success and even on rejection, a higher probability of a personal response.
9) Be careful with how you use AI
Use it to automate research, perhaps to do a first draft of an email or a CV but always check and don’t rely on AI too heavily. The more generic the CV the less interesting it might be.
10) Make sure you have a high level of due diligence in applications
Check for grammar and spelling, perhaps ask someone to proof read for you.
11) Ask for help where you can
Develop a network – social media for all its ills does have a democratisation benefit when it comes to building connections. The more connections you can make, the better, ask for advice, opinions, help and support. People can be very generous with their time if you happen to catch them at the right moment.
12) Embrace distractions
Job searching is stressful and can feel like a constant wave of disappointment. Take a day off every once in a while, and do something else and don’t punish yourself for it. You’ll be a better interviewee if you have pastimes beyond the search.