We all know the conventional wisdom about how to conduct the standard a job search. You put together a resume; scour the job listings; tell a couple of friends that you’re looking; and then put together a cover letter to send out with the resume.
Those are the basic steps, but we’ve got five great tips to help make your search more efficient and effective! Read on to learn more about some of the best practices we’ve found for a targeted job search that works to help savvy IT professionals and job candidates reach their goals.
1) Maintain your professional network – and keep it growing. Experts say that more than half of job seekers find a new position through a friend’s referral. According to this recent Linkedin article, both job seekers and recruiters should be spending 60 percent of their time on networking to find the best people and opportunities. But simply making contacts isn’t enough: The most important part of networking is to stay in touch, even when you’re not searching for a job or seeking a referral. Why? People don’t like to feel as if you’re only coming around when you want something, so be sure to maintain those relationships with consistency.
2) Focus your job search. Savvy professional candidates don’t waste valuable time sifting through a large number of job listings for hours (and weeks) on end, or leave a search too open ended and broad. Candidates may think they’re staying open to discover new opportunities, when really doing they end up spreading themselves too thin. It’s better to have a strategy for the job search that’s based on your goals and a little research. Use some of your time searching for openings, but know when to quit searching in favor of working on other important job hunt tasks, such as spending the time to update your resume, customize that resume for a specific opening, write a polished and targeted cover letter, and researching companies before sending out your information.
3) Don’t talk too much tech, and don’t put too much detail in your resume. Of course you should have great examples of your work included in your resume, but an outstanding IT candidate will also demonstrate the ability to communicate, work with others and solve problems. Accomplish that by focusing on one or two stories that show off your previous successes, rather than coming off as an expert that speaks tech but is out to lunch about how to translate and share that information with colleagues in other departments.
4) Always follow up after sending out your information to a potential employer. Your resume can get lost in the shuffle. Don’t ever assume that you haven’t heard back from a hiring manager or recruiter because you weren’t selected for an interview – there’s a very real chance that the contact didn’t see your resume. Instead, before you apply start by researching the company. Try to find the contact information for the hiring manager. Also reach out after you submit your resume – whether it’s through LInkedin, or email – to express your interest and be sure that your application was received.
5) Maintain a (polished) web presence. When you’re an IT professional, you are even more likely to be judged as a candidate by the information that shows up in search rankings for your name. We suggest that you Google yourself at least once per month. Watch out not only for potentially negative or embarrassing information, but also make sure you’re searchable for a recruiter to find! This is one situation where no news is definitely NOT good news. (Bonus tip: One way to maintain a web presence passively is to keep your Linkedin profile updated and in use.)
Once you’ve found your focus for the job search, be sure to visit the listings of opportunities available through Market Street Talent. We’d love to hear from you, and would be happy to follow up with candidates that share their resume with us!