Right now is an excellent moment in time to begin a job search — especially if you’re looking for a tech job. There are certainly plenty of positions open, with one study citing a 13.8 percent attrition rate among IT professionals, and another study projecting that annual employee turnover in the United States will likely increase almost 20 percent by the end of 2022 (31.9 million vs 37.4 million employees resigning).
The bottom line? This could be the perfect opportunity to land your dream job. However, you’ll need to conduct an effective job search in order to achieve your goal. With that in mind, here are six job search tips from our experienced recruiters at The Doyle Group that can help you to win that position you want.
Tip #1: Use Your Professional Network to the Fullest
There’s an old saying that goes: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” That’s not always true when it comes to landing a new job, but knowing the right people will certainly help your odds of success.
How can you get to know the “right people?” One important key is to leverage your professional network. This includes your LinkedIn contacts, colleagues from previous jobs, and other professionals you’ve come to know over the course of your career. Reach out to them. Ask for referrals. They may be able to open doors for you that you never would have gained access to (or even considered) on your own!
Tip #2: Do Your Research on the Employer Ahead of Time
When applying for a job, you want to find out everything you reasonably can about the company. Then, once you’re invited to an interview, you’ll come across as well-prepared and diligent — qualities that will make you more attractive to the employer.
Be prepared for a couple of common interview questions that will test your knowledge of the company:
- “What do you know about our company?”
- “Why do you want to work for our company specifically?”
The more detailed and thorough your answers are, the more likely you are to impress the interviewer, and put yourself forward as a leading candidate.
Tip #3: Update Your Social Media Accounts
Number three on our list of top job search tips is often overlooked. When you’re applying for a new job, it’s important to update your resume and send a tailored cover letter. But what about updating your LinkedIn profile and other social media accounts? Believe it or not, your social media presence could play a huge role in whether you land the job you want. How so?
For one thing, more and more employers look at candidates’ social media accounts during their screening process — as much as 70 percent, according to one survey by CareerBuilder. And what those employers find often convinces them to go a different direction: one study found that 55 percent of employers who use social media screening reported finding content that caused them to pass on a candidate.
The point is, you should make sure that all of your public posts on social media networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and so forth, breed confidence and convey an air of professionalism.
Tip #4: Attend In-person or Virtual Meet-ups
During a job search, it’s important to not only leverage your existing professional network, but to also expand it if at all possible. One way to accomplish this goal is by attending meet-ups (either virtually or in-person). For example, you can go to meetup.com and search categories related to your preferred sector (e.g., Java or devs). Then you can set up a profile and attend events related to that category.
Whether you use meetup.com or join another online community, the goal is to walk away from the event with a referral, and some new connections.
Tip #5: Evaluate What You’re Looking for in Your Next Role
It’s important to understand why you want to make a change in the first place. What are you looking for in a new position? Better work/life balance? More opportunities for promotion and career advancement? Work with a greater meaning? There could be any number of valid reasons.
For instance, a poll conducted by The Doyle Group found that only 22 percent of professionals left their last job to seek a higher salary. Twenty-nine percent left for more growth opportunities, and 35 percent left for other reasons, including re-evaluating their career path.
Of course, only you can determine what to prioritize in your job search. However, thinking of this ahead of time can help you to focus on the roles most likely to help you reach your goals.
Tip #6: Work With a Recruiter
While you may be able to land a great position on your own, searching for a new job — especially when you already have a job — can eat up a large chunk of your schedule. If you found these job search tips helpful, you would benefit from partnering with a recruiter like The Doyle Group. A reputable recruiting agency will likely have much more information on a specific role than what’s provided by the job description. For example, they may have insight into a company’s culture that you can’t glean from an online listing.
Moreover, recruiters with a strong network may know of roles that haven’t yet been posted online. And if you’ve worked with the recruiter in the past, you may already be in their database.
In conclusion, conducting a job search at the present moment may yield unexpected and wonderful results for your career. If you implement the six job search tips discussed above, you’ll almost certainly stand out from the crowd as a desirable candidate, and will land a job you can truly enjoy. Be sure to reach out to our team at The Doyle Group for more help and resources that will ensure your success.
