You are ready for the next step in your career. Great. Update the CV, start applying and you are on your way.
Sounds simple. Of course it’s never that simple. Why? Because it’s so easy to waste your time when it comes to job search.
I’ve had people say to me that they have applied for 100+ jobs with very poor results.
And in my experience there is one big reason why you might be wasting your time when it comes to job search.
I call out the quantity over quality trap. Essentially where your focus is on the number of applications you make.
You assume that more is better. While in reality it is often better to cut dramatically the number of roles you apply for.
There are 3 reasons you may fall into the trap that more is better:
- You lack clarity about what you really want from your next role.
- You don’t know what you really have to offer.
- You don’t think about things from the recruiter’s perspective.
So what should you do to make your job search more effective?
Spend some time getting clear about what really matters from your next role
Yes it might be about money. But money alone never results in long term satisfaction. What else needs to be in a job for it to be right for you?
Spend some time getting clear about what you have to offer
You may well be understating what you have to offer. You have skills. You have experience. You have knowledge. You have personal attributes. You have to narrow these down and create a list of what you do really well.
Imagine you are the recruiter
What would you need to see on a CV or application in order to invite you for interview? If you can get clarity about this better chance you have of creating a targeted application.
In truth searching for your next role is a major undertaking. At the same time it’s often some small changes that yield significant benefits.