Job search is one of the most popular conversations in webinars or amongst students in the university. Indeed, one of the goals of getting a degree is to equip you for the job market. Currently, there are many talent in the job market. Never before have we seen so many people applying for jobs – because of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 1 in 8 recent graduates were still unemployed by the third quarter of 2020, the highest number in 5 years. Unemployment figures are also high across the globe. This means that students/graduates looking for a full time job would need to be strategic and stand out from the crowd.
Let’s explore some ways to help your job search at this time.
“Take a step back”
This might sound odd, but what we mean here is for you to step back and start by investing in yourself. Many students like you are searching, thus, you must have something to offer and be able to prove yourself out of the crowd. Myles Munroe once said that “if you want to be successful, do not seek success. Seek to become a person of value. Make yourself valuable and people will pay you”. So, ask yourself, what value can I offer? If you’re struggling to answer then you should probably spend some time on personal development and investing in yourself.
CV/Resume
Automated screening is one of the challenges currently – it is picking out keywords in your profile. So, if you don’t match specific criteria like universities, competencies and skills, your application gets rejected. To go pass the applicant tracking system, you need to have a strong CV/Cover letter or essay. There are many resources online or through the careers services of your uni to help create a good CV. However, seek to have several versions of your CV that can speak to different types of audience. Furthermore, find a job you want to apply for and play it back on your CV through your experiences/skills. In other words, reverse engineer the job spec to suit your CV. Finally, send your CV to people to have a second look and offer feedback.
Embrace any opportunities to learn technical or soft skills
Participate in any useful programs that may share some tips for interviewing, career strategy or focused on teaching hard skills such as modelling, valuation, data analysis depending on your field of interest. It is unavoidable that the real day to day demands in most jobs are not taught in the classroom and so we believe that any opportunities to bridge that gap would be very helpful to your job search.
Research, Research, Research!
Another important step is that you do research on any companies you would be interested in applying to i.e. do not adopt a ‘mo gbo, mo ya’ approach :). Keep tabs on their latest news / updates or even check their website from time to time. You should do so in case you have no other means of being updated when the applications open. Beyond learning about the company, also research on the particular role you are interested in. This would help when you are being interviewed or writing your essays / cover letter. While most companies are open to hiring individuals from diverse fields, ‘interest’ in their company or sector is viewed as extremely important and this is often assessed by the candidates knowledge even where skill may be lacking.
Visibility and Engagement on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is currently the number 1 professional and job search tools globally. Every day, recruiters run searches on LinkedIn for talents. But, you would only show up in those searches if your profile is well optimized for the LinkedIn algorithm. So, rewrite your headline to capture your values and the role you’re seeking. Insert specific keywords and skills into every section of your profile. Also, like, comment and engage in conversions in your industry as you network with others. This would help to increase your visibility.
Leverage the power of a community
Speak to people about your job search. Interaction with members of the Outliers circle community is an example. Engage with contributors for any help that can be rendered. Sometimes, it just takes one connection to guide you or give you a referral in an organisation.
Make as many applications as you can
Another suggestion is to make as many applications as you can, even without being 100% qualified for the roles. While it is good to be ‘laser focused’ on the role / company you want to work at, ‘spreading your net’ across a few different opportunities is great to help your learning and understanding of what may be expected of you while helping to build connections that would pay off later on in the future. We would also advise to ‘dream big’ and do not assume that any companies or roles are impossible to get in, but be sure to make your applications knowing that it is always better to know you tried than wonder what could have been.
Don’t take rejections personally
As a sequel to the point above, it is pertinent not to let rejections get to you because in our experience, we know that there will always be a few of these. A wise man once said that rejection is redirection for something better and truly it may not be that the job is not for you at all, but could be that the timing is not right. Rather than let rejections discourage you, choose to move on and remember that they would become part of the ‘inspiring’ success story you would tell sometime in the future. From those processes, you may have surely learnt a thing or two which could be useful for the next application you would be making or even in your future role. Before you know it, you could easily ace tests and interviews even in your sleep! 🙂
Please feel free to reach out to us via this link or reach out to a contributor you’ve been speaking to for any personalized help.
Best,
Shola Oladipupo and Joys Alabi
Thanks for sharing a really important guide for soon to be grads today. I see so much more room for authentic personal connection to be used more in the job search.