Top 20 Your Job Hunting Checklist
With an average career of between 40 and 50 years and large percentage of your waking time spent at work, don’t waste time unless you are working in the perfect job. Although the job hunting process may seem intimidating, use the following job hunting checklist to help you achieve a fantastic career that compliments your amazing life.
- Competing with 60-250 Applicants for 1 Job
On average corporate job posting receive 60 to 250 applicants. In China it is not unusual for some roles to have more than 10,000 applicants. Make sure you really want this position, because if you don’t it is unlikely you will do enough to be short-listed for an interview. If you can’t be bothered tailoring your application and putting in that extra energy then maybe skip applying for that job.
- Recruitment Agency Networking
Try to establish a rapport with senior managers, or better still owners, of recruitment agencies and gradually establish a network of 10 to 30 recruiters whom you can reach out to throughout your career. Whether it is touching base every year or so to get an update on the jobs market or average salaries, it is this network who will often be contacting you when your perfect job crosses their desk. Who better for them to place into a role than someone who they know or even possibly have placed into an earlier role. Recruitment agencies are paid by their clients, however need to operate quickly and efficiently to be successful, which means you may be the only candidate for a role if you know the right person at the right time.
- Network - 80% Jobs Never Advertised
Most jobs are not posted and are only found through networking. Visiting your favorite 1-2 jobs boards is not enough. Supplement your online research with real-world activities. As a first step, map out who you know. You can start by creating a list of former co-workers, classmates, teammates, and more. Then, reach out to friends and acquaintances for informal advice and to learn more about their roles. Connect with everyone you know, because you never know which contact may be able to help you with your job search or put you in touch with someone who can.
- Setup Job Alerts
After you have compiled your list of ideal job titles or categories, researched salaries and decided your preferred geographical locations it is time to setup job alerts on all the major jobs boards (e.g. Seek.com.au, LinkedIn.com, InDeed.com, CareerController.com, Azuna.com, Gumtree.com.au). Setup a folder in your email program where you redirect all your job alert notifications to so that they can be easily sorted and discarded. Some jobs need to be filled quickly, so be ready to customize your resume, undertake research and apply within a few hours of receiving your job alert!
- Hiring Process Drags On… and on!
It takes about 40 to 60 days on average to fill a job opening. Rather than rush to send off your application it is better to take the time to get your application right.
- Accomplishments… not simply Attendance at work!
Communicate what you have achieved and how a prospective employer will benefit from employing you. Highlight what you have achieved, not simply stating your responsibilities. You may need to “think outside the box” to identify tangible results of your skills and experience. You might highlight sales results, budget achievements, internal promotions, company awards, client testimonials, number of rapports and other similar achievements that stand you apart and take the imagination out of why a hirer should not offer you the role. Prospective employers can now see how your skills can benefit them much more easily.
- Compete to Win
Be proactive and go the ‘extra mile’ to investigate prospective employers and understand their hiring needs. Put in the extra time to prepare for and follow-up every job application. If you are really serious about getting work fast, invest in job search, resume writing, and interview coaching resources contained here.
- Research… Research… Research…
Do your homework thoroughly about yourself, the marketplace and industries, target employers, roles and even learn all you can about who you are addressing your resume to. Ideally for every job you apply you spend at least two hours of research. If you are short-listed for an interview, make your research even more thorough. Start with the organization website and any press – good and bad – before you deep dive into identifying via LinkedIn or Facebook someone who works or has worked at the organization (for major corporates anyway). Try to understand what the organisation is trying to achieve and the kind of talent they are trying to attract.
- Who Do You Know?
Look back over your job history and identify the relationships that may assist you to secure a new role. Very few job candidates collect reference letters from previous employers however it is definitely a worthwhile exercise. Even if you can get an endorsement from past managers on your LinkedIn profile.
- Professional Email Addresses
Wondering why your sexy9876@gmail.com email address is not being appreciated many recruiters? More than 30% of resumes are rejected simply because their email address were unprofessional. It is also recommended that you switch to Gmail, Hotmail or similar if you are still using your old ISP email address and have evolved with technology in the last 10-20 years.
- Your Personal Brand
Your resume, your covering letter, LinkedIn profile, attire in an interview, phone manner and who you select (and how well they are worked up) for your Referees are all important elements in your personal brand. Whether it is getting a professional to help create your resume, updating your LinkedIn profile to match your resume or buying yourself a new suit, make sure that you present as the person you want to become. Don’t let recruiters have to imagine you in the role, but instead ensure they can’t see you undertaking any other role. Now is also a good opportunity to lock down your Facebook privacy settings and Google yourself to find out what others may shortly learn about you. Remember a strong personal brand that portrays you in a professional light will provide recruiters, employers, and contacts with a strong positive impression of you as a candidate they should be interested in.
- Job Offer – Accept or Decline?
If you are fortunate to be offered a role, take the time to carefully evaluate the offer so you are making a well-considered decision as to accept, reject or negotiate. Don’t be afraid to request a coffee or catch-up with prospective manager to better understand their personality, management style, reason for the vacancy and opportunities for promotion. Remember most people cite their relationship with their immediate manager as the main reason for resigning a role, so now is the time assess your professional compatibility. Most candidates over time will have a choice of jobs, so don’t waste time (which you don’t get back) by accepting the wrong job offer.
- Attitude & Personality
Try to convey confidence and mirror the personality of recruiters in an interview. Whilst making sure you don’t appear arrogant, convey your confidence in being one of the best candidates for the role and enthusiasm for the position. Seek out family or friends to practice your elevator speech and interview skills. The more you practice how you convey your skills and values the more confident and articulate you will be in the interview where it counts.
- Best Job Listings
What are the best sites to use to find job openings fast? Check out and bookmark the best job search engine sites, jobs boards, company websites, networking sites and sites listed by type of job. Create your own ‘black book’ of recruiters who appear to work in your industry (e.g. retail), job type (e.g. accountancy) or target client (e.g. Staffing may be contracted by a company to manage all their hiring needs).
- List of Companies Where You Want to Work
Rather than wait for a Job Ad, research company information and create a list of companies to target. Generally all the information you require is on the web or just one phone call away. Once you have a list of dream employers it is time to approach them to ensure your get noticed. Many larger corporates will even let you register your interest in working for them directly on their website.
- Actively Looking for Work – Don’t Be Shy!
There’s no shame in being out of work so let everyone know that you are looking for a job, including “friends” on Facebook and professional contacts in your industry. Remembers to update your CareerController and LinkedIn status to indicate you are actively looking for work.
- Deep Dive on Your Career
Before you start shooting off job applications and madly networking, draw up a long and unfiltered list of your achievements, training course you have attended, contacts and even past roles (for those in the workforce along time). List every skill you possess, industries where you have work experience and computer system you have worked with. Try to gather several pages of material before undertaking to write or updated your resume.
- Customize Your Resume & Cover Letter
It's important to take the time to write targeted resumes and cover letters that specifically link your qualifications to the hiring criteria for the jobs you are applying for. Although this advice is repeated by us regularly, it can’t be overstated the importance of this task. Recruiters will be able to see at a glance why you are a good match for the role.
- Test Your Resume
It is easy to convince yourself you have perfected your resume until you go to Pinterest and see the efforts some people go to present and write their resume. Start with friends and family who you trust to be blunt in their feedback. As you perfect your CV expand your resume testing to your professional network. Even consider trying different versions, whether it be style or pitching yourself for different types of roles, until you settle on the resume that best represents your brand and it most likely to secure you an interview. Remember to ask for a summary rather than an opinion. Don't ask "What do you think of my resume?", but rather "How does my resume distinguish me from other candidates?" If you are not pleased with the feedback go back to the drawing board.
- Focused Job Search
Use the job search engines to find jobs by using keywords that match your interests and the location where you want to work. Narrowing your search criteria will help you focus your job search and will give you more relevant job listings to review and fewer non-relevant job listings to weed through. Use advanced search options to drill down to the location where you want to work and the specific positions you're interested in.
Sources (Updated March 2021):
- RCSA
- American Staffing Association
- the ABC
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Recruitment & Employment Confederation
For more Recruitment Services Career Advice see below additional resources to find the perfect job:
