How to Find a Job

Are you ready for a new job? Finding a job can be a very daunting process. If you’re not happy with your job, moving or even looking to switch fields – there are some common steps to take for each job hunting process. The difference between finding a job and finding the job that’s best for you often comes with a defined strategy of attack.

You’ll want to identify your career goals and ambitions and make sure they align with the field you are in or the career you’re trying to get to. If you don’t outline some of these things beforehand it can make the job hunting process very tedious and almost aggravating.

The process for finding a job can be different for everyone. Whether you’re a teen looking for their first job or a seasoned veteran who has 10 years of experience, the basics are still the basics. You have to make decisions, hunt down the jobs in various areas and make sure your info is up to date and ready to be given when you find that lucrative job.

The steps below can be applied to anyone and should be considered some beginner steps to finding a job. You can use these steps whether you’re looking for a high-paying job or even looking for an online job.

If you’re not sure what you even want to do then you’ll waste a bunch of time hunting for meaningless jobs. You’ll want to spend some time reflecting on why you need a new job or why you want to work in a specific field. Are you looking for more freedom? Are you looking for more salary? These are valid questions that you’ll want to answer before you even start hunting for a job. If you haven’t answered these questions you should learn how to choose a career.

If you haven’t worked in the industry before or if you’re a new teenager finding a job then you’ll want to brush up on what opportunities are out there. You’re not quite at the point of hunting for jobs but more so acclimating yourself with what naming conventions are used, what types of jobs are “in” and even how much people make in these various roles or industries.

At this point you should have a clear idea of what your “must haves” are. These are non-negotiable items that you need to have in a job to be content.

Examples of a job “must have”:

If you’re a teenager you might be stuck with looking for jobs in your local area until you build up experience. There are online job marketplaces like Indeed, Monster and Snagajob that you can use to take advantage of your search.

You’ll want to be creative with how you search as most of the job posting sites you will find are flooded with bad listings or outdated listings.

When searching for a job on an online job search website you will want to put in the exact title you researched beforehand and filter for some of your “must haves”. For example, in some job sites you can put in a specific salary requirement and it will pull up all jobs matching that filter.

If you’re having trouble finding a specific job title or related jobs, try changing it up a little bit. For example, instead of saying “Teacher” you can say “Preschool Teacher”. This will adjust the results to be more catered to a preschool position versus everything related to teachers.

If you’re already this far in the job hunting process you’ll want to take a step back and get your affairs in order. It’s likely that you’ve found a few jobs that peeked your interest and have either applied or plan to apply. At this point you should be signed up for networking sites and you probably have a social media presence.

You’ll want to clean up your personal brand and make sure all your information is up to date if employers were to go look. This means you should have memberships, or at least an account, with sites like LinkedIn or Behance. If your industry supports a specific networking platform then you’ll want to make sure you are on there with your portfolio, resume and other information filled out.

If you’re having no luck with the job sites and you’ve already set up all your branding then it’s time to look elsewhere for jobs.

Something many job seekers forget, especially teens finding a job, is that you have connections! Your friends, family and even other co-workers if you have a job are your in-person networking group. You can work your connections to find job opportunities all around your town. The same thing goes for social media! Instead of posting the latest selfie you can use your social media to search or jobs, companies and others just like you and see where they are working.

An easy way to expand on the job searching you’ve already done is to create a list of companies that you’d love to work for. You’d be surprised at how many larger brands have job openings for every role and many even take on internships or teenagers looking for a job.

The invention of the internet has allowed many to avoid the days where you had to look in the classified section of the newspaper to find a job. In today’s world, a jobseeker’s first step is usually the internet. Searching for a job online can be easy and difficult at the same time.

The best part is that if you’re trying to find a job online you can usually apply for several jobs with just a few clicks! You can’t do that with a newspaper or going door-to-door. The biggest downfall is that if you’re applying for a job online then so are many others. The internet has allowed companies to expand their recruitment to almost a global scale instead of a local one.

The trick to finding a job online is to think like a machine. In many cases when you hit apply and submit your resume and cover letter these systems you’re giving your information to are already filtering out applicants based on how they’ve responded to questions or keywords they are missing on their resume.

Before you hunt for a job online, you should really do the following:

You’ll want to review the above sections of the job posting and pull out the key words they are talking about. If they say something like “You’ll be creating designs in Adobe Photoshop.” then you will want to make sure you have Adobe Photoshop listed in your skills or somewhere on your resume showing you have skill with that program. You should be optimizing and adjusting your resume for every job posting.

A lot of people think switching careers is impossible. The truth is that it’s not impossible but it is very hard, especially if you’re making a dramatic shift. It all comes down to the transition and how much a new employer would have to train or mentor you.

An easy transition from one industry to another is like going from being a Marketing Analyst to a Software Engineer. These fields can be related but they are also different at the same time. If you were able to build up the skillset to write software effectively and can show a portfolio of strong work products then there is no reason why you couldn’t find a company who would assist in this transition.

A thing to keep in mind is that when you make a switch to a new industry or field there is often a bit of “rough patch” that you need to go through before you reach the same status you had before. You may need to take a pay cut or a lower position for this switch to happen. For example, if you were a mid-level marketing analyst then you may start out as a junior software engineer until you build up enough experience to be considered mid-level.

The key to finding a job in a new industry is to look for roles that you know you have the skills in and just apply. There is no “secret sauce” to transitioning to a new industry. In fact, many recruiters and hiring managers admire the determination and bravery it takes when someone attempts a feat like this as it doesn’t happen as often as people think.

There are many reasons why someone moves to a new city: their spouse got a new job, they were going to school there, they wanted to leave home and so on. Whatever your reason, it’s very daunting to think about not having a job and trying to afford this new life without one. If you’re searching for a job in a new city that can provide a lot of challenges.

You’ll want to start with identifying what city you’re trying to move to, if you haven’t already. Research some of the local businesses or major companies in the area and look up what kinds of jobs they have available. If any match your desired “must haves” or education then save them off. You’ll want to reach out to these companies and see if they offer relocation assistance and be upfront about wanting to permanently relocate upon employment. A lot of companies do offer relocation assistance for new hires as long as they are in specific roles.

Be careful putting your current address on your resume if you’re not actually there yet. If the company isn’t open to relocation or expects you to be in the city they are located in, you could put yourself out of the running by simply stating you’re nowhere near their location. If you have the option to put a local address then you should use that one instead.