Welcome back, everyone! As we head into the holiday season, and if your role is anything like mine, year-end deals are starting to ramp up and our workflow is getting more and more busy with each day! We know that the end of the year is a pretty significant time for one’s work, regardless of industry, and is therefore a potential starting ground for pondering a job search. Do you find yourself itching for a new opportunity? Are you fulfilled and/or satisfied with your work? Are you interested in a different skill set? If so, we encourage you to read the below to internalize the most crucial aspects of your future job search.

Job Search Strategy and Mindset:

• Perseverance: This can be a tricky quality to uphold while scanning online for jobs for what feels like an eternity; it’s completely normal and expected to find yourself feeling burnt out or depleted after a few months of rejection and no luck. There are many long and hard stages of the job search process, but perseverance will keep you going. Not only will doing so help you stay positive and aware that the ‘search’ phase is only temporary, but will help you feel all the more rewarded in the end.
  • Best practice: Set metrics to hold yourself accountable to! Whether this means 5, 10, or even 50 applications submitted to new roles per week, creating a goal to set and meet on a specific cadence is key to feeling accomplished. Setting an application cap is also a great way to create boundaries with yourself to avoid burnout.
• Timing: As we’ve all heard in the past… timing is everything! If you find a perfect-looking role, with a perfect location, compensation, benefit package, and more, but you think the time isn’t right, this is where you could become your own blocker. Many jobs are only open for a few days due to the vast saturation of applicants on online platforms; so make sure to create expectations for which roles you will apply to no matter what. Do you have a salary goal? City in mind? Industry or company type that you’ve always dreamt of working for? If any role ticks a ‘dream box’, we encourage you to jump on it right away. Remember that, just because you accept a new job in an industry or city, you won’t be held to your decision, or that position, for the rest of your career! Things change at a moment’s notice, so allow yourself flexibility and openness to diving outside of your comfort zone.
• Skills: Your skills are your greatest asset; use downtime to improve on current skills or learn new ones that apply to a dream role that you’re chasing. Online certifications (through platforms like LinkedIn, Google, or Amazon) are a great resource through which to improve and update your skill set with tangible deliverables to prove you’re up to snuff.
  • Best Practice: Ensure that your skills are updated on platforms like LinkedIn and documented on your resume. Obtaining ‘endorsements‘ from colleagues and leaders is a phenomenal strategy through which to bulk up your resume and perception from recruiters. Don’t be afraid to ask for these types of endorsements throughout your career; especially if you recently completed a project or reached a milestone, requesting these types of ‘rewards’ from coworkers is absolutely normal and reasonable.
  • Extra Tip: There are many personality and strength tests you can take for FREE online! Take advantage of these tests to examine your skill set and be able to offer concrete examples as to why your strong areas support your potential next role.
• Customization: Take time to tailor your resume to each job you are applying for! While this may seem tedious, it will undoubtedly prove valuable when it comes to your next employer (and the recruiter evaluating your profile!). This might look like adjusting the format, descriptions, coloration, or even experiences per application, but is key to showcasing your experience relevance and care about any given role.

Searching for a new position? Check out our open jobs list!