If the feeling of trying to find a new job has you feeling totally overwhelmed

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Looking for a job has become increasingly difficult.

It’s become so difficult that many people give up before they’ve even started.

However if you’re looking for more purpose and fulfillment in your work, knowing how to find your dream job is an important skill to have. 

And I say skill, because it is a skill. 

So in this video I’m going to show you how to find a job, and although I live and work in the Netherlands this is not just about ‘how to find a job in the Netherlands’ because these techniques can be used anywhere in the world!

I worked in recruitment for over a decade and now I work as a career coach, so if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to find a job.

So if you’re asking yourself ‘how do I find the right job for me??’

Then make sure to check out my video. 
In this video, I’m going to go show you:

• The 4 main ways to find a job
• What you need to do before apply for a job
• How recruiters screen CVs
• Which are the simplest ways to find a job
• What ways have the best results
• How companies look for talent vs how we look for jobs

And if you prefer to read rather than watch a video, then please see below the video transcription. 

Transcript:

How To Find A Job

If the idea of trying to find a new job has you feeling totally overwhelmed, I want you to know that you’re not alone.

I understand that in today’s very fast paced world where everyone’s giving out advice, it can

be very difficult to know where to start. But I have over a decade’s worth of experience in recruitment and I work as a career coach.

So if there’s one thing I know, it is how to find a job.

In this video, I want to break it down so that it’s no longer overwhelming. That actually your job search can be something you enjoy and also something that is successful.

But before we start, there’s one thing we need to talk about first, and it’s about having a focused job search.

To Have A Successful Job Search You Need A Focused Search

A lot of people think if they spread the net really wide, they will have better opportunities, but that is actually not the case. Having a very focused and clear job search is going to benefit you and actually help you have more success.

And I’m going to explain why.

First of all, it’s going to save you time and energy.

If you know exactly what you’re looking for, you  won’t waste your time applying for lots of jobs that don’t align with your career aspirations.

You won’t have loads of interviews that actually lead nowhere. You won’t spend all those hours looking at job postings that don’t align with what you want. So we’re going to save you time and energy.

You’re also going to have a more aligned brand.

So when you’re in an interview, often what the person is looking for is authenticity.

They want to know that what you’re saying is the truth and that the person in front of them is motivated.

This means they want to see alignment from your LinkedIn to your cv to your application, your motivation and how you answer interview questions.

If you are looking at lots of different types of jobs in very different industries, there won’t be alignment. It will be very hard to have a strong profile that really aligns.

And this is another way it’s going to help your job search.

Having a Strong Brand

If you have a focused search, you can make sure your LinkedIn screams this is what I do, this is what I want. You can make sure your CV does the same.

Increasing Industry Knowledge

And another way having a focus search is going to help you is if you have a very focused search all the interviews you go on are going to be for a similar job in a similar industry.

Every interview you go on you are going to learn more information. What types of questions do they always ask? What’s really important to these type of companies and in these roles? So you’re actually going to be developing your knowledge base on what’s important to these companies and how you should present yourself.

So all in all, having a focus search is actually going to benefit you and ensure greater success in your job search. It’s going to help you find a job.

Find Your Purpose

So the first thing you need to do is get crystal clear on what do you want, what are your career aspirations, and if you’re not crystal clear on that, don’t worry, I have a free quickstart workbook and I will put a link in the comments below so that you can grab it and it will really help you get crystal clear.

Click here to get your free workbook

So that is the first first thing you need to do. 

So now, hopefully you’ve either paused the video, you’ve done the workbook, or you already know what you want.

And now we can actually move on to the how part of finding a dream job.

The next  thing you need to do.

Update Your CV

It might sound very boring, but it’s your CV. 

Your CV is like a gateway to getting an interview. Even if you’re going to be looking for 

referrals and using your network, those people are still going to ask you for a CV.

And I know in a world where technology has advanced so much and there are so many different

methods, cvs might seem so sort of old school and old fashioned and traditional, but the fact is

they are still absolutely important. 

So you need to make sure that you have an up to date, very clear cv. And I will do a separate training about CVS. I will do a separate video, which I will link to this because it’s actually a very big topic in itself.

But these are just a few things for you to consider when you’re brushing up your cv.

How To Write A CV

Make It Clear

Number one, make it clear. You do not want to get all creative on your cv. Boring is actually good when it comes to your cv. Recruiters are scanning hundreds of cvs a day.

You need to make sure that the reason you stand out is because of the skills and not because you decided to use some bright pink font and, I don’t know, put some crazy patterns on your cv.

It actually won’t help you. It’s not what the recruiter wants to see. They want to see amazing skills jumping off the page at them.

So clean format, clean lines, bullet points make it very, very easy for them to see what you’ve done.

Use Keywords from the Job Description

Second thing that’s very important to do, you need to really understand the job description and understand the key words that they are looking for.

Make sure you align your cv to the keywords in the job description.

Yes, this can be a bit time consuming, but again, if you want to have a successful job

 search, you need to put the time in. So make sure for every job you apply, you slightly amend your cv so you’re using the same language they have in the job description.

Be Detailed

Number three, don’t assume the person reading your cv actually knows what you do.

They might know very high level what a finance manager does or a developer does, but

they don’t understand the nuances.

So make it very, very clear and break down into detail what you have done.

Quantify Your Results

Also, wherever you can, use quantifiable results.I did this, it increased this, I did that, it doubled revenue. 

So those are just a few high level tips. But really what’s very important is make it clear

for them why they should invite you in. 

How Recruiters Read CVs

Often recruiters are trying to go from a long list to a shortlist. The long list could be 300 or more applications. Their first job is to get that down to a short list of people they can actually interview.

So to go from 300 to 15 profiles, the first thing they’re actually doing is looking for reasons why they should reject you.

Don’t give them any reasons why they should reject you. Make it really obvious, blindingly obvious, why you should be invited in.

So hopefully by now you’re crystal clear on what you want and you’ve got a banging, up to date, sharp looking CV, so now we can go on to the other areas of how you find a job.

How To Find A Job: The Four Main Ways

So there are actually four main ways that you can find a job.

One is going to company websites and applying direct. Another is to apply through LinkedIn.

Another is to work with recruiters, so recruitment agencies who represent you, and they act as the middleman between companies and candidates. And the fourth way is using your network.

So actually getting referred into companies, these are the four main ways to find a job, and we’re going to go through them in detail so you understand how to approach each one of these topics. 

Applying Direct To A Company and Via LinkedIn

So let’s talk about applying direct to a company website and applying for jobs through LinkedIn.

Because actually the approach is quite similar. Now, this is often where most people start their

job search because it is actually the easiest. We don’t have to reach out to

people, we don’t have to network.

We just find a job and we send our cv and we pray to the gods above that someone will call us and invite us in for an interview.

This isn’t actually the best approach. 

So actually, because it’s the easiest, it means everyone is doing that. So the competition is really, really high, but it’s absolutely a way to find a job. This is also where having a focused approach is going to benefit you. So I always advise my clients, we don’t want to have a scattergun approach.

We always want to have focus. Can you tell? I’m someone who likes focus. I like process because it really works.

So you want to create a list of the companies that you’re truly interested in.

If you just go online and you search for, I don’t know, front end developer or financial controller and just give a city, you’re going to get so many different vacancies that come up again.

You want to have a focused approach. So create a list of companies and put them in order of priority that you’re genuinely interested in. And sometimes it can be hard to know what those companies are. So you might know, for instance, I’m really interested in FMCG or I’m really interested in technology or pharma.

Then you can work from that place. So start doing a search and you can use Google, you can use LinkedIn, and actually you’ve got to do some research. So find out what are the really interesting companies in FMCG that align with your career objectives and create a long list of those companies.

Put it all on an excel doc and have it from your number one goal, ideal company, all the way down to the one that if they called, you’d be happy, but you wouldn’t be jumping out of bed for it.

Once you have created that list, you can then do research on those companies. So that’s why you always want to go from priority of the biggest priority to the lowest, because you can’t do it all at once.

So you just want to work your way methodically through each company. So let’s say you’ve got your dream company on the top of your list. Go to their website, do the research, find out who works there, find out what sort of profiles they are interviewing for, cross reference that on LinkedIn.

I love to do this. I love finding people who are doing the job that my client might want, or let’s say that I want. Where have they come from? What is their background? What have they got written on their profile? Again, this is the longer approach, but this is how you get ahead of what everyone else is doing. When you’ve done the research, you’ve really understood what’s the language, what are the challenges that they’re facing.

Then you can start to look if they have vacancies on their website, if they do, okay, you apply through the portal on the website, or you can apply through LinkedIn. Always, always amend your cv so that it aligns with the language they are using and what they’re looking for.

Don’t just be lazy. If you’re lazy, you won’t get the results that you want.

You’ve really got to make sure that your cv again stands out and jumps off the page.

So you’ve done your research and you’re working your way methodically through that list.

That’s sort of like level one of how to apply for a job.We’re going to put it that way.

Getting Referred

Level two is to really start leveraging your network. So I said there are four main ways to look for a job. It’s applying online, it’s applying through LinkedIn, it’s getting referrals.

So we’ve just covered applying online and applying through LinkedIn. It’s doing the research and it’s just applying. There’s not really much more to it than that.

So again, it’s very easy. So lots of people are doing it. I wouldn’t say don’t do it, but just be aware you’re probably going to have to apply for a lot more jobs because everyone else is also taking that approach.

But if you really want to make sure that you’re getting results, then you’ve got to leverage your network. So step one is still the same. You want to create a list of companies that you really want to work at, companies that really inspire you.

You want to go through every single one of those companies and check, who do you know in your network? Who works there?

Let’s give an example. Let’s say you want to be a finance manager. You don’t know anyone who works int finance in that company, but you know someone who works at that company.

That’s what matters. They don’t need to work in finance. If you’re looking for a finance role, you

just need someone who works in the company.

That’s it. You’re going to reach out to this person and have a conversation. Now, you have to work out for yourself how you approach that, depending on how well you know the individual.

If it’s really someone that you know very well, then that’ll be a very easy approach. If it’s someone you don’t know so well, then you’ve obviously got to think about how you are going to approach them and the type of message that you want to send.

But the ultimate goal is that you want to have a conversation with this individual. And I will caveat this and say, if you really don’t know the person, you cannot just message them and say, hey, I’m interested in your company. Will you jump on the phone for half an hour with me? No one’s going to do that. You’re asking too much of them. You’ve got to ease into it.

Ask them some light questions, get a little bit of back and forth going. Then when you’ve had a little bit of back and forth, a bit of a banter, then you can ask them for a conversation. 

And if you want to know more about the process, I take my clients through here. You can always drop me a message and I’ll be happy to go through the process that I use with my clients.

So the goal is you want to have a conversation with that individual. In having that conversation, if they don’t work in the department that you are interested in joining, explain your interest in the company and ask them, is there someone they would put you in touch with in that particular department that you’re interested in?

And if they can’t do that, would they refer you for one of the vacancies that you’ve seen? Ideally, it would be great if you could speak with someone in the finance department, but if that isn’t a possibility, your friend who works at the company can still refer. 

Why Do You Want To Get Referred?

Why do you want to get yourself referred? You might be asking because candidates that are referred are between ten and 15 times more likely to get hired.

They are also much more likely to stay longer in the company. So that’s why companies love referred candidates. So if you can get yourself referred, your chances of getting hired for that job increase hugely. So this is why it is so important to leverage your network.

So go through the list of companies, understand who is it, you know, who works in those companies, and start reaching out to them. On the other side, if you really don’t know anyone who works at those companies, start building your network.

Start connecting with people. And this is why I always say it’s really important to start building your network before you are looking for a job. Because, again, it’s very difficult to just message someone and then a week later be like, hey, can you refer me for a job?

Ideally, if you’ve already built up this relationship, it’s a lot easier to reach out and say, look, I’ve seen this vacancy. I would absolutely love to apply. And if you could refer me, that would be absolutely amazing. It’s not such a big ask, but okay, maybe that boat has already sailed and you are now really actively looking for a job. It’s not a problem. Reach out to people, connect with them, engage with them, be human.

And again, if you want to know how I do that with my clients, you can always reach out to me. 

So that is really taking up the next step. That is how you get yourself referred for jobs. And this is absolutely my preferred way to work with my clients and the results that get the best success rate.

So you have got how you apply on LinkedIn, you’ve got how you apply through a company. You’ve got the preferred way, which is getting yourself referred.

Working With Recruiters

And then the fourth way of looking for a job is to work with a recruiter.

So recruiters really work as the middleman between companies and candidates. They are employed by the company to fill specific vacancies, and they create a network of candidates that they have in their own database that they call upon.

When those vacancies come along, My advice would be to connect with a few recruiters. Maybe you want to be in contact with three, maybe maximum four different recruitment companies.

Why do I say that?

If you have a profile and you’re very focused on what you’re looking for, and you have a very clear profile, all those companies will kind of be looking for similar jobs for you. If you’re working with loads of recruiters, it doesn’t actually increase your chances because they’re all sort of fishing in the same pond.

So do your research. Look for some very good recruiters who specialize in your specific industry and your specific discipline, and reach out to them. You do not need to apply for a vacancy on their website. You can also just contact them for what is called an open conversation.

So you just contact the company and say, I didn’t see any vacancies on your website, but I would love to have an open conversation with you to explain what my aspirations are, what my experience is. So if a vacancy does come up from one of your clients, you can reach out and you can contact me.

So those are the four different ways that you can apply for a job.

It is not rocket science, but again, if you want to increase your chances of getting an interview, it’s really about leveraging your network. It is about aligning your cv every single time you apply for a job. And if you’re going to work with recruiters, really making sure you do the research to work with some really great recruiters.

Another Note On Networking

Something else I want to mention, when it comes to using your network, we spoke specifically today about focusing on companies. So you create a list of companies that you really want to work at and you target them. 

So you look for people you know who work there. You can also just leverage your network. What I mean by that is if you’re actively looking, and again, let’s say you want to move into a software developer role, you reach out to everyone you know who is a software developer. It doesn’t necessarily matter if they’re working in a company you want to work in. It’s more about getting the word out there because you don’t know who they know. So you want to reach out to as many people as possible to say, this is where I am, this is why I’m looking. Me and you have a similar profile, maybe you know someone in your network who’s looking.

And this often happens for my clients when they start utilizing people in their network and they start getting the word out there, suddenly one of those people will come back and say, actually a friend of mine or someone, an old colleague from another company has just said they’re looking. I think your profile would be ideal. Shall I put you in touch?

So it’s always about thinking that one step further.Who might that person know?

How You Look vs How Companies look

And before I end this video, I do want to point out that candidates and companies tend to take a very different approach to trying to fill a vacancy and trying to find a job. Companies will always look internally first, then they will try to push for referred candidates. Then they will do a search on LinkedIn themselves. And then when they’re really struggling, they will reach out to external recruiters who specialize in that area.

Whereas candidates tend to take the opposite approach. The first thing they do is just apply direct to company websites because as I already mentioned on this video, it’s easy. Then they might start to look for recruiters and then often the final thing that they’re doing is utilizing their network and trying to get referred for companies.

So it’s really worthwhile noting how companies look for jobs. It’s really going internal, looking for referrals, then LinkedIn, then using agencies, recruitment agencies. So you want to try and align with that.

Of course you can’t be an internal candidate if you don’t work there. But the next best thing is to get yourself referred. That’s really, really the next best thing you can do. Then start to apply online and then work with recruitment consultants. And of course, you can do all of them at the same time. Then you’re definitely covering your bases.

But you want to make sure that each step you’re taking, you’re going in depth, you’re approaching this in the proper way. So that you make sure that your application stands out above everyone else’s.

I really hope this video summarizes for you how you can find a job and what you need to do to make sure that you stand out from the crowd. As always, let me know in the comments what your biggest takeaway is and the first thing that you’re going to do.

And if you have any questions, you can always reach out to me.