5 Key Parts of a Successful Job Search

Before you seriously begin your job search, it's important to take a few critical steps to ensure that you "look before you leap" and approach your search in a smart and savvy way. It will also lead you to a stronger search with better results. If you're not quite sure what you need to do to prepare, we're here to help! Here are 5 key factors to consider before starting a job search.

1. What do I want to do?
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new job seeker is not taking time to think about what you want to do and why. It’s really important that you don’t take this step too lightly because understanding what you want is the first step toward getting it. And we all would like to be in an industry or career that we enjoy. Just because you’ve been working in accounting for 6 years and you got laid off, doesn’t mean you should automatically look for another accounting job. Employers love to see people who are excited and passionate about their work. If you’re not, this is going to stand out.

2. Is my resume in top shape?
Before you get too serious about your job search, you want to make sure your resume is in great shape. This means making sure it’s up-to-date, laid out in a logical manner, and free from embarrassing typos. Do not rely only on one set of eyes to proof a resume—get a second person to read it. Just make sure the person proofreading it for you would be able to catch grammar, spelling, and formatting mistakes that you might have missed.

3. What companies am I going to target?
You know what you want to do, so now it’s time to figure out what companies could hire you. This takes a little effort up front, but it’s worth it! Do some research on your top choices and become a regular visitor to their careers page. Learn all that you can about their openings and the people who already work there. Try to make smart connections through networking and online sites like LinkedIn and if at all possible, get your resume into the hands of real people who work at your target companies. Be kind and gracious to everyone you encounter. You never know who could help you get your foot in the door!

4. What skills and experience am I bringing to the table?
What do you have to offer a potential employer? Sometimes people forget to think about this, but it’s so important to be able to give a well thought out response to this question! Being a great fit for the job is about more than matching some lines on your resume to the job description. It’s about being able to show why you’re a better fit than someone else. Are you a great project manager? Have you grown your department’s sales by an impressive margin? Are you great at managing client relationships? These are the kinds of things that employers want to know more about.

5. What am I like to work with and why would a potential employer want to hire me?
What makes you different from someone else with a similar background? A lot of times hiring decisions come down to whether the manager or the team thinks they’d be able to work well with you—and even more specifically whether they like you. Be mindful of how your personality comes across to others. If you know you’re an introvert, you want to start practicing how you can come out of your shell a little bit and make a great impression on your potential co-workers. If you’re super extroverted, you might need to work on putting a little bit of a filter on some of the things you say.

Approaching your job search with a strategy and some organization will help you feel more confident. If you have a strong and focused foundation for your search, the rest of the process will fall into place a lot easier for you.