‘How to organise your job search’ Webinar summary and recording
jobs.ac.uk are excited to work with Career Coach and Co-Founder of Catalyst Careers, Pamela Langan, to bring you our next Career Advice Hour Webinar, ‘How to organise your job search’.
What you’ll learn:
- How to organise your job search
- Positioning yourself correctly
- Using jobs.ac.uk effectively
- Staying resilient
After this session, you will walk away with tangible job-hunting strategies to land your next role!
Organising Your Job Search
Use a job search tracker
A job search tracker will keep you organised.
Using a document with all the jobs you have applied for, with details such as the title, job description, opening and closing date, will help, especially if a recruiter calls you.
You will be able to pull up the information quickly and know which role the recruiters is talking about, and you can present your best, informed self.
A common mistake Pamela sees jobseekers make is treating their job search like a hobby.
When you are at work, you stay organised and focused on the projects at hand.
Take this mindset to your job search and treat it like a project.
It takes away some of the overwhelming feeling of job hunting as you will have a plan.
Create a folder, name your project, keep it all in one place and work on it in a systematic way.
Creating your job tracker with all the required columns might be a lot of work up front, but in the long run, it will help you and make your search easier.
Another useful aspect of the job tracker is that you can see if any patterns emerge; are you getting interviews but no offers? This might encourage you to reflect on your interview technique.
Are you regularly getting feedback that the employer is going with a more experienced candidate or a candidate with xyz skills? This provides insight into areas you could improve on.
Manage time effectively
It is easy to get burnt out, sitting at your computer for hours on end, applying for jobs.
This could translate into your interviews, as by the time they come around, you are not in the best headspace, which will negatively impact your performance.
Treat your job search like a project or part-time job.
Block out dedicated time to spend searching and networking.
Pamela recommends 2 to 3 focus sessions a week.
Break tasks into research, applications, networking, and follow-ups
Pamela gives the example of researching and identifying jobs on Monday, submitting applications on Wednesday, and networking on Friday.
Breaking down the job search into tasks is key; most people spend most of their time just applying for jobs and don’t see results.
Pamela has found the most successful jobseekers spend equal amounts of time on researching and networking as applying.
It is a vital part of the search; your applications and interviews will be better as you will have researched sufficiently.
Positioning Yourself Correctly
Pamela believes that tailoring your CV is only the surface level of positioning yourself favourably to the company you are applying to.
You must go further and think about –
- Value Proposition: what outcomes you deliver.
- Differentiators: how you’re different from others.
- Alignment: linking your strengths to employer needs.
Value Proposition
Only using the keywords from the job description in your CV is not enough to be selected.
The recruiter at the end of the applicant tracking system wants to see what value you can bring to the company and if there is a return on investment.
Value proposition is not just your job titles or years of experience, but the measurable impacts you created.
Pamela uses the example that instead of saying ‘I manage projects’, use quantitative results, ‘I deliver complex projects 15% under budget while maintaining 98% stakeholder satisfaction’.
Put yourself in the employer’s perspective.
Go through your CV and think about how the employer would see it and what it would mean to them. Have you just copied the job description, or do you actually show value in the areas listed?
Differentiators
Showing how you differ from others is critical, especially in sectors such as Higher Education, as everyone has similar experiences and education.
Things that set you apart can include different types of experience, your leadership style, and, in the context of academia, your research or research methods.
Alignment
This is where effective research and setting enough time aside for research help.
Go beyond picking out keywords from the job description. Read it and figure out what they are looking for and how you can position your experience and skills to align with their needs.
Combining those three approaches, reflect on what value you bring to a role, what makes you different and how to align that with the jobs you are interested in.
Pamela gives her example, when she worked in industry, she was known for getting things done.
This brought great value to the company as she was able to get projects done efficiently, on time or even early.
She achieved this by building relationships and having a deep understanding of the company.
Using jobs.ac.uk Effectively
Pamela demos the jobs.ac.uk site and its search capabilities.
She shows the search filters and how to use them to save time by only being shown relevant jobs.
You can also create job alerts to get jobs straight to your email inbox.
The career advice section has a plethora of information for all types of roles and sectors.
Pamela particularly recommends the articles on salary negotiation and managing career transitions.
Staying Resilient
Keep perspective when facing rejections
The average job search takes between 4 to 6 months, and you could face up to 15 rejections during that time.
It is important to keep positive during your job search. Pamela notes that employers can tell in an interview if you are getting desperate or dejected by these rejections.
Keeping perspective is key. Rejection is part of the process, and the way you frame it in your mind will impact you.
Rejection is not a negative thing; it allows you to go on and find something better. It also allows you to learn and grow for the next opportunity.
Don’t think about it as a personal judgement, rather as information you can utilise for the future.
Build habits, not just ad-hoc applications
It is important to create a sustainable routine, including networking time on platforms such as LinkedIn.
Pamela reflects on the current recruitment climate and how being ghosted by employers and recruiters is not a reflection of your skills but rather on the recruitment space and the cost-cutting efforts of many employers.
Building viable habits will put you in front of as many employers as possible, increasing your chances.
Lean on support networks and resources
Ensure you are connecting with other professionals and organisations.
Reflect on your past jobs, university and college. You would have made connections with people during all those stages.
Find out where they are now; they could be in a role or company you are interested in.
Start leaning on that network, having conversations and seeing if they can connect you with potential opportunities.
Q&A
- How do I focus my CV if I have lots of experience?
- I am about to be made redundant; how do I get out of panic mode and still secure a good role?
- How to explain an unorthodox career?
- How to handle a lack of feedback?
- What are some warning signs of a toxic workplace?
- How to apply effectively with no direct work experience?
- How to best set yourself up for a career change?
- How to combat age as a barrier?
- How do you explain getting very positive feedback after the interview, but having the employer go with another candidate?
- How should I explain that I left my previous role for health reasons if asked during an interview?
- How to manage rejections related to sponsorship or visa issues?
- What are ghost jobs?
- I often spend a lot of hours to perfect my answers for supporting questions. How to minimise this with maximum impact?
- What would be your advice with dealing with imposter syndrome?
- As an international student should I mention my part-time experience along with my home country experience?
- Should I send a thank you email after an interview?
- What do you mean by building rapport with recruiters?
Final Take Aways
- Treat your job search as a strategic project.
- Focus on value, not just experience.
- Use all available resources.
Meet the Host
Pamela Langan
Pamela Langan is a leading career coach and CV writing expert who has transformed the careers of thousands of professionals across the UK. With over 11 years of experience and having written more than 5,000 CVs, she has established herself as the go-to expert for ambitious professionals seeking career advancement.
As Co-Founder of Catalyst Careers and creator of The Job Search Accelerator programme, Pamela combines her background as a former agency recruiter and senior leader with proven coaching methodologies. Her track record speaks for itself: 92% of her 1:1 clients secure job offers within 6 weeks, often with significant salary increases of £5,000 or more.
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