How to find a job with 10 simple steps!

The world can be an intimidating place, especially if you’re a recent graduate on the hunt for a job. The process can be stressful, with a number of companies to review and interview for, along with the painful rejections. Sometimes, many of us do not even know where to start! If you’re currently feeling lost and confused about your career prospects (a normal feeling amongst freshers) then read further to gather some tips on how to find a job, and make your life easier.  

There’s no denying it, searching for a job is tedious, it actually ends up becoming a job in itself! You may often end up wondering how to find a job that suits your needs and fulfills your goals. One thing is for certain though, finding a job is not impossible, and with a few tips and tricks, you can ease the process, ultimately reducing your stress and burden. 

Underline your career goals

Before you go into the details of how to find a job, make sure you list down your career goals first. Understand your intentions behind the process of your job-hunting. This will help you give a focused approach to kickstarting your career. While answering the question of how to find a job, make sure you have clear goals and expectations in your head. Make sure you are realistic with your prospects. 

This can include understanding the type of job profiles you want, what hours and work lifestyle suits you, and where you see yourself in the next five years. Answering these questions and clarifying your career goals will help you narrow down your search to profiles you are passionate about and will help you advance professionally. 

Identify and expand your skills

One reason why you may find yourself asking the question ‘how to find a job’ is that you are not clear about your strengths and how you can utilize them. Start simple. Make a list of your skills and accomplishments till now and research which job profile it fits. If you are confused about how you can identify your skills, then you can approach your peers, take an aptitude test, or refer to your previous references and letters of recommendation.

If you doubt the ability of your current skill set and how to find a job with them, then take up courses to adopt new skills. You can effectively utilize your time by doing online courses from Google, Udemy, and other free platforms. And above all, if you are a code enthusiast, you can participate in hackathons and connect with developers across the world.

Work on your resume

If you ask anyone the question of how to find a job, chances are many of them will respond by telling you to work on your resume. After all, your resume is the first sneak peak your potential employers get of you, so make it an impressionable one! Make sure your resume and cover letter are up to date. You can even take help and ask people around you to proofread it. 

Keep your resume strong and simple. It certainly should still be attractive and easy to read, but the color and artistic flair may just end up confusing the computer screens. Make sure to adapt your resume to each job you apply for. Take out the time to write targeted resumes and cover letters that specifically link your qualifications to the hiring criteria for the jobs you are applying for. You'll have a much better chance of getting an interview than if you merely sent a generic letter and resume. 

Explore both online and offline

People who wonder how to find a job often go to online platforms. After all, we live in the digital age of convenience and connections. Several websites have job listings that you can explore. Google itself has its own job search platform so that when you enter job profiles or descriptions, you’ll see postings from organizations hiring for positions with similar keywords.

You can also go old school and take the offline route of approaching a company directly, or through a contact. Attending career fairs or reaching out to a recruitment agency also increases your reach and releases you from the stress of how to find a job. The most important thing here is to have contacts in the industry you wish to establish yourself, which brings us to our next point. 

Network regularly 

If you wish to reduce your doubts about how to find a job, then make sure you network both online and offline. Networking is the best way to connect with people, especially from the industry you want to go into. Maintaining these contacts through sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or meeting people face-to-face at community events, alumni meets, and seminars will definitely boost your career prospects. 

Explore different job profiles

The wonderful thing about technology today is that it has created new job profiles that you may have not even heard about! For instance, jobs that are titled as data scientist, machine learning engineer, experience architect, IoT engineer, digital marketing specialist, security consultant or user experience designer are fast gaining traction in various industries today. So instead of putting all your focus and energy on how to find a job, try exploring the different avenues and job profiles that the world has to offer.

The best way to go about this is by taking your skills one by one. Let’s say you have a flair for writing. Consequently, you can explore job profiles like a content writer, content strategist, social media manager, communications, specialist, columnist, and the list goes on. Even a single skill can produce a number of job opportunities. 

Research about companies and make a list

The entire process of how to find a job can become easy once you know the companies you wish to target. To do so, make a list of the types of companies you wish to work with, and sub-list with names of companies that fall under each category. Further, research the company to evaluate if its goals, ideals, and work ethics match with what you want. Conclude this by shortlisting who you wish to target. 

Know your worth

The simple question is; how to find a job when you don’t even know what to expect from it? This is why it is important that you realize your worth in order to have an expected salary in your mind. You can compare salaries for fresher roles in your industry from professional sites. The Monster Salary Index is one such option that provides you with a comprehensive report of salaries across roles, industries, and even locations. 

If you think your offer is quite less than the standard range, you can put forth your case based on your research. Speak to them about how you can be effective in the role and convince them that you deserve more than what is being offered. After all, earning your hard-earned money is one of the best parts about finding a job, so make sure you are being paid according to your efforts and worth!

Prepare for interviews, before and after 

Questions revolving around how to find a job do not end with interview offers. In fact, interviews can be nerve-wracking for many people, especially since they make it or break it for you. Before any interview, make sure to prepare yourself by practicing common questions like “Tell me about yourself.” or “Why should we hire you?”. Make sure to highlight your skills in a concise yet comprehensive manner. 

Immediately after a job interview, send the hiring manager a thank-you note. If you have not heard back from them after a week, follow up with a phone call or an email. When doing so, show your excitement and interest in the job. While you wait for a response, continue searching for and applying to jobs that interest you.

Stay confident and persevere!

Job-hunting can be tiring and demotivating at times. With the constant rejections and fear of the unknown, you may find yourself in a cycle of self-doubt. What you must understand is that the secret behind how to find a job is to stay confident in your search process, and persevere through the shortcomings. Trust the process and your skills, keep seeking inspiration, and before you know it you’ll land the job of your dreams!

So what are you waiting for? Make the best of these tips and tricks, and go after what you want. Happy hunting!

If you found this article interesting, then check out the following links:

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