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Practical Tips for Job Hunters

In this age of the Great Resignation, you may be interested in finding a new job. I’ve changed jobs a few times over the last few years, either for better pay, a new challenge, or a different location, and I’ve picked up a few tips for staying organized and making yourself stand out during the job search.

Save every job listing. Once you’ve determined you want to apply for a position, make sure you save the job listing and description. My preference has lately been to clip it into my Evernote, but I’ve also copy/pasted the content into a new Google Doc. This way, should you get the opportunity to interview, you have the main responsibilities and qualifications ready to review. Sometimes those job listings and descriptions disappear once the application process has closed.

Highlight keywords in the job listing. This is mostly to benefit your cover letter. Many application websites scan your uploaded documents for those keywords, so using them will help you stand out. Use their phrasing in your cover letter, and update the resume you submit to also have those keywords.

Have multiple versions of your resume. Depending on your field and qualifications, you may be applying to a number of jobs that are related, but not entirely the same. Reorganize and rewrite your resume to fit these different jobs, highlighting your different skill sets. Review your resume each time you submit it to make sure you’re bringing your best foot forward for that particular position.

Submit your documents as PDFs. Sometimes if you’re emailing an application, or really any time you upload documents, the formatting may be lost somewhere in the process. Your well-formatted Word doc of a resume may look scrambled and many pages longer than intended. (I’ve seen this happen on the hiring end.) Save your cover letter, resume, and anything else you send as a PDF so the way you want it to look stays the same.

Organize a folder of “current” and “past” applications. If you haven’t heard back from a job, or you’re actively working on the application, keep the saved job description and current drafts of your cover letters and resumes in one area. Once you’ve heard back about the job (and you didn’t get it or didn’t accept it), move that information to another folder. That clears it out of your way, but you’re able to refer to the job description and drafts of whatever you submitted easily at a later point.

Keep your resume current. Even if you aren’t thinking about finding a new job in the near future, having your resume fresh with responsibilities and accomplishments from your current position will make it all the easier to jumpstart your job hunting later on. You’ll remember more about how great and qualified you are if you’re making sure to look over your resume every few months just to check.

A little organization goes a long way to help your job hunt go a little smoother, and keep you ready and active for the next opportunity that comes your way.