A while ago, I posted on LinkedIn that I am open to connect 1:1 for 30 min sessions for anyone willing to donate for COVID India Relief. I got inspired about this idea from Fabio Brocca, who did it before me. Overall, this was a huge success where I was able to raise $1000+ of donations, and met many interesting people whom I spoke with.
One of the most common themes of the discussions was people not knowing why they are not getting response from companies for which they are applying for jobs, or what is the right way to approach companies for a job, or how to find a job overall. I saw a common theme of mistakes, and a common theme of lack of knowledge, and I was keen to write something that can help people fixing these mistakes, and do better, to get better results.
In order to do that, I reached out and talked to Darren Robinson, who is an industry leader for Recruitment in Luxembourg, and has been named in Top 100 expats of the country. Darren was kind enough to spare his time to share tips and tricks anyone can use to become more visible to potential employers. I am writing this article to ensure the knowledge he shared with me doesn’t go to waste, and reaches the people who can benefit from this.
Tip #1: Treat your job search as a Project. Set up milestones and timelines.
Searching for a job can be a daunting work, especially if you are already in a job that’s demanding. In such cases, job hunting takes a secondary place in your life, and you end up not focusing enough on this. This creates a full circle of frustration for neither liking your current job, nor being able to find a new one.
Once you start treating your job hunt as a project, you can have milestones like, “Connect with 20 people within the marketplace I’d be interested in, to know more about available roles/jobs.”
This will not only ensure you have a clear plan to find the right job, but will also help keep you accountable.
Tip #2: Expand/Utilize your LinkedIn network
Reach out to people whom you might have worked with from current or previous employers, who are now working with your potential new employers. Create a milestone where you plan for 2-3 calls / coffee chats per week with people who can guide or support you in your search.
Tip #3: Focus on the inputs, not the outcome (Job)
When you are meeting people, focus on their inputs and guidance, and don’t talk to them focusing only about getting a job. Sounds counter-intuitive, but when you focus on the job, you are missing out on all the amazing guidance these people can share, and with that talk, if they like you, they might anyway offer you a job (or a referral in their current org). Talking only about getting a job restricts them to understand you as a person, and about your thought process, and your capabilities.
Tip #4: Update your LinkedIn profile
Think what a potential employer will be looking for. Information about What was your title and what department you were in is not useful for a potential employer. What’s rather important and useful is what were your roles & responsibilities. What did you actually do? Share the stats & numbers, what improvements did you bring in your tenure, what were your key achievements. In your About Me section, use the keywords that you want to highlight and want the employers to pick up from your profile.
Tip #5: Be active on LinkedIn in the groups & with people of your interest.
Find interesting information & posts in your area of interest, and repost/share those. Like other people’s posts if they are really good. Don’t post anything that you disagree with, keep it constructive & positive. This brings more visibility to your profile, in the right circle/group of like minded people.
Tip #6: Have a professional picture set up. Create and use the background picture.
Have a professional looking picture on your LinkedIn Profile. Also, make sure to have the latest picture of yours set up.
If you don’t use the background picture in your LinkedIn Profile, it gives an idea that you might not be active enough on LinkedIn. Get a professional picture that you can use for background.
Tip #7: Be visible outside your company
Within your current org, in order to progress, you must keep finding ways to be visible to your Sr. Leaders with your projects, what you are doing, what impact you are making, etc.
For a job hunt, think about how you can become visible to people outside of your current employer, and the group of people who could be potential employers for you. They are the ones who need to know you in order for you to get highlighted for the opportunities you would like to get.
In the end, while there could potentially be another 100 tips that can be shared, if you focus on these 7, it will most likely be better than what most of you might already be doing or not doing. I hope and wish that this post helps bring success to you in your search of a job and a career.
Originally published on LinkedIn.
