Job Hunting Observations and Tips

As you may have heard, I am currently seeking my next career opportunity.  Having been in the job market for a few months, I’ve learned the new rules of the road for modern job searching, so I thought it may be helpful to document some of the observations I’ve made to hopefully aid jobseekers down the road.  The following is a list of some of these observations and tips:

• I’ve found that to be successful in the modern job market you definitely need to do the following three things:
  • Draft a well-written, tailored resume.  It goes without saying that you need a strong resume to get you in front of hiring managers.  Of course, the resume should be error free, but it also needs to be tailored for the job you are seeking.  I’ve found the best way to do this is to print out the job description and highlight all of the key requirements/responsibilities.  Then, build a resume that suits the majority of these requirements.  To test if my resumes are aligned close enough to the job descriptions, I use an online tool called JobScan which allows a comparison based on key words that ATS systems may be searching.  If possible, I shoot for an 80% match of keywords/requirements.
  • Update your LinkedIn profile.  Having not been in the job market for ~8 years, I initially didn’t realize the importance of this step.  In actuality, though, it almost seems like this is more important than a resume.  Getting put in the “hiring manager stack” of resumes (rather than the “HR stack”) is key to getting that first discovery interview.  Leveraging your LinkedIn network, is definitely one of the easiest ways to get noticed.  When I identify a job that I’d like to apply, I first check who in my LinkedIn network I can enlist to help me get my resume in front of the hiring manager (who I also am often able to glean from LinkedIn).  Then, I’ll politely ask my connection to help get my resume in front of the manager — sometimes they are even able to hand deliver the resume which greatly improves your chances of getting a first interview.
  • Practice, practice, practice behavioral interview questions.  Once you get passed the initial feeling out interview with the Recruiting Team, all subsequent interviews will likely have a healthy dose of behavioral questions. Assuming that past performance is a good indicator of future behaviors, the hiring manager will ask these probing questions to understand how you’ll behave given certain important situations that you will likely encounter in your role.  To adequately prep for such questions, I highly recommend writing out answers to commonly encountered questions — a quick Google search will provide numerous samples.  I usually use the STAR (Situation, Tasks, Actions and Results) method for structuring my answers.  This ensures a concise yet structured format for responding.  Once you have crafted all of your responses, I recommend practicing them in front of a mirror and recording it or in front of a friendly audience.  Whatever option you choose you’ll want to do a post mortem looking for ways to continually improve your responses.
• Once you have taken the time to update your resume and LinkedIn, I highly recommend focusing on creating a website with branding that is similar to your LinkedIn profile.  I chose to do this with WordPress, but their are a number of options out their that are affordable and do not require an advanced degree in web development.  In fact, most of the companies offering these services are one-stop shops for your site, templates, DNS, email, etc.  Once the site is up, I recommend periodic updates, so your site doesn’t go stale.
• Utilize your network as much as possible to gain leads on positions.  If you are seeking a job that is at any level above entry level (particularly in management), it is likely that the position will be filled from the hiring manager’s network rather than a career site such as Indeed or BuiltinAustin.  For this reason, you have to get in front of hiring managers well before they even have a new req.  Ideally, they’ll already have you short-listed when they finally decide to open the req.
• Create a list of top 10 companies that you want to work even if they do not currently have openings that interest you.  Then, utilize your network, either through LinkedIn or word of mouth, to get the word out that you want to work at Company X, Y and Z.  The hope is that your network can name drop you as interested in the companies and hiring managers will organically learn about you.
• Another great approach to getting in at your target companies is to search for contacts at your targeted companies and try to connect with them.  This is a very nuanced task and typically involves a bit of flattery to get them to want to connect.  I’ve included a sample below that I recently used to connect with a manager at a target company that I hoped could get my resume to the hiring manager for a position I found.
  • Hello <Person at target company>, We’ve never met, but your profile came up when I was looking for Professional Services leaders at XYZ. I’m really impressed with your background and would love to learn what drew you to the company as I find the products and services you provide very interesting! Can we connect? Thanks.  –> it is important that you mention that you’ve never met..
  • If the above works, you now have a chance to start a dialogue with an insider.  After some back and forth, you can give your Ask — to hand deliver your resume to the hiring manager.