Not so long ago, about eight
years ago around the same period, I was looking for my first job. And not only, I didn't know exactly
what I wanted to do, but I didn't really know how to look for a job neither. All that I know was create your
resume, write your cover letter, post it on job boards, apply for
jobs and just wait for an answer. And that's what I did,
but here is what happened. So tell me, why do you think
you are a fit for this role? Yes. So, as mentioned in my cover letter, We don't read cover letters,
recruiters have no time for that. Oh. Okay. And that was pretty harsh, isn't it? But actually not that much because yes,
it is true, I spent time and I put energy in this cover letter and the recruiter
didn't even read it, but at least it helped me to realize that there were a
huge gap between what I believed to be expected by hiring managers and recruiters
and the reality, what they really expect.
And now that I am an experienced recruiter
with eight years in the business and I have interviewed maybe thousands of
people, I'm going to share with you, what would be the advice that I would
give to the young version of myself to make my job search more successful. And the first tip that I would give
to myself is narrow your search. As I said, because I didn't really know
exactly what I wanted to do so I broadened my search and thought that if I aim wider,
I would generate more opportunities. But that was a huge mistake. Why? Because, on the contrary, this "I'm
ready to do anything" attitude is not really attractive nor engaging. Look, if you go in that meeting
room to meet a recruiter or hiring manager, and the message that you
convey is "I'm ready to do anything". What you sound like is "please help me,
give me a job, I could do anything". But if you go in that meeting room and you
speak to this recruiter or hiring manager, and what you are saying is what you're
offering is exactly what I'm looking for.
And your resume is reflecting that, and
you can explain and give the reasons why you would like to do that job. Then you sound like an investment
and it makes a whole difference. So don't be a generalist. but be a, specialist because
riches are in the niches because yes and it is the second tip. Nowadays, you are no
longer asking for a job. You are selling your services and
it is a very different approach.
You are not a burden. You are not a cost. You are an investment. You are not ready to do anything, you
know your worth and you don't beg for a job but you are a solution to a problem. The hiring process it is not fully
about you, it is about understanding the hiring managers need and to show him how
you can be a solution to his problem. So, for example, if you are a junior
marketing profile and what you really want to do is run social media campaigns
and google adverts, for example, you should rather target, the companies
having the specific needs and show them through your application and resume
that it is exactly what you want to do. And that you already have some skills,
what you have to offer rather than send generic applications to a marketing
opportunity and play the numbers. Do not do that because the people
passionate about copywriting, they will get the copywriting jobs, people
passionate about community management. They will get the community management
jobs, people interested in anything. They will always be on the bottom of
the list and it leads to the third tip.
If you want to have something to offer,
if you want to have something to sell. And especially if you have no experience
yet you have to always be in motion. It is not because you are graduated
that you are done with learning. It is just starting. You need to keep learning. If you are looking for a job
during three months, it can't be the only thing that you are doing. You need to have either side
projects, learning a new language, following an online course, training,
reading in your niche, et cetera. You need to be in motion. It is really, really important. And nowadays there are
so many resources online. It is really incredible. So take benefit of that and the
tip number four, be proactive.
You can follow it up. When I started to look for a job, it was
not conceivable to me to take my phone, to call the company or the recruiter. There was a process for a reason, right? It was totally inappropriate. So what you need to realize here is
that it is a two way relationship. It is totally fine to take your
phone to announce your application. You just sent your resume or you are about
to send it and you give a call to the recruiter or the hiring manager if you
have the contact details, if you have a name to say, hello, sir, my name is Ivan. I just sent you my resume or I was
considering sending my resume, but I just wanted to have a bit more information
about the context of the role and also to have a visibility on the next
steps and what will be the process. It is totally fine to do that. Or even after an interview, you send an
email to thank the recruiter or the hiring manager to say that you really appreciated
the talk and to confirm your interest and to ask what can you expect a feedback? And if within 24 hours you don't hear from
them, just call them to make sure that they receive your email and to know when
you can expect to have a feedback, don't be a spectator and don't play the numbers.
It is way smarter to apply only for five
jobs a day, but you put the right energy and the right effort and you follow
it up and you make your research, et cetera, rather than applying to 25 jobs per day but randomly,
and with no strategy. And listen, if there are 100
applicants for the role and you are the only one to take your phone,
you will stand out immediately. It is also a great opportunity
to demonstrate your soft skills. Number five. Invest in your resume, your resume is
your only chance to get an interview. So it is way too important
to be overlooked. And this is the reason why you
should hire a professional. And by a professional, I
don't mean someone like me. I have eight years of experience
in the recruitment industry and still for my own resume, I hired a professional. I'm not speaking about your career
advisor or a counselor at school or in an organization for example, I'm
speaking about a real professional, a professional CV writer, because it
requires professional writing skills and it is especially helpful for hard
to get it industry or if your background is not the most obvious for the role
that you are targeting, a CV writer will tell your professional story,
a CV writer will help you to sell your potential over your skills.
So for example, if you had a
career change, if you are going in a different direction, a resume
writer will be very helpful. And if you are a young graduate,
the prices are very reasonable and it is really worth the investment. So I would suggest you to go
on platforms such as Fiverr, freelancer.com, et cetera, and to
find a professional with good reviews. And once you have the basis, you just
need to have it updated each year. And trust me, it is worth the investment. You will get a better job. A better salary and in less
time, number six, please stop with generic cover letters. I know that it might seems to be a
difficult exercise, but it is only because you don't understand what
is the purpose of a cover letter.
The purpose of a cover letter is
not to show how motivated you are. A cover letter is not a burden. It is not a formality. The purpose of a cover letter is
to make understand your recruiter or hiring manager quite quickly. What is your current situation
and how do you believe that you are a fit for this role? And it has to be specific. And once you understand that first,
you will understand that it is not at all about sophisticated. Fancy salutations. And second of all, because
of this misbelief, all cover letters are looking the same.
This is why it is not impactful. This is why it is really repetitive
and boring for the recruiter. And this is why they are not
even reading your cover letter. Don't explain how honoured you
feel to apply for your opportunity. Be concise. And in three to five bullet points,
you need to be able to explain very concretely: why do you think
that you are a fit for the role. That's it. You should write your cover letter. If you have to write one, as
you would write an email, be pragmatic, be concrete and be to
the point and the last tip research and connect.
So research about a company and a
good way to understand a company is to understand the competition. So check their main competitors. And what is the difference between
the company that you are targeting and their competitors, but research
also about your own competition. Where are the people with
a similar profile applying? Where are the people with a similar
profile and one year of experience are currently working and the second
step is to connect, connect with them.
Maybe they can help you. They can share tips, they
can give you information. They can recommend you and do the
same with the people you would like to be in three to five years,
find them on LinkedIn, contact them, connect with them, engage and
try to see if they can help you. They can give you tips. They can recommend you send you
as a referral, et cetera, and on LinkedIn, do not hesitate
to reach out to recruiters too. Internal recruiters, but
also agency recruiter. And if you are unsure about who you should
contact, please check my previous video where I'm explaining in four keys, how
to understand the recruitment industry. So you will see who is the
best person to help you. I will link it below and lastly, be
active, be active on social media. Be active on LinkedIn. Engage share articles, write post
nowadays, building an online presence is very, very, very important.
It is fundamental and
it is never too late. I'm only starting today with my
YouTube channel and Instagram, for example, by the way, uh, join me. But the sooner you. The better. And also you don't need to be so active,
just commenting for example, or liking posts will help you to be on the feed
of recruiters or hiring managers and to stay on the top of their mind, remember
looking for a job is a full-time job. So go out of your comfort zone,
do not give up and it will happen.
Trust me, if I can be of any help, do
not hesitate to contact me on Instagram and send me a message I will answer. Or I will also answer you
in the comments section. thanks for watching and see you next week..
