a job seeker’s complete guide to finding a job

Looking for a new job can be a little overwhelming, especially when you’re unsure of where to begin. Spend some time thinking about what it is that you enjoy doing. Perhaps your hobby could translate into a career path? Knowing what your strengths are will give a good idea on knowing what you’re really good at. Next, think about what you see yourself doing in 5 years. Is it the same job you’re thinking of now? Finally, don’t let salary cloud your judgment. Yes, making a decent living matters, but money isn’t everything. 

7 tips that everyone should follow:

1. apply to jobs even if you don’t have 100% of the qualifications
2. stop worrying about rejection
3. as critical as your resume, your LinkedIn profile
4. highlight your soft skills
5. don’t share your salary history
6. be authentically yourself in job interviews
7. send a thank-you note after an interview

Let’s break these tips down a little so that you better understand and feel more confident going into looking for a job. First and foremost, no one is expecting any applicant to have 100% of the qualifications. More often than not, the qualifications listed are nice-to-have rather than must-haves. Chances are, if you have 70% of the qualifications and the job matches your skill set, then you should consider applying.

Unfortunately, rejection happens. Everyone is bound to be rejected at one point in their job search. It’s part of the job search process. Just know that you’re going to hear a whole lot of ‘no,’ but you only need to hear ‘yes’ once to land your dream job.

Just like you’ve updated your resume, you must update your LinkedIn profile. 97% of recruiters are looking at your resume and LinkedIn, so make sure everything is updated. And, don’t forget to highlight your soft skills on both your resume and LinkedIn. Soft skills can make all the difference when a company is looking for good people to work with. You’ll come off as more human and likable during the interview process. 

When you are in the interview, there is one thing that you should keep a little quieter — your salary history. When a company asks you for your salary range, keep it focused on how much you’d like to make rather than how much you’re making now.

These two points might be last on the list, but they tend to make the most significant difference when looking for a job. First, be yourself in an interview. Companies are looking for someone who is a good match with their current team. This means that being yourself will allow them to understand who you are and whether you’d be a good fit. And last but not least, send a thank-you note. You should always send a message to whoever interviewed you, thanking them for their time and the opportunity. A quick email will do the trick and could have a huge payoff.   

These are some questions you need to ask yourself before looking for a job. Check them out in this article.

When you are job hunting, especially online, you're handing out a lot of personal information. So make sure to be cautious about keeping your personal data safe. When you’re looking for a job, you often share personal information such as your phone number and email address. Most people have their street address and other personal identification on their resume as well. All of those things can be dangerous if they get into the wrong hands. It's important to use common sense and make sure you follow basic data security practices when you're looking for work, especially online. 

You should never include personal information on your resume or job application; this includes your birthday and social insurance number. If you already have your phone number and email address on your resume, there is no need to have your address, as well. Most hiring managers will contact you via phone or email and don't need your physical address. Sometimes when applying for a job online, they will require you to set up an account. This can lead to the company asking you to answer some security questions. In these security questions, you should never use responses that will give away any of your personal information, such as your mother's maiden name.

Apply to reputable employers. Do a little research into the company before applying. Does the ad itself look a little bizarre? Is there something a little off? Check out the company's website before applying, or better yet, apply on the company's actual webpage. Don't ignore your instincts that something's up. If you're suspicious, there's a good chance there's a reason. It would be best if you always were using trusted websites when applying for a job. Stick to the company’s websites or use other reputable sites, such as LinkedIn, Monster, or ask for help from our Randstad recruiters. Always double-check the email address you're sending your resume by copying and pasting it into Google to see what search results come up. If it brings you to the company's website, the chances are that it's a good email.

Always use your common sense when applying online. Chances are if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. make sure you can answer questions like: 

• is this company a legal and licensed business? 
• what processes are in place to keep my information secure? 
• am I confident all laws and regulations will be respected at this company? 
• do I feel secure that this employer will pay me for my work? 

If you can confidently answer ‘yes’ to all these questions, go ahead and send in your application. However, if you’re using your phone to apply to jobs, there are some tips and tricks that you should know. Check out this article with 8 tips you need to know if you apply to jobs on your phone.

It’s time to up your social media game to find a job. Social media isn’t just for sharing your life with your friends and family anymore! It can help you find your dream job. A carefully crafted social media profile can help you stand out from the other applicants. Whether you’re looking on Facebook for a job or on LinkedIn, there are many job opportunities on social media platforms, and you can even have recruiters on social media reaching out to you.

There are a couple of good tips when looking for a new job on social media. First, you should research, research, research. Just like most things in life, you should do a whole lot of research before jumping into the deep end. There is so much information out there. Use it to your advantage. Follow brands you’re interested in working for, research them to see if it’s a company that you’d fit well with, and align with your personal skills and interests.

Here are some helpful tips on how to make your social media profiles shine. 

• have a professional profile picture 
• headline with keywords and information
• craft a well thought out summary
• create a custom URL
• comprehensive background section 
• outline of all of your skills
• recommendations by past employers
• be proactive on LinkedIn

Do a social media audit before you start your next job search. Google your name and see what results come up. Do you like what comes up, or are there things that you need to fix? Because recruiters and hiring managers will also see what pops up when they Google your name. So go through those old photos on social media and delete them so they won’t appear in your search results. Or set all of your personal profiles to private and create a professional profile. This way, when a hiring manager googles you, they will just find your professional profiles. 

Social media is the perfect place to show off your personality and to craft a personal brand. Gone are the days when work was work, and personal life was personal life. Employers know that you have a life outside of work, so there is no need to scrub your social media platforms completely. Instead, show off your personality. You’re a real person with insights and ideas. That’s the kind of people recruiters want to hire. So keep your personality online, and use it to craft your personal brand. 

Want some really fantastic strategies on how to increase your visibility on LinkedIn? Check out this article. It will give you a rundown of everything you can do to give yourself more visibility on LinkedIn. 

A positive impression can make the difference between your resume landing in the ‘must hire’ pile versus the ‘maybe’ pile. You want to stand out from the competitions and knock your interview out of the park. Impressing the hiring manager is the key to success as a job applicant. You want to leave the hiring manager wanting to find out more about you and your skills.

Here are 5 easy ways to impress a hiring manager: 

1. come prepared 
2. ask insightful questions
3. use body language to convey interest 
4. own who you are
5. send a thank-you email 

Don’t end up in the maybe pile, and for this, you must come prepared for the interview. Go and research as much as you can about the company and the job itself. You’d be surprised about how much information you can find in a quick Google search. Make sure that you digest all of this information, from company history to the job description and the company itself now. Look at their mission statement and value props, and get a good understanding of who they are and what they represent. Once you understand the company, it’s time for you to develop some insightful questions to ask during the interview process. Was there something in your research that you’d like them to expand on? Or something in the job description that you want to know more about? Come prepared to the interview with questions, our personal favorites: 

• How is performance measured?
• What qualities determine a candidate’s success in this role?
• How does this role contribute to the company’s goals and strategies for success?
• What opportunities for growth and development exist in this organization?

Body language matters. Whether you’re in an interview, in a business meeting, or on the subway going home, a lot is said through your body language. We, as humans, take a lot of cues from body language, so during your interview, make sure that you think about these cues. The most important is eye contact — keep eye contact with those interviewing you. Sit straight up and lean forward a bit; this is a social cue indicating interest. Smile and be as animated as you are naturally. Some things to avoid are crossing your arms, talking too fast, and fidgeting. So take a deep breath and be yourself, own who you are during the interview. You’ll be great as you are. 

Stand out from the crowd and show that you are thankful for their time and the opportunity. Sending a thank-you note or email is mandatory after the interview. We've mentioned this before, but we'll say it again because it's such a critical way to show good manners, and it's an excellent way for you to follow up and reestablish why your skills and experience match what they're looking for. Plus, it's another way to show that you are the perfect candidate. Sometimes it can be challenging to know what you should be doing in an interview to convince the hiring manager that you're the ideal candidate. So we've come up with some guaranteed ways to boost your credibility when looking for a job. Learn how to boost your credibility here.

Have you gone on some interviews and haven't heard back from any of them and wondered why? Well, getting a call for a job interview is the first step to landing a job offer. During the interview is your time to shine, but sometimes the interview doesn't always turn into a job offer. Instead, you need to sell yourself as the absolute person for that job opening in such a short time with the interviewer without knowing who your competition is. No pressure, right? 

Well. We have lined up some common job search mistakes and how you help to correct them. 

You’re not selling your strengths. It’s not enough to just state your strengths. You need to sell them to the hiring manager and have supporting arguments to back them up. How can you do that? Well, plan it out. Before the interview, start brainstorming all of your strengths, write down everything, even if some seem silly. Then go through all of your strengths and choose at least five that are appropriate for the job you’re interviewing for. You can even ask friends and family what your strengths are, and their answers may surprise you. Now is the time that you craft a story around your strengths. Come up with a story with numbers and stats that speak to your strengths. Be proud of your strengths and try to play them up as much as possible in your interview. 

Repeating your resume during an interview is a big no-no and could lead to no callbacks. The hiring manager already knows what's on your resume. They've already read it, and that's why you're there for the interview. Try to avoid repeating what is on your resume during the interview. You might be thinking, that's what they need to know. However, they've already been through your resume, so expand on your experience. Just remember, you have more to offer during the interview. Speak about your soft skills and what you can bring to the company rather than just what's on your resume. It's time to sell yourself more than your resume can because, remember, the resume is what got you the interview.

Want to see the complete list of job mistakes and how to correct them? Well, check out this article on why your job interviews aren't leading to job offers.

A recruiter can be an invaluable resource when it comes to having a smooth job search. Not only do recruiters support you and help to direct you, but they also can help you find great opportunities that you might not have seen before. Recruiters know what is happening in the job market. They understand precisely what hiring managers are looking for and the trends that are happening right now. So a recruiter can help to navigate you through the hiring process.

However, there seems to be much misinformation about working with a recruitment agency as a job seeker, such as yourself. So let’s break down some of the myths. 

myth: recruiting agencies are expensive

truth: job seekers don’t pay to find jobs

myth: recruiters force you to take jobs to collect a commission

truth: recruiters want you to be happy

myth: recruiters fill jobs you can find yourself

truth: recruiters have access to jobs you’ll never see

myth: recruiters take part of your salary as commission

truth: you make the same amount working with a recruiter

Need a little help on how to know if you’ve found the right recruiter? Well, there are a few indicators that you’ve found a top-notch recruiter. Your recruiter listens first and talks second. They listen to everything that you have said and want to build a solid relationship with you. Make sure that you find a recruiter with the same goals as you do, this way, you can create a strong relationship with them. Secondly, they know your industry. Finally, you want to find a recruiter that knows the industry that you work in. They should know it inside and out so that they can provide guidance, support, and advice that makes sense. 

Experienced recruiters have picked up tons of tips and tricks from working with countless employers and hiring managers over the years. They are a wealth of information that is ready and willing to help you through the entire process. Recruiters know what will help you as a candidate stand out, and they’ll do their absolute best to help you find opportunities that align and be honest with you throughout the process. That is what makes a good recruiter. 

There are a lot of good recruiters out there, and we’re happy to say that there are a lot of them working here at Randstad. Connect with a recruiter in a city near you.

Find advice and tips to help you streamline your job search and zero in on the perfect opportunity for you. We have tons of insights to help you find the right job.