PUT YOURSELF FIRST
A lot of people don’t separate
‘This is what my parents think
success looks like’ or ‘This is
what my friends think is a sexy
job’ from what it is they really
want. Take the time to think
about your values, strengths
and what matters to you. It’ll
increase future job satisfaction.DON’T BE TOO PICKY
Applying for jobs is a lot like
applying for uni, where you
have your stretches (the schools
you really want to go to) and a
couple of safeties. Most people
apply only to their stretch jobs- even though not everyone
can land a position there. Make
sure you’re looking at a wide
swathe of options – your dream
jobs as well as ones that seem
like a sure bet.
TIDY UP ONLINE
Go through the first three to
five pages of your photos on
social media and remove any
thing that could be deemed
unprofessional. You would be
surprised by how much can
be seen on Facebook, either
because your account is public,
which we don’t recommend,
or because friends of friends
can see it. The chance of some
one in your industry knowing
someone who knows you is
actually quite high, and hiring
managers poke around.UPDATE YOUR EMAIL
If your email is Suelovescats
@yahoo.com or Snazzypants@aol.com, it’s time to upgrade!
It sounds terrible, but we’ve
heard from so many hiring
managers that when they see
a Yahoo or AOL email address,
they’re not sure how tech savvy
you are. Gmail is a safe bet.STALK IF YOU HAVE TO
Figure out if you have any
connections with anyone in
the company using LinkedIn
or by doing a bit of Twitter
stalking. It’s worth it if you
find someone who could help
answer questions and get your
résumé to the top of the pile.STICK TO THE 2/3 RULE
Some people think that if a job
lists 10 qualification require
ments, they have to meet all
10 (typically, women are less
likely to apply than men are
when they don’t meet all the
reqs). Instead, ask yourself,
‘Do I meet at least twothirds
of the things on this list?’ For
example, if a company posts
that a candidate should have
a computer science degree
and you don’t but you do have
everything else on the list in
spades, go for it. Be thoughtful,
though: if a job requires seven
years of experience and you’ve
only got one, that’s probably
not good enough.TAILOR YOUR RÉSUMÉ
Look at the job description
and make sure you mirror it
in some way. If a company is
really large, the odds of your
application being screened by
a robot before a human are
high, so keywords are really
important. Put your résumé
through a wordcloud tool like
Wordclouds.com and see what
jumps out. Compare those to
the words in the job posting.
You might be surprised to find
that they don’t match up.TREAT SKYPE LIKE
IT’S IN-PERSON
For any Skype or FaceTime
interviews, dress just like you
would if you were meeting
someone facetoface. It will
improve how you feel, but it’s
also smart in case the call takes
an unexpected turn. Always
wears pants... just in case you
have to stand up.ASK FOR A TIMELINE
The end of an interview is the
best time to ask about next
steps. Say, ‘OK, great. What’s
your timing on this? I want
to make sure I know what to
expect, so I can be responsive
to you.’ If they say, ‘We have
a bunch of people coming in
next week and won’t know ’til
the week after,’ then you know
when you should check in.SAY THANKS ASAP
Send a thankyou email the
same day as your interview.
Be sure it’s personalised – we
know when it’s a form letter.
You only need one or two lines
to make it unique. Some people
appreciate a handwritten note,
but only do that in addition to
an email. Unless you can get
the letter delivered that same
day, you risk their making a
decision before receiving it.FOLLOW UP
WITH CAUTION
There’s a balance between not
giving up and being obnoxious.
Since you asked for a timeline
up front, give them a couple
of days past it, then say, ‘I know
you are finishing up interviews.
I just want to check in on the
status.’ Then wait again. And
don’t send backtoback emails.work