3 Job Search Hacks That Actually Work

3 Job Search Hacks That Actually Work 3 Job Search Hacks That Actually Work The 2019 job search is far and away different from the 1999 job search. To make sure you search moves forward with consistency, with interviews, and with offers, take advantage of these job search hacks: Hack #1: Customize Your Resume for Each Job in Under 5 Minutes Targeting your resume for each opportunity is important. Think about it: mass emailing a resume evokes the same response as if you were on the receiving end of a mass email. What if this were a dating scenario and the person texted you at 7 am with some long poem, except that you’ve only been on 1 date? That poem was not for you specifically. It was for everyone in the Rolodex. You need to treat each organization you approach as a unique, individual entity. Literally, speak their language. You’ll know their language based on what they wrote in the ad. If you’re a Sales Director and the ad says the ideal candidate has skills in “lead generation,” then make sure your resume says, “lead generation,” as opposed to, “business development.” Yes, they’re the same thing. But reflecting the language in the ad demonstrates that you’re more in tune with that particular organization’s corporate culture. To customize your resume in 5 minutes or less, simply adjust the top sections: your profile and your expertise. These are the sections that set the tone for what the employer is about to read. There should be no need to overhaul your experience section experience is a point in history. It already happened. Therefore, it need not be different for every version of your resume. Hack #2: Find Out Who The Employer Is, Even If The Ad Doesn’t Say The key to success in job search is to make direct contact with a real human being. Doing so increases your chances from 1-2% to 40-70%. But how do you begin to find a real human being of the ad you’re looking at doesn’t even say who the employer is? Google is how. Read the ad. Look for any unique or distinguishing wording. The put that wording encapsulated inside of quotation marks into Google. Doing so may just land you on the employer’s web site. So what do you do once you find out who the employer is? You can apply for the job the regular way you see on the job board where you originally saw the ad. But take things a few steps further. Now that you know who the employer is, look them up on LinkedIn to identify the relevant decision maker. Then reach out to that person directly. Hack #3: Say This When They Ask You (Too Early) About Your Salary Requirements In a perfect world, no one would talk about salary until the 3rd interview. But in the real world, the first time you talk to the recruiter over the phone, she’s going to ask you how much you’re earning right now. Flip the script. Employers already have the salary range in mind. They formulated that long before they published an ad. Since you know there is some basis for the salary they already have in mind, simply respond to the salary question with a question of your own: “What do you have budgeted for the position?” WAIT for the answer. I know the silence is uncomfortable. However, successfully risking the urge to fill the silence pays off with them telling you what the salary range is. Then you’ll know whether even pursuing the position at all is worthy of your time. You can find out exactly what to say about salary, especially if you’ve already heard a few times that you’re overqualified, in our fee job search training, “The Perfect Job Game Plan.” In this training, I show you exactly how to line up one interview after the next, after the next. And you’ll see the people who used The Perfect Job Game Plan to not only get employed, but also increase their salaries by the double digits.