25 Tips for Job Hunting (and Staying Sane)

With more people applying for a role than usual, it’s important to make an extra effort when it comes to your CV, cover letter and other channels. In marketing, our jobs are to ensure campaigns are on brand and connect with target audiences, but what about when it comes to marketing yourself? It’s not enough to just have a CV, it needs to be great and catch a recruiter or hiring manager’s eye in seconds. Let’s look at how you can improve your chances of being shortlisted for an interview.

Your CV, but better

Recruiters and hiring managers have to review so many CVs, if yours doesn’t tick boxes on a first scan, they’re onto the next one. Even if you’ve perfected your CV, adapt it for the role you are applying for. 

‘Recruiters spend 7 seconds on average reviewing a CV’ – Undercover Recruiter

Top tips:

1. Ensure your relevant skills and systems/platforms experience are included on the first page – recruiters can search their CV database for buzzwords, if not, it will be a manual scan. If a role requires essential knowledge or experience, and you have it, make sure it’s prominent.

2. Keep it short and simple – you’ve probably heard of the 2-page rule, but this is hard for anyone with vast experience. Instead, look at taking off the oldest, most irrelevant experience, so you’re only showing the hiring manager what they’re interested in.

3. Bullet-points, not an essay – bullet-points make chunks of information easier to read and digest. Leave off basic responsibilities that are a given in most roles, and perhaps include a top achievement e.g. increased sales by 40%. Keep the granular detail for when you get that interview!

4. Personal details – full name, email, phone number and location – that’s it! In the UK at least, you’re legally not obliged to include your date of birth or a photo of yourself.

5. Format – have a play around with margins and font sizes and your 4 page CV could become 3 pages. Also ask a friend to give you feedback – how easy is it to read? Ask them to be brutally honest!

Cover Letters

Even if you have the perfect CV, if you send it to a recruiter without a cover letter, they could interpret that as you not being that bothered about the role, or that you are just applying for so many roles, you’re not that serious about theirs. Yes, having a relevant CV goes a long way, but this is your first impression with the person who decides whether you make it to the shortlist, so make it count! 

6. Start with a template cover letter with a two or three line introduction to yourself and your key skills (adapt it for the role you’re applying for) – Download a cover letter template here

7. Add a bespoke paragraph that reflects why you are interested in the role and working for the company (what excites you about this role in particular, do their values, vision and mission impress you? Have you been a fan of their brand and/or products for years? Mention it!)

8. Personalisation – some job adverts include the hiring manager’s name, so address the letter to them. A simple “Hi Sam” on your letter gives you that instant connection, human to human.

9. Include links – add a link to your LinkedIn profile and/or portfolio, especially if they give you a deeper insight into your skills and experience e.g. recommendations on your LinkedIn profile, project portfolio on your website etc.

Other channels:

10. Do a quick sweep of your other visible professional online channels e.g. website and social media

11. Is your website up to date? Check it’s looking its best.

12. Review your bio – it’s your professional spotlight.

13. Ask for recommendations/testimonials – you don’t get if you don’t ask!

14. Give recommendations/testimonials! What goes around, comes around!

Admin

If you’re not already, start logging your applications on a spreadsheet. It’s very useful to keep track of the status of each application. It can also be a handy tool for the next time you’re looking. Keep notes on the recruiters/contacts for each role and who was helpful (and who wasn’t). 

Contacts

Don’t be afraid to reach out to contacts for a reference or referral. This isn’t a typical situation and if someone you know could refer you to a relevant role at their company, the chances are the hiring manager will definitely review your CV with interest. A lot of companies have referral schemes, where an employee receives a referral fee if whoever they’ve referred gets the role and passes probation, in which case, everyones a winner!

Got an interview?

Here are some quick tips to prepare:

15. Don’t assume it’s in the bag – even if you think you’re perfect for the role, you don’t know who else is interviewing. It also helps with the ego a little if you are rejected…

16. Research, research, research – don’t just read their website, anyone can do that. Search press articles, social media pages and CEO news and thought pieces. Then do the same for a couple of their competitors. That way you’ll really sound like you investigated the company and industry, not just reeling off the ‘About Us’ page.

17. Research your interviewers – if you’ve been given their names, you could look at their LinkedIn profiles, Twitter page, Google search etc – look for the business stuff like industry articles, blogs and recent events they’ve participated in.

18. Be natural – once you have a few interviews under your belt, this becomes easier, but if you get nervous in interviews, the best advice is to be as prepared as possible. Your knowledge and preparedness will only help with your confidence and in turn, the nerves. And maybe don’t drink any caffeine until afterwards!

19. Practice, practice, practice! Role play with someone using some typical interview questions, or just out loud to yourself. Sometimes saying your answers out loud sounds so different to what you have written down. Make it snappy but relevant (look up the S.T.A.R. method: Situation, Task, Action, Results).

20. Prepare questions – interviews are a two-way street, so ask questions that are important to you e.g. what is the culture like? Why do your interviewers like working there? What does success look like in this role to you? It’s your chance to get an insight into the company and what’s really expected of you.

We don’t need to mention how crap this year has been or how much harder it is to be looking for a new role (oh, we kinda just did). Our stress levels are doubled and our mental health could be suffering, as well as our bank balances, so it’s important to stay mindful and put your health first.

Recruiters are struggling to keep up with demand, so try not to take it personally if you don’t receive a response, as frustrating as it is. At least if you know you gave your best CV and cover letter, you know there wasn’t much else you could do. There was a great line on a LinkedIn post that said “think of it as not being rejected, but redirected” – hopefully to something even better and more suited to you. That being said, if you’ve interviewed and haven’t had feedback after a rejection, follow up (politely) until you get it!