Five tips to revitalise your job search strategy

Find out what you can do to ensure that your job search activities bear fruit and strike a successful chord with employers.

Many of us have finding a better job at the top of our resolutions for this year. But what can you do to ensure that your job search activities bear fruit and strike a successful chord with employers?

Here are five tips to help you revitalise your job search strategy:

Be creative

Search for and employ new ways to apply for jobs. If you have previously relied on one method, say newspaper ads or Facebook updates, augment your activities with new methods such as job fairs, region-specific job sites, your college alumni network and aggressive professional networking.

Perfect your toolkit

The paper your CV is printed on may be award-winning A-grade recycled parchment and you may have the correct address and an environmentally-friendly postage stamp on the envelope. However, it does you little good if your CV and cover letter are flawed. Think of yourself as a warrior in the mine-ridden, brick-and-mortar world of job mobility and seek nothing less than perfection in sharpening your essential toolkit, which should consist of a complete, candid, grammatically correct and compelling CV, a well-researched and attention-grabbing cover letter and a simple, detailed system to manage and document the job search workflow.

Research

Some industries are booming and making news while others are slowly being relegated to yesteryear. Some companies are hiring aggressively, such as the banking and finance sectors in the UAE, while others are cutting back because of restructuring, downsizing, industry consolidations and falling oil prices. Some companies pay salaries that live up to your expectations, while in others the reward may be more the prestige, the rigorous training and the long-term career development. Some companies advertise their job vacancies aggressively, while others prefer to hire through employee referrals or by confidentially examining online CVs. You will only be able to successfully navigate the corporate world labyrinth, tune into the hidden job market and customise your search optimally if you invest a proportionate amount of time in research. Aim to read industry publications, subscribe to relevant newsletters and look for any websites that shed light on your chosen company, occupation or job search techniques.

Follow up

Ever considered that the average employer may occasionally have items more important than your CV on his desk? If you are waiting for him to give it top priority and seething at the delay, chances are you will be disappointed. Take matters in your own hands and follow up. Call to ensure receipt, resend if delivery failed and ask for a meeting at a specific time and date. Aim to follow up at every stage of the job search process.

Be realistic

Don’t throw in the towel after a few weeks of unsuccessful CV mailings. Bayt.com research indicates that a job search takes on average one to three months to be successful. Keep applying and following up diligently and meticulously to all applications sent. Being realistic also means understanding your qualifications and how they relate to the jobs you are pursuing; you should gain a better understanding of what jobs you are and are not qualified for, and whether it is advisable or a waste of time to pursue the job search trajectory you have been pursuing. Learn from your mistakes and adjust your job search objectives, materials and strategy accordingly.

Suhail Masri is the vice president of employer solutions at the job-search website Bayt.com