19 Oct K.I.S.S. Your Way to a New Job: Simple Job Search Tips
These days, we are just spoilt for choice. The simple job search tips we held dear twenty years ago have been discarded. Why? Because time marches on. Fifteen years ago, we followed up on job inquiries with a telephone (and silent prayer).
Ten years ago, we counted ourselves lucky because we could email resumes and cover letters instead of licking envelopes and stamps. But today, we update LinkedIn profiles, search for jobs on Indeed.com, check salaries on Glassdoor.com and apply for positions on company websites. You should still employ K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid — when on a job search.
Some simple job search tips that are as good as new:
Manners matter. Yes, still. While it’s easier to communicate more quickly than the days of calling cards (or even rotary phones), it still matters to remember social graces. What does that mean if you’re looking for a job?
Send a polite, brief thank you email to each interviewer. Personalize it and refer to something specific that you discussed – both to make it clear that you remember that interview, and to make yourself memorable.
Network with real people. LinkedIn is fabulous. Seriously. Also fabulous – meeting people for coffee, a drink (just one!), an informational lunch. The curse of email, social media and all things digital is that it’s easy to make high-touch, easy connections.
But the best way to stand out is to break bread or at least grab a latte and speak face to face, as people did in days of yore. Don’t go in with too much of an agenda to get a job or even a referral, but just take advantage of the small (and rapidly shrinking) delight of face-to-face communication. It’s such a simple job search tip, but it actually can be more memorable to meet people in real life, because . . . so few of us do anymore.
But, respect the new world. Even if one of the simple job search tips is to remember how to go old school and take advantage of traditional job hunting rules, the other is to embrace how much things have changed. Exhibit A — LinkedIn is not a static thing.
You should be updating your profile, making new connections, joining groups, posting opinions, or advice, or articles. The point is, you need to make it a priority to keep your public calling card up to date. Keep checking not only your profile, but what key words, trends, industry changes are happening and adjust accordingly.
Don’t burn bridges. Although the world has become more connected at a global level, people are still tied one relationship at a time. Be polite, be responsive, be timely.
Just because it’s easier today to find a job in Shanghai while sitting in Brooklyn, it’s also easier today to damage a relationship in Chicago that has impact in Melbourne. So, continue to be vigilant about respecting your network.
There are simple job search tips that still matter.
It’s true that we’re hardly using fax machines or postage stamps anymore, but still. There are a lot of simple job search tips that have not gone out of style. So if you are in the market for a new opportunity, embrace the old rules and the new.
