New Year, New Goal: find a new job
Does your New Year’s resolution include operation find a new job? If so, it’s time to get yourself ready for the combat ahead. Here are our top tips to get you started:
#1. Spruce up your resume
Just like you might do a spring clean to get your house in order for the new year, or be giving the outside of our house a new layer of paint over summer, it's time to dust off your CV, primer it, check for typos and declutter the jargon. Throw away the old jobs that are not needed anymore (like the time you were a barista back in 2000). Then, shine that CV up with a new lick of ink and polish. Make sure you add in the latest highlights to make it shine, and finally, decorate. Read more tips for your CV spruce up here:
12 things you MUST do before submitting your job application
Win that interview: 10 steps to creating a combat-ready cover letter
#2. Freshen up your LinkedIn
Just like with your CV, you’ll want to polish up your online professional profile too. LinkedIn is a phenomenal way to make connections and promote yourself professionally. When you are updating your CV, it's also a good time to update your LinkedIn profile too.
Want to make it shine? Read our tips to Create an All-Star profile on LinkedIn
#3. Get talking
If you’ve made the decision that change is on the table, let your army of friends and family know. These allies know you and your skills best. If they don't know you are looking, they won't know to share the amazing opportunities that they start hearing about in the new year.
You might also want to scheme up some ways to increase your network in the year ahead to connect with people in the industry you work in (or want to work in!) to find out about current opportunities and to create contacts for future opportunities. This might be identifying a few events, conferences or talks that it might be useful to get your face at in the coming months.
Ready to get networking? Read our tips on how to network like a BOSS
#4. Find the right fit job for you
Focus on the jobs that really light you up and are a good match with your skills. You could also take a more proactive approach and identify 3-5 organisations you’d like to work for, the skills you could contribute, and send your CV direct to them, even if they don’t have any current vacancies.
You might have decided that this year you want a change in your work life, but you might not be clear on what that change might actually look like. We’ve got plenty of good reading and inspiration on this topic here:
#5. Prepare for the interviews
Finally, even if you haven’t heard back from some of the job applications you’ve made yet, it's a great opportunity to practice your interviews skills so that you can ace that interview when the opportunity does arise.
Here are some great reads to help you practice:
Ask an expert: 8 tips for acing a behavioural-based interview
Ace that interview: how body language can change your career
The Quiet Assassin: How to Ace that Job Interview – as an Introvert
#6. Keep going
It's likely in the process of applying that you might get turned down for your dream job. That's never fun – rejection is the pits – full stop. Those unanswered applications, sad-face interviews and straight-out rejections can really hurt, and your self-confidence can nose dive.
Check out our five perspective shifts to keep in mind after missing out on the perfect job. We also provide some inspiration from seven big successes who failed at first to keep you going – you've got this!
Stand back up: how to recover when you DON’T get your dream job
Learning from rejection: finding out why you didn’t get the job
That's my six tips if you are in the market for a new job this new year. I hope it gives you some direction for getting started with this resolution. Happy job hunting!
