Things I would do to kickstart my job search and give myself the best possible chance of landing a new job

If I suddenly found myself out of work tomorrow, these are the things I would do to kickstart my job search and give myself the best possible chance of landing a new job:

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫

I’d slap it straight on my profile, loud & proud. It lets my network know I’m looking for work. As I post content or add comments to other people’s posts, it advertises the fact that I’m available.

Available, not desperate.

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞

I’d make an announcement on LinkedIn, a post that lets my network know I’m available and looking. Letting them know what I’m about and what I’m looking for.

I’ve done it before when I was laid off, I got a job 3 days later. It can really work.

𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞

I’d make sure my headline accurately reflected what I do and what I’m about.

I’d make sure that my job titles where the ones mostly likely to be matched to job adverts and recruiter searches. ie the ones recruiters are most likely to use rather than the one it says on my contract or the one that is used internally.

The skills section on LinkedIn would also get an update, making sure I included all of my relevant skills. Skills that recruiters are mostly likely to search for or select when posting jobs on LinkedIn.

The job title and skills sections are incredibly important on LinkedIn – that’s how LinkedIn decides which jobs match your profile to auto promote them to you. It’s also how a lot of recruiters search for you.

As well as being proactive in your job search, taking these steps will help relevant jobs come to you too.

𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

I’d ask people I’ve worked closely with on LinkedIn to write recommendations on my profile.

It’s one thing you telling the world how great you are at what you do, it’s another thing altogether when other people do it too.

𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐕

It’s an obvious one, but I’d make sure it was up to date and listed all of my achievements.

My totally free CV template might help.

𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤

Ideally you’d be doing this all the time, even when you don’t need a job.

But I’d be connecting with recruiters and hiring managers at companies I’d like to work for, having informal chats to see if there are any potential roles coming up.

I’d be engaging with content consistently on LinkedIn, to make even more noise.

Looking for a new job can be a full time job and a very stressful one at that, but don’t just limit yourself to scouring the job boards every day and applying for jobs.

Throw the above into the mix as well to give the job search a boost.

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