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Why is it so hard to get a job? I understand. It can be very difficult to find a job at times. It can be frustrating and demoralizing. And considering we have been enduring a global pandemic, that can even increase the difficulty of a job search. And to pile on top of circumstances, finding a job involved preparation for job search, crafting an effective resume, and engaging with companies and individuals that align with your skills and experience.
Those are just the basics. But then it can be more frustrating if you receive feedback that your skills or experience do not meet minimum requirements, it can be a very disheartening process.
How to find a job for yourself?
When you are going through the middle of a job search, you can receive negative feedback from a company or resource and it can just flat out hurt. I have experienced this myself and then I jump to an extreme and ask the question out of frustration, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET A JOB?!?!
Even though a job search process can be frustrating, you have to keep going. Ultimately all job searches that fail were due to the fact that the candidate gave up. If you are not consistent and thorough in your resume preparation, job and company research, and attention to detail in applications, you like will not see results. It will just end up being a vicious cycle of frustration and rejection.
But if you are willing to be diligent, resilient, motivated, and humble, you can get hired. But let's not be naïve. Job searching is a process that can literally take months. As you go through the job search process allow me to provide a few practical tips to help
If you fail to follow a step-by-step job finding approach, you won’t see effective results. However, it is crucial to stay motivated. Do not stop searching for a job, even if it takes months. To try and help, allow me to provide a few tips to help you land that job:
Locate to a Different City or State
If you live in an area that does not have a decent sized market of industry-based jobs you are seeking, moving to a different city, state, or country can be an effective way to find a job in your industry. With the rise of the ability to work remotely, this is not a deal-breaker for many jobs now. But for some roles, physical presence is still a very big deal and ultimately required. So if you have the ability, willingness, and opportunity to move, consider moving to a city or state where more of your target jobs are available.
If you can consider relation, do your research to find a city or state with an increasing number of jobs in your field. It's pointless to move to a place that will not help increase your odds of getting hired.
Improve your Online Presence
A growing body of research evidence shows that recruiters and hiring managers use the internet to find suitable candidates for their companies. Therefore, improving your online presence could actually become an essential aspect of your job search.
For instance, create a LinkedIn profile and update your information.
PRO TIP: Make sure your LinkedIn profile looks professional. More specifically, craft your profile in a similar manner of other successful employees in your field.
Improve your Skills
This can be a hard pill to swallow for some. But one of the reasons why some find it so difficult to get a job is because the job you are applying for does not align with your actual skills. Remember, companies don’t hire people who don’t have the education, experience, and skills required for the position.
Therefore, go learn something! Be a self-motivated learner. If you want to become better at something, the internet is literally at your finger tips and there are likely a tremendous number of resources at your disposal. You have no excuse to not boost your skillset and ensure it is aligned with a companies’ job requirements.
Update your Resume
Another reason why it is so hard to get a job is because of an ineffective resume. If you want to find a job in a particular field, make sure your resume information aligns with it. Basis and obvious but remove mistakes, errors, and typos from your resume.
And no, it is not a bad idea to use a resume template. You can utilize a quality resume template to create an attractive resume that allows your skills and experience to shine. Head over to my resume template bundle page and pick it up today. It's affordable and will immediately get you moving in the right direction.
Get feedback from others before submitting it to a job application. You can get help from your family members, friends or hire a professional to review your resume.
On the other hand, you can spruce up your resume by changing the font, size, color, etc. But remember, resume formatting is secondary! The primary goal is to focus on the content of your resume. Make sure you address any gaps in employment. Read your resume over and over again to remove errors and focus on the most important part of your resume: crafting perfect bullet points.
Finding Jobs Online
According to Pew Research Center: “Roughly eight-in-ten Americans ages 18 to 29 have researched (83%) as well as applied for a job (79%) online. However, a substantial majority of those ages 30 to 49 (and a sizeable minority of those ages 50 to 64) have engaged in these behaviors as well.”
All industries, including the job hunting sector, have shifted their operations online. If it's been hard for you to get hired, allow me to share a few tips while utilizing the internet to aid your job search:
Choose Job Websites Carefully
Literally thousands of different websites list jobs. However, not all of them are legitimate. Therefore, you need to be selective about the websites you want to use to find a job. I have a tremendous amount of experience with indeed.com and you can use the site to find a job aligns with your skills.
Refine Your Job Search
If you are frustrated that you can never find many jobs on job web sites that seem to fit what you are looking for, maybe it is because your searching skills stink. If so, that's ok because you can easily learn how to refine your web site searches to improve results.
Refining your job search means using the right keywords to narrow down your job search. When you do a job search on a job posting site you have to enter in basic information such as your location. But more importantly, most websites offer an advanced job search feature, allowing you to narrow your results using factors like:
- Company name
- Job title
- Salary range
- Commuting distance
- Location
- Industry
Use these to your advantage to be extremely specific in your search criteria.
Set Up Email Job Alerts
I recommend saving your job searches to receive alters in your email inbox. If you can get a push notification on your phone, use it! That way, you can instantly be notified when new jobs are available that match your criteria. Some job-finding websites allow for saving job search as well. Setup a profile and save specific job searches so you can quickly and easily do a manual search if you need to. The easier it is to perform the search, the greater the likelihood of you actually performing the search.
Write a Customized Cover Letter
Another reason that it seems so hard to get a job is because you are not writing an effective cover letter. Granted, this doe not apply to all industries or all jobs. Cover letters are still applicable and alive and well in various industries.
A well-written and customized cover letter to the individual recipient or company shows you are serious about the job. Make sure you show your own value proposition. Tell the company why they should hire you and why you would be a better fit together than another candidate. But remember, the reason needs to actually be different and true!
Update and Post your Resume
Find a job board, update, and post your resume stored within your profile. It helps companies find you if they do a specific keyword search.
And just a friendly reminder, anyone can see your resume regardless of where it is posted online. And yes, that includes your current employer. Some job boards give you the option of posting your resume anonymously. But that's foolish to post an anonymous resume.
Research the Company’s website
If you have gotten a nibble and are engaged in a conversation about a job with a potential company, research the! it utterly blows my mind how many candidates do NOT do this. This is job hunting basic fundamentals 101.
Spend some time on the company’s website and gather as much information as you can about products, services, offerings and the company culture. Reading up on the company if they have been in the news and what segment of the industry they are involved with. Do research to find out about the interviewer to learn about them.
Again, use the resources at your disposal.
Things to know before applying for a job
Another way to reduce the frustration of job hunting and actually get hired is to change your habits before you actually apply for any job. We live in a very connected world so use that to your advantage:
Clean up your social media
Yes, most hiring managers look you up on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Clean that mess up! If you appear online to be the captain of the hot mess express, you will have a 1 way ticket to unemployment city.
It's never a bad decision to set all your social media accounts private. Except for LinkedIn. Don't do that. Configure your LinkedIn profile to be professional where it can show your personality, qualification, experience, and skills in your chosen field.
Write and edit pertinent documents
One thing that some job seekers do not do that can help their chances of getting hired is this: Customize your resume and cover letter to the specific job you are applying for. Tailor it to use language specific to the company who has posted the job. (See, this is why researching a company can benefit you.)
Connect with your Contacts
Last but certainly not least, contact others you know in your industry. As I often say, networking ain't dead. My husband was extremely frustrated a long time ago when he was searching for a job in Information Technology. And he reached out to a friend to vent. That friend put him in touch with a company where he was the 1 of 2 final candidates for a very prominent role. Sadly, he did not get the job. But the company that did not select him liked him so much they referred him to a different company who interviewed him and offered him a job within 2 weeks!
Relationships are extremely important in a myriad of ways so start developing them!
Conclusion
Most people find it challenging to get a job because they do not prepare or they just don't put in the work. Hopefully I have given you a few pieces of practical advice to help reduce any potential frustration in your job search so you can get hired!
