Are you struggling in your job search, and looking for where you could be going wrong? Or are you looking to start your job search and want to make sure you don’t make the common job hunting mistakes that could prevent you from landing your dream job?
Because having an up-to-date resume and well polished interview skills are essential parts of the interview process. But they can be worthless if you’re falling for some of these common job hunting mistakes.
We’ve put together some of the most common job hunting mistakes we’ve seen from our experience as recruitment experts, so you can avoid them in your next job search:
1. Being Uncertain When You Start Your Job Search
One thing you should do before you even start applying, is to consider what you want your career to look like in the long term. Not just what you are looking for right now. Some questions to ask yourself could be:
- Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years time?
- What steps do you need to take to reach there?
- Which specific skills do you need to learn to reach your career goal?
- What kind of projects do you want to work on?
Because if you get 3 months into the role and realise that this isn’t the one that is right for your career, you’ll be back in the same position you are now.
2. Not Tailoring Your CV to Each Role you Apply For
Your CV is perhaps the most essential tool in your arsenal to help you find your next job. You may have spent hours or even days pouring over it to make sure you include every responsibility and successful project from your previous positions.
But a common mistake we see all too often, is applicants sending out the same CV to every position they apply for.
Your CV should be individually tailored to each job you apply for. This is something that you may not need to spend too long on, as all the job’s you apply for will likely be very similar.
But the job adverts themselves may ask for different skills, depending on the businesses needs. And your CV needs to match what the job advert is asking for and provide examples of how you’re the right person for the job.
3. Neglecting Your LinkedIn Network
LinkedIn can be one of your best tools for finding a new job. While it has its own job board like Indeed or Monster, that you can use to search for jobs that would interest you, its greatest strength is that it is a fantastic professional networking tool.
LinkedIn has settings you can use to show that you’re “Open to Work”, so recruiters and hiring managers can immediately see that you’re interested in being approached for opportunities.
And sometimes it can be more effective using your network to try and find a job. Your connections will likely be more than happy to share a post that you’re looking for a new job, or may even know of some job openings themselves.
LinkedIn tips to make your profile stand out, and to help you find your next job through LinkedIn.
4. Being Underprepared For The Typical Interview Questions
What separates a great candidate from the rest, is (unsurprisingly), how they answer the questions in the interview. And while it can feel daunting going into the interview because of the uncertainty of these questions, you can safely prepare answers than cover a large number of the questions you will likely be answering.
Because you can safely guess the majority of the questions you will face, factoring in your current job and the job you’re applying for. Obviously you can’t predict every question you will face. But you can prepare versatile answers and examples that cover a wide range of similar questions.
And even if the questions you prepare for aren’t asked, the act of practising and preparing yourself will give you more confidence going in.
5. Not Having Some Questions Prepared For Your Interviewer
Something small you can be doing to show that you’re actively interested in the role and the company, is preparing questions for your interviewer. These questions and showing that extra interest can help to set you apart from the rest of the candidates that the hiring manager will be interviewing.
What this can mean, is doing a bit of extra research into the role and company, to find questions that you want answers for. This could be about particular projects or companies the business has worked with, or about the role, its responsibilities and what the future looks like. Additionally, you can even ask the interviewer about their personal experience, to add a level of personal connection with the interviewer.
Some of the questions you plan on asking may be answered over the course of the interview, or you may think of new ones. So try to prepare a few extra questions that you need, just to be safe.
6. Ending the Interview Without Reiterating Your Interest
When you get to the end of your interview, one small thing you can do is to simply reiterate that you’re still interested and excited about the opportunity. After all, we’ve all had interviews where we definitely weren’t interested by the end…
It’s a simple thing to do, and something that is easy to forget, but ultimately shows that you’re eager to continue to the next stage, and passionate about the position.
7. Not Sending a Follow-Up Email, After Your Interview
Similar to the above, is sending a follow-up, thank you email. These can range from a simple thank you email the day after your interview, to a follow up email a week later to reiterate your interest in continuing to the next stage of the process.
While small touches like this won’t save you from an interview that went terribly, they can tip the scales in your favour when a hiring manager is trying to decide between you and another close candidate.
And it’s never a bad idea to remind an interviewer of why you’re a great candidate for the role.
8. Not Working With a Recruitment Expert in Your Industry
We might be slightly biassed on this one, but a mistake many people make is dismissing even the thought of working with a recruiter because they worry they will have to pay. It’s a common misconception that we see regularly. But as a job seeker, working with a recruiter costs you nothing.
Obviously a recruiter does have a financial incentive for you to take the job they put you forward for. As they will be paid by the business for finding the right candidate for their job.
But it’s also a recruiter’s job to be an expert in their industry. So a recruiter can give you insights into market average salaries, a specific company or the current state of the job market. Whether you end up finding a job through a recruiter, or on your own, it can still be well worth a conversation with a recruiter who works in your niche to get some inside information on the job market.
Here at Dynamic we help guide the IT Professionals we work with through the interview process: So they can avoid making these common job hunting mistakes. We’d love to help you do the same. Have a look at our latest open vacancies here, and get started in the next stage in your IT career with the support of our recruitment experts.