How to Stay Ahead of the Competition in Your Job Hunt

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

If a new career is at the top of your priorities for the year ahead, then you’re entering a particularly competitive environment.

The ‘Great Resignation‘ looks set to bleed over from 2022 into 2023 as people’s priorities change in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and global rise of living costs.

There might be more rivals for your dream job than ever before, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to elevate your chances of getting hired.

Let the roles come to you

Spread your net as wide as you can, but also work smarter as well as harder.

Many recruiters will also provide alerts when the right roles for you crop up and they may even be able to initiate contact with potential employers.

Similarly, social media networks are often a hotbed of job adverts and you can set up notifications for when posts including certain keywords are sent.

Personal branding and networking

Catching the eye of recruiters and potential employees is not easy and a lot has to do with how you sell yourself as a candidate.

LinkedIn ought to be near the top of your priorities, as it’s typically the first port of call for recruiters when they receive your application.

Take the time to build an eye-catching and personable profile. And don’t be afraid to sprinkle a bit of personality in there either!

Build a bank of recommendations

While it’s important that you toot your own horn, there is no harm in building a backing band of others that you’ve worked with in the past as well!

You will be able to explain what you’ve done in your career so far, but referrals give potential employers a real sense of how you’ve gone about it.

And don’t just think that recommendations have to come from senior figures. If you’re applying for a management role, an indication of how you excel here could come from someone that has worked under your charge.

Find a niche that suits

Laser-focusing your job search gives you a better chance of finding a role that you’ll really love and want to spend time in.

Certain sectors such as computer programming are suffering significant shortages of skilled workers right now, so if your interests and knowledge match up with this, it could be your ticket to a dream career.

When applying for jobs, you can also use this information to tailor your application, telling the company why you are the perfect candidate to solve their issues.

Look for trends and plan ahead

Keep your eye on the news – both in areas of interest for employment and in the wider world.

By charting what’s going on in the world, you may be able to spot trends that are upcoming in the industry or employment in general.

This might help you beat rivals to the punch when it comes to applying for a role or put you in a position to rise the ranks even quicker.