1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,610 There are many people out there looking for jobs, 2 00:00:02,610 --> 00:00:04,870 and not everyone's doing it the same way. 3 00:00:04,870 --> 00:00:08,410 Some people may be getting better results than you are, and it's not luck. 4 00:00:08,410 --> 00:00:11,440 Well, there may be a bit of luck involved, but some of us 5 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,440 are better at looking for jobs than others. 6 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,650 To understand how others are doing things better than you, 7 00:00:16,650 --> 00:00:19,360 it will be prudent to look at the mistakes that you are potentially making, 8 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,440 so you can avoid these things right off the bat. 9 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,100 To start off, you probably don't have a clear objective. 10 00:00:26,100 --> 00:00:29,870 By this, I don't mean the objective in your resume or CV. 11 00:00:29,870 --> 00:00:33,670 I mean that you haven't really thought out a strategy to your job search. 12 00:00:33,670 --> 00:00:37,000 What most people do when they're job searching 13 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,380 is to open up a couple of job boards, type in keywords for the jobs they're looking for, 14 00:00:41,380 --> 00:00:44,920 then, with a million browser tabs for each job application, 15 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,670 they'll send off the exact same resume and cover letter to every single one 16 00:00:48,670 --> 00:00:51,070 and just wait for a response. 17 00:00:51,070 --> 00:00:53,710 If that's you, I recommend trying out a new approach. 18 00:00:53,710 --> 00:00:58,150 When you send out so many applications, you're going to feel terrible 19 00:00:58,150 --> 00:01:02,270 when you don't hear back, because you'd expect, with that many applications out there, 20 00:01:02,270 --> 00:01:04,519 you're bound to get results, right? 21 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:06,519 Well, mass applications aren't the key. 22 00:01:06,519 --> 00:01:09,500 You should treat a job search like a sales process. 23 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:13,310 Each company is a customer that you're trying to sell yourself to. 24 00:01:13,310 --> 00:01:17,600 Since each customer is different, your sales pitch should be tailored to match 25 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,830 exactly what they're looking for. 26 00:01:19,830 --> 00:01:23,500 And this involves things like customizing your resume as well as your cover letter. 27 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:25,510 We'll get into that later, though. 28 00:01:25,510 --> 00:01:29,450 Secondly, you might be applying for jobs that you're not qualified for. 29 00:01:29,450 --> 00:01:32,680 Now I don't mean to say don't reach for the stars. 30 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,360 If you feel like you're qualified for a job, it's okay to apply. 31 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,920 But nowadays, especially with more people looking for a job than normal, 32 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,390 and hundreds, even thousands, of people applying for one job, 33 00:01:43,390 --> 00:01:45,640 you're going to get lost in the crowd. 34 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,560 What makes it even worse is that computers sort through these applications, 35 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,750 not people. So algorithms search for keywords that match you up with a company's desired profile. 36 00:01:54,750 --> 00:01:58,150 If you don't have the necessary skill set, or if you didn't bother 37 00:01:58,150 --> 00:02:00,950 to reformat your resume to include the right keywords, 38 00:02:00,950 --> 00:02:03,400 a recruiter won't even see your profile to begin with. 39 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,440 So when you're sending out over a hundred applications, all with the same resume, 40 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,350 keep in mind that you could be setting yourself up for a lot of rejection. 41 00:02:11,350 --> 00:02:17,050 Having a detailed but succinct resume that is tailored for each application 42 00:02:17,050 --> 00:02:21,440 is an art. By not spending time on your resume, you're shooting yourself in the foot. 43 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,540 Now this goes hand in hand with what I said about algorithms sorting keywords. 44 00:02:25,540 --> 00:02:28,120 You need to make sure that your resume highlights 45 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,690 exactly what is needed for the job, and you do that by focusing on results 46 00:02:32,690 --> 00:02:34,970 as well as responsibilities. 47 00:02:34,970 --> 00:02:37,530 Most resumes only list responsibilities— 48 00:02:37,530 --> 00:02:42,450 things like improved UX to optimize checkout experience and user retention. 49 00:02:42,450 --> 00:02:47,260 Now all this shows what you did. It doesn't say if you actually did your job well, 50 00:02:47,260 --> 00:02:49,840 and recruiters might just brush your application aside, 51 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,190 because it looks like everyone else's. 52 00:02:52,190 --> 00:02:54,800 Instead of responsibilities, focus on results. 53 00:02:54,800 --> 00:03:00,090 Change improved UX to optimize checkout experience and user retention 54 00:03:00,090 --> 00:03:03,590 to implemented a streamlined store checkout flow, 55 00:03:03,590 --> 00:03:06,790 which reduced shopping cart abandonment by 32% 56 00:03:06,790 --> 00:03:09,410 and increased overall revenue by 18%. 57 00:03:09,410 --> 00:03:13,660 These blurbs tell employers exactly what they need to know 58 00:03:13,660 --> 00:03:15,990 and why you would be a great fit. 59 00:03:15,990 --> 00:03:18,830 Avoiding listing only responsibilities if you can. 60 00:03:18,830 --> 00:03:24,050 Another mistake you're probably making is sending out templated cover letters 61 00:03:24,050 --> 00:03:28,850 out with your resumes. Now keep in mind that so are thousands of other applicants. 62 00:03:28,850 --> 00:03:31,620 A cover letter is your place to shine. 63 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:34,650 It's the only chance you have to make an impression on the recruiters 64 00:03:34,650 --> 00:03:36,660 before the actual interview process. 65 00:03:36,660 --> 00:03:41,240 If you're sending out a "Hi, my name is X, and I'd like to apply for this position" 66 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,780 type of cover letter, you're probably going to land in the discard pile. 67 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:48,600 A common mistake that everyone makes is not networking. 68 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:50,640 Now this is a big one. 69 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,460 I can't reiterate enough that if you're just sitting at home and applying online 70 00:03:54,460 --> 00:03:57,560 for random jobs, there's a high chance you won't get hired. 71 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,690 You need to differentiate yourself, and you should do that by networking. 72 00:04:01,690 --> 00:04:05,920 People hire people they're familiar with. Don't be a stranger. 73 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,650 Get involved with the company and community. 74 00:04:08,650 --> 00:04:10,650 Now there are a lot of ways to network. 75 00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:13,250 You don't have to necessarily go to an event in person, 76 00:04:13,250 --> 00:04:15,400 although I would highly recommend you do so. 77 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,620 You could also engage with people on Twitter or other social networks, 78 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:22,450 have a conversation on their blog—there's lots of different ways. 79 00:04:22,450 --> 00:04:25,640 We just talked about another mistake that you could be making, 80 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,000 and that is not cleaning up your social presence. 81 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,460 Don't hurt yourself by leaving breadcrumbs of inappropriateness all over the web. 82 00:04:32,460 --> 00:04:37,340 Finally, the last mistake you're probably making is not preparing well enough 83 00:04:37,340 --> 00:04:39,620 or preparing at all for the interview. 84 00:04:39,620 --> 00:04:43,930 If you've been making any of these mistakes, you now have an inkling 85 00:04:43,930 --> 00:04:45,970 of why you didn't hear back from that potential employer. 86 00:04:45,970 --> 00:04:49,800 In the new few videos, we'll go over everything you should be doing 87 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,800 to land that job.