It's no secret that the economy is strong right now. The unemployment rate has been declining for years and ended up finishing 2018 at 3.9%. This is the lowest rate since 1967 (Bureau of Labor). How should this affect how you are approaching your job search in 2019? A strong economy gives you, the .job-seeker, a lot of leverage. Companies are lining up to hire employees. Yet it can still be difficult to get a job.This comes down to the system for your job search and how you're communicating with recruiters. So how should you be applying for jobs?Services to Use
Linkedin, Glassdoor, Albert's List There are two main reasons that I like these sites the most. It comes down to getting access to tons of job postings and knowing information about the people that are making these postings. Having as much information about the recruiter is crucial for rapport building. All of these sites provide information that can give you a leg up on the competition, whether it's interview questions, personal information about the recruiter, or networking potential. Utilize these sites to their utmost potential.Quantity
How many companies should you be applying to? If it's me, I'm applying to at least 15 companies. Why? Because your chances of landing a job go up with each company you apply to. It also gives you more leverage when talking to other companies. Think about it from the recruiter perspective... "If the recruiter at Oracle trusts the candidate enough to offer them a position then shouldn't I?" This should impact the timing of your applications as well also. I think it's better to apply to the companies you want most later in your job search. This makes it so you are more likely to have job offers from other companies when you are interviewing with your favorite company. Strategy is crucial here.Cover Letter
I think the era of the cover letter is over. Unless specifically asked to, I wouldn't send cover letters anymore. Here's a couple reasons why. Now with Linkedin, you can just find the recruiter and send them a short, personalized message to reiterate your interest in the position. The Linkedin message is better because it is more personal and the recruiter is more likely to remember it since it is not the standard. You want to stand out among your competition to improve your chances in your job search. Also, although people use templates for cover letters, a decent amount of time is still needed to make adjustments to it for each company. Your time would be better suited elsewhere (sending personalized messages or applying to more positions).Don't Get Discouraged
The job hunting process can be a long and unforgiving journey. This site claims only 2% of applicants make it to the interview stage. This gives you another reason to apply to more companies. Keep grinding, you got this. -- Remember, when you are interviewing, you are selling yourself. You are the product and the recruiter is the buyer. Well how are you supposed to find a quick and free way to pick up some sales skills? Go go check out our free online mini bootcamp. Our social media accounts also have free videos on them that will help you out. When you are job hunting, it is all about your maximizing your chances of landing the job. We can help you with that. The online sales training videos will help you learn some sales skills as well as give you a preview of what our bootcamp training is like. And if you're asking yourself: "How can I find a boot camp near me?" You can learn sales skills online because our sales bootcamp is virtual. -- Think sales is the career for you? You can schedule a call with Gabe and be in our bootcamp within a week.
