How to Find a Job

Many of us have been looking for jobs nowadays, especially now that we are in a pandemic. Understandably, finding a sustainable job to help us survive during these trying times while still pursuing a career in a company that we love is crucial to one’s happiness and career success.

As of 2020, (ILO 2021) says that 81 million jobs were lost in Asia alone by December that year due to the pandemic. Therefore, we must know the steps we can do to ace our job application process and secure our employment, get us through these times, and make sure that all our daily needs are met.

Contents

1. What is a Job Application
2. Steps to Start Your Application Process

a. Know your Niche
b. Research about the company, your benefits as an employee, and research about the job role
c. Craft your resume highlighting your strengths that fit the job role
d. Prepare your online portfolio
e. Prepare your Linkedin and social media accounts
f. Ace your job interview
g. How to answer common interview questions
h. Prepare for good 1uestions to ask during your interview
i. Have a great and catchy follow-up email to stand out from the pool of applicants

3. Conclusion and Overall Advice When Applying for a Job

 

1. What is a Job Application?

By definition, a job application refers to the letter or form containing details of one’s qualifications, skills, experience, etc. (Cambridge Dictionary, 2021)

Acing your job application process starts from your resume creation, social media management, job interviews until follow-up. These steps are all important towards securing your spot for job employment.

In this article, we will get down to the point of helping you have the winning edge towards your job application.

 

2. Here are some steps you can integrate towards building an outstanding profile

a. Know your Niche

One of the key ways to build an outstanding profile for your job application is to know your niche or area of expertise. By niching down the services you offer, you will attract the right employers/clients towards your application.

Furthermore, finding your niche is a great way to highlight your strengths through your resume creation, applications, job interview, portfolio creation, and social media management.

By highlighting your strengths and niche, you position yourself as an expert in that particular field rather than appear as a generalist (which also doesn’t pay so well as compared to an expert in a particular field).

By niching down, you narrow your competitors’ list and find specific clients interested in what you can offer and can offer a higher price or rate to your services.

b. Research about the Company, Your Benefits, and Your Job Role

Through research, you will find the best company to fit your current needs and see which of them provides the benefits you are currently looking for.

When finding the best company to suit you at a specific season in your life, be sure to check from this list:

● Company stability
● Company history and type (start-up, small business, or a large and established company)
● Industry or the company’s line of business
● Good Management
● Work-life balance
● Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
● HMO benefits
● Retirement benefits
● Mentoring and Career Growth
● Company Culture
● Positive company reviews
● Other Benefits and Perks for employees

Knowing these benefits accessible to you once hired can be a great source of motivation towards a long and fulfilling career in your chosen company/organization. These are important factors beneficial to your overall growth as an individual and professional.

c. Highlight your Strengths and Craft your Resume Well

Careful and creative resume creation is crucial to leaving a lasting impact on your job application.

Knowing what to put and how to frame your strengths and previous job roles in your resume are a few of the most important steps towards winning a spot in your job application.

One tip that I would like to suggest is that you focus first on your strengths/skills and highlight them creatively on your resume. Place them so that they answer what the company is looking for, for your specific job role. For example, if the company is looking for someone creative and you have the right experiences and skills, make sure to highlight or focus on these things in your resume.

Also, for another tip, make sure to start the job description in your resume with bullet points and verbs. Then, per bullet, highlight a skill you’ve showcased in the role or the achievements you’ve accomplished for that position.

You may also want to include here the tools that you can use.

d. Prepare Your Winning Portfolio

Showcase your craftsmanship, expertise, and level of mastery through having a great portfolio.

One way to boost your job application is to create a special presentation showcasing your talents, skills, credentials, work samples, and case studies in a very creative and concise way.

You may also show your work samples by compiling written content and graphics in a folder accessible online for your clients.

Another way to showcase your winning portfolio is through having your website for your work samples, details, and services.

e. Utilize Social Media and Improve Your Social Media Presence

One way to strengthen your profile is through the use of social media. You may use Linkedin, for example, to connect and widen your network and to show that you are actively looking for jobs while at the same time showcasing your work experiences, credentials, and certificates.

Also, you may use Instagram to create your professional account, especially if your career path is towards digital marketing/advertising or something which would involve content creation, graphic design, and copywriting.

By actively optimizing your bio and improving your social media posts, cover, and profile photo, you maximize your social media presence towards positioning yourself as an expert in the field by authentically showcasing your strengths and sample works.

f. Ace your Job Interview

There are a lot of wonderful ways to ace your job interview. Things such as dressing sharply and rehearsing your response to interview questions, of course, come on the list.

But what are some other ways to improve your interview? Follow these tips:

● Stay authentic, friendly, approachable, prudent, and professional in both your non-verbal and verbal communication
● Answer questions in such a way that highlights your skills, positive work ethics, positive attitude, and personality. By staying authentic and having a positive vibration, you show the interviewer how you are fit for the role and the company’s culture.
● Maintain eye contact and try to mimic the nonverbal and posture of your interviewer slightly. If they crack a joke, engage. If they smile, you smile. This will keep the connection between you and the interview and keep you looking engaged.
● When answering questions, practice the STAR method (situation, tasks, action, and results). By focusing on this method, you are down to properly explaining your achievements and thought process in a very vivid manner.
● Smile and keep having an overall positive vibe during the interview.

g. Answer Interview Questions with Tact and Grace

Answering interview questions prudently and authentically is crucial as this is one of the key factors for passing a job interview.

Here, recruiters can gauge your knowledge or competency for the job, personality, work ethics and values, and communication skills.

It is therefore imperative to answer interview questions wisely and with tact.

Here are some of the questions commonly asked during an interview and how to answer them well:

● Tell me about yourself

This is a good question to ask to gauge how applicants can answer open-ended questions. This is a great question to showcase your skills, competence, and vibe.

When talking about yourself, consider focusing on a specific trait that the employers are looking for. It would be better if you could cite concrete examples in the past that show your abilities that you would want to tell your employers.

It is also crucial to stay authentic, engaging, professional, and excellent as much as possible.

How you can express yourself, non-verbals, and your demeanor are also very important, especially at the start of the interview.

● What are your strengths and weaknesses?

This is also a very good question because it allows you to stand out.

For the strengths, focus on skills, knowledge, and previous experiences that make you a good candidate for the role. It would be better to back all this with your personal story to add a human touch and keep the interviewer engaged.

For the weaknesses, just focus on anything that will not disqualify you for the role but is still relevant. For example, if your work is in the creative department, you may say that your weakness is solving mathematical problems and actively seeking ways and resources to combat the issue.

By doing this, you show your employers that you have a positive and growth mindset, which will help you with whatever challenges that may come your way for this job role that you are applying for.

● How did you learn about this job? And what makes you want to apply to the company?

This is a good question that has a great way to be answered. Through this question, you may already display your loyalty and interest in their brand.

You may either focus on the job role itself or the career growth opportunities, company benefits, and the company’s background, industry, and history.

● What will be our reasons for hiring you? And what makes you a good candidate?

To answer this, it would be best to highlight your strengths, such as your positive attitude towards work, your previous work experiences, your values, skills, positive work ethics, and the growth mindset you have, which makes you an amazing candidate for the job.

You may also share your relevant interests/passions, hobbies, network, and commitment to stay in the company for the long term. And your professional goal to help them succeed in their business.

Once they see your authenticity, saying these strengths will for sure give you an edge in your application.

Also, if you are applying from a different industry, highlight both your soft skills and hard skills applicable to this job role. Things like crisis management, people management, strategic thinking, administrative skills, resilience, teamwork and interpersonal skills, public speaking, adaptability, leadership, planning and research, diplomacy, and tact are just some of the winning skills some employers are looking for.

● How would you describe your previous work experience? And what advice can you give to your previous manager?

Here, make sure to only say positive and neutral comments as this will reflect your attitude, character, and loyalty to a company.

● What happened during your employment gaps?

This is tricky as this requires a lot of courage, honesty, and tact. To get through this, focus on staying honest but prudent. And focus majorly on what you’ve learned or gained during your work pause.

It would be better if you could provide new skills, connections, habits, or positive mindset that you’ve gained during these things that make you more qualified now for the job post.

Take note that the reason your interviewer asks this is for them to gauge your mindset and your coping strategies, and of course, how you answer tough questions.

Since they have viewed your resume, which clearly states the gap, and still invited you, you still have a high chance for the position despite your work gaps. And probably just need to ask these questions for HR purposes and other records.

● Lastly, how do you see yourself in 5 years?

Here, make sure to break the years per 2-3 years. This clearly shows that you aim for progress and consistency.

This is a good question also to intersect your passions and interests for the job role and how you plan to create an impact on the organization. It would also be good to discuss future projects you may want to spearhead and the positive changes and practices you would want to add to give value to the company.

h. Ask Good Questions during Your Job Interview

By actively asking questions, once asked, during the end of the job interview shows that you are well-interested and well-researched for the position.

For the questions, you may ask these:

a. How do you see the company in 5 years? And how do you think I fit into this vision?

This shows that you are really into the role and would stay for the long-term for both you and the company’s benefit.

b. If you are in the creative department, you may ask this question: Considering the current trends in the Marketing and Business sphere, what changes are you willing to implement in your marketing strategies to help cope with these changes?

This shows you have an expert’s point of view. But before asking this, make sure to do your research beforehand.

c. What’s a typical workday in the office?

This will help you see how you fit into the company’s culture and whether you are indeed a good match.

d. The next question needs to be asked with carefulness: How long have you been in the company, and what can you say about your stay so far?

This is an eye-opener as this will give you a preview of the company’s inside. And this will put the spotlight on your interview, which can keep them more engaged in your interview.

e. Can you give me more information about the people I would be working with? What is the management’s working style? And what’s the organizational structure?

This shows you are interested in the job and want to stay long-term if possible.

f. When can I expect to hear from you?

This shows real interest in the position. Don’t forget to follow up if needed.

i. Don’t forget to do a Great Follow up

Your job application doesn’t stop at having a “winning job interview .”Be sure to follow up with your interviewer sometime after your job interview.

To follow up, the technique is to repeat a striking message, achievement, or strength relevant to the job that you’ve mentioned during the interview and link a relevant story or more concrete detail about this. This will show you are invested in the job role and the company.

You may also want to add a personal touch to the follow-up by personally thanking and complimenting the interviewer authentically. Through complementing their kindness, other positive traits shown during the interview show a lot about your character and your time to send them a thank you message.

Sometimes, doing this extra mile goes a long way for your job application. As long as you are authentic, it will positively show in your online demeanor, as well, and may leave an impact on your employers.

 

3. Conclusion and Overall Advice When Applying for a Job

Job interviews, resume creation, crafting a creative portfolio, building a positive online presence, and follow-up for the interview can be tedious. But if you know that the role and the company are worth investing in, you might want to go the extra mile to secure your spot.

After all, what a wonderful time it is to survive during the pandemic and to land in the job role and the company you like.

And sometimes, making an extra effort is what makes all the difference!

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