6 Steps To Be Job Hunting Ready

Let's be honest, job hunting is stressful, time-consuming and requires loads of motivation and determination.

Job hunting is a job itself.

Plus, if you're looking for a job while already having one or while studying the pressure can be even higher. Despite I was willing to look for a job during my last year of uni, at a certain point, I was literally freaking out and was about to give up.

As everything though, if you're prepared it can be easier to handle the process and, this means less stress and pressure. Which will result in you being more motivated and self-confident, two skills that are definitely seen as very important, when looking for a new job. And so I did, when that peak-freak out moment arrived, I stopped and made a (realistic) plan of what I could to balance my part-time job + uni + job hunting.

Here's a guideline (which I wish I had before freaking out), that will help you be ready to smash the job hunting process:

1 | SCHEDULE YOUR "JOB HUNTING" TIME

In the beginning, I usually worked on stuff related to job hunting (like my CV or job applications) "when I had time", aka, it was usually during the evening after a long day of work and classes. Definitely not the best time to be productive and efficient for writing or thinking about important stuff.

So, the first thing is: set up a fixed time of the week where you know you're motivated, productive and have the right energy for it.

2 | RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH

Before starting writing, applying, emailing...do you actually know which are the necessary or useful things you should be writing, applying or emailing? You might find yourself wasting a ton of time creating something you think is useful and then discover that the requirements are totally a different thing (yep, it happens).

To avoid wasting time and energy, research and make a list of stuff you actually need to prepare/do. This might imply, for example, asking advice to people who applied for your same or similar jobs, or browsing on the internet job announcements and see what the general requirement are.

3 | SET UP AN ACTION PLAN

Now that you have a defined list of stuff you need, make a detailed plan of how you'll manage to have everything ready and by when. In this way, each time you'll be sitting at your desk during your "job hunting" time you'll focus on specific tasks and maximize your productivity.

4 | HAVE A SPARKLING CV TEMPLATE & LINKEDIN PROFILE

Having a rocking CV and (depending on the industry) LinkedIn profile should be the priority on your to-do list. In particular, for your CV, create a kind of general template of it, so that you can personalize it for each job application you're applying for avoiding each time to writing it from scratch.

Pro-tip: ask someone at your uni or with experience on CV writing, to review your CV so that you're sure it's clear and effective!

5 | ENHANCE YOUR SKILLS

While researching jobs or leading people in the industry you're interested in you might have noticed there are skills that would be important to have or improve to make your CV stand out. Think about which ones you could work on and add them to your schedule, always thinking about it in an efficient way through. Check out if your uni or council you live in offers extra classes or certifications that you could include in your course, or look if there's a free online course which can help you learn more a certain topic (take a look at lynda.com and/or futurelearn.com).

6 | PRACTICE

As every great performance, practice is the key to success! Are there any tests you know they can ask for you to do? Look for previous tests online and practice those! Are you not really confident about interviews? Check online usual interview questions and practice how you'd answer to them! Essentially, if there's anything you can predict and can practice on, do it! The more you practice, the more confident you'll be!

Are there any steps you'd add to this list? I'd love to hear from you!