Job Search Checklist 2020 – A Checklist for Job Seekers
Do you know that there are aids that can help you to reduce failure and ensure a successful?
Yes! There are: a job search checklist will help you find, start and keep your job
With checklists, we actually don’t need to understand everything; we just need to know where to look for the correct information. Remember that every job hunt is unique, so try to tailor your checklist based on what will work best for you and what you are seeking.
What is a Checklist?
A checklist sometimes called control lists or verification lists is simply a list of things that can be checked off as completed or noted. It is a list of items to verify, check, inspect, or remember in planning or preparing for a certain venture or reaching a goal.
Checklists offer many benefits. It helps us to stay more organized, spur us to take actions and complete tasks, and enable us not to skip important steps in the process of fulfilling the tasks before us. Checklists are used in all fields, even in our day to day activities; and job search isn’t an exception.
These checklists are intended to reduce errors and ensure consistency. In the long run, it can help to foster the confidence needed for future tasks. For job seekers, checklists are formats designed to verify a list of job requirements or gather data in an arranged and systematic matter. It enables the job seeker not to forget anything important.
Checklists will help you to plan and achieve your goals. It will help you to reduce the weariness that comes with making decisions. Indeed, checklists have the capacity to increase our performance level and the way we get things done.
Even though there is no perfect checklist, following the simple steps below will lead you on your way to a reliable job search checklist.
Career Research Checklist
It is a list of important questions and processes you must answer before you start your job search. Your job search is much more than just looking up job opportunities through any available medium and sending CVs or cover letters to prospective employers. You can learn more about yourself and the kind of jobs you seek through your career research checklists. This checklist allows you to be fully informed of all the choices and opportunities presenting themselves to you in your career search.
You need to conduct a thorough self-examination to identify your interests, aptitude, skills, personality, and preferences as they relate to the career or business path.
You must also efficiently research the various careers that interest you or fit into your course of study or degree. The research will enable you to find out the different options available and help you choose a career path that meets your needs and criteria.
In addition to these questions that you need to ask yourself, you should also;
- Read books to get information on your career path or occupation.
- Draw up a career plan to provide career vision and direction.
- Accustom yourself to the various career paths related to your course of study by finding out educational requirements, working conditions, training, job description, among others.
- Gather relevant experience through volunteering or internship.
- Network with people in your chosen career path.
Daily Job Search Checklist
The job search can be an intense task; don’t you agree? Thus, there are things you should do daily that can help your job search exercise to be a success. It will help you keep track of completing activities every day.
- Spend at least 30 minutes daily on your career development. Clarifying your career goals through whatever means possible can help you to hone your job search.
- Make new professional connections every day. LinkedIn is a very good networking platform to achieve this.
- Develop your skills daily. Learn something or practice to get better at your skill.
- Submit at least 2 job ads every day, especially the ones that fit your career path. You can create automatic daily job alerts on job websites and register in your preferred job boards.
- Follow up with potential employers.
- Send out proactive cover letters to your target companies.
Job Search Preparation Checklist
Before you start your job search, you must prepare and plan adequately. A popular saying goes. ‘If you fail to plan, you will be planning to fail’. As the job market upgrade continuously, job seekers must think of new ways to gain a competitive edge during their job search.
In no particular order, your typical preparation list includes:
- Research on your target field, career, or industry. Decide on the career path you want to explore and what you want to do.
- Re-organize your portfolio. Why? A lot may have happened (like accomplishments) since your last job or last job search that must be prioritized.
- Evaluate your job hunting strategies and brush up on your job-hunting skills.
- Improve on your persuasive speaking skills. It will help you in writing better and during interviews too.
- You can resolve to relocate.
- Determine how much you are worth.
- Build your online resume.
- Prepare references as you contact and update your references.
- Update your professional photos.
- Gather job search resources you can find online.
- Network appropriately.
- Look for jobs in the right places. You can use an employment agency.
- Visit the website or online spaces of the companies you will like to work for.
- Read books about leadership, career advice, and professional development as they can help improve your skills.
- Use the appropriate keyword and content to sell or market yourself online. They make you more visible on the online space, build credibility and position yourself.
CV Writing Checklist
It has been estimated that job recruiters, spend less than 20seconds looking at your curriculum vitae. What can you do to get noticed?
A strong CV or resume gets past CV screeners and encourages hiring managers to interview you. Your CV should be kept as short as possible.
- Your CV must be branded for the targeted job you wish to apply for. Don’t send the same CV for multiple jobs. Each employer has its requirements.
- Use readable templates.
- List your accomplishments and assemble a portfolio of your works.
- Get professional help with your CV compilation and branding.
- Create a branded cover letter for each job application.
- Use positive language throughout your CV.
- Your name should be at the top of your CV in bold, not CV.
- Include a professional email address.
- Only add references (on a separate sheet) if it is asked for.
- Ask for help where you do not understand.
Interview Preparation Checklist
Follow these steps to make sure you are set for your interview:
- Gather essentials like resume copies, pen, paper, ID cards, bag, to mention but a few.
- Examine and study answers to the most ordinary and common interview questions and practice your answers out loud.
- Use a calendar (preferably online) to track meetings, interviews, and appointments.
- Dress professionally. Determine and acquire befitting interview attire that must be ready before the interview day.
- Study job description. Salary research is always one of the most stressful parts of the interview process.
- Clean up your social or online space. Prospective employers search prospective employees online to look for red flags or any negative vice on their social media profile.
- Prepare questions to ask prospective employers. It can be seen as an error on your part if your employer asks if you have any questions when your interview is almost over and you respond in the negative.
- Determine how to refuse or reject a counteroffer.
- Develop a positive attitude.
Post Interview Checklist
- Make a note of the interview, let the pros and cons sink in.
- Send thank-you notes. It is a means of getting the interviewer’s attention. It should be sent within 24hours.
- Follow up; which could be in form of a phone check-up or email.
- Be patient and don’t give up.
- Follow through with the interviewer’s recommendations that were made during the interview.
- Keep the job search going. Even the most perfect interviews don’t always result in job offers. Keep yourself open to many opportunities.
Conclusion:
We can see that a job search checklist is a detailed number of concise and actionable items that can be used to examine shortcomings in your job search process and even ensure you stay on top of your game. Even if you want to add more items to your checklists, make sure each aspect is grouped by categories to enable easy navigation through your lists. You must also make sure each item on your checklist is clear and concise. You must understand each item on your checklist for easy use.
The aim of your job search checklist is to make your job search easier. No one sets out to make mistakes in their job search, right? Following a checklist will reduce the potential for mistakes and errors by ensuring thorough thought is put into each job search step.
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