Here are 6 tips for how to find a new job in 2022!

1. List your preferred roles and companies
Something as simple as putting down your thoughts on paper (or electronically) can be a surprisingly effective way to kickstart finding your new job in 2022.

That’s because the act of writing down your goals can help you hone in on the type of role that you want, as well as helping you work out the type of company that you want to work for. All of this can improve your chance of success, helping you to work through your various ideas and settle on the one that’s most relevant for you.

Writing down your goals doesn’t just help you to organise your thoughts though: it can also improve your chance of achieving success, thanks to the quirky way that our brains process information. 

Now for some neuroscience.

2.  Develop your Unique Selling Points
Despite what the nagging demon on your shoulder might whisper to you, everyone has that one special ability that makes them different from other people and that gives them an advantage at work. Developing this unique selling point (or USP, to use business vocabulary) can really help you focus your job applications and help you hit the key criteria you need to grab an interview. 

 Your USP could be a different perspective you have about the world that allows you to respond to situations more effectively. It could be finding public speaking incredibly easy. It could even be being able to clear an inbox of emails within an hour. Whatever it is, be in no doubt that everyone has a unique selling point that you can put to your advantage when looking for a job. It’s just a case of identifying what that USP is, developing it and putting it into the context of a job application.

A lot has been written on the process of discovering your unique advantages and how you can use that to create a personal brand. This blog by UK recruitment site, Monster, provides a really useful overview of the topic and this blog by Coburg Banks offers some practical tips you can put to use too.

3. Overhaul your CV
If you want to find a new job in the new year, you’re going to need to get your CV – the most important tool in your job hunting kit – into stellar shape and working at its best.

Building a CV that attracts attention for the right reasons and that’s truly memorable is a balancing act. You have to juggle following accepted conventions with adding just enough originality to stand out to recruiters. For many, this can feel like an impossible task.

Luckily, we’ve written an extensive blog on how you can improve the effectiveness of your CV when it comes to job interviews. You can find some useful guidance on language, format and layout, as well as a helpful template that you can tweak to match your own needs too.

If you’re in a hurry though, here are three of the main ways to make your CV more effective:

Personalise your CV for each job you apply for, highlighting relevant experience
Use active language to convey your ownership of a skill or responsibility
Limit your CV to a length of two to three pages. This will keep your CV snappy and focus the reader’s attention
 

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4. Use your contacts to find opportunities
Ever had a casual conversation with someone that’s ended up with them telling you about a new job opportunity that they thought would be perfect for you? If so, you’ve just networked!

Using the professional knowledge and connections of the people that you know can be one of the most effective ways to get exposed to opportunities that you might never have known about.

It can also help you to get in touch with decision-makers for roles, improving your chances of securing the position you’re dreaming of.

Whether you’re actively trying to build a network of contacts, or you’re trying to leverage the information of your existing contacts, job networking is just a simple matter of talking and listening. As a result, it can be some people’s idea of heaven and other’s idea of hell. It all boils down to how much you like talking to strangers and acquaintances.

This blog explores how to build a good professional network – and how to use it. The three key takeaways to bear in mind are:

Be confident and charming: don’t let self-doubt hold you back. You can shine!
Listen more than you speak
Use the contacts of other people to build your own network
5. Trawl specialist jobs boards, forums and professional online communities
It might sound a bit 1997 to say it, but online job boards and forums still have their part to play when it comes to helping you get a new job – especially when it comes to professional careers.

As the labour market has got more competitive and searching for jobs online has become the norm, applying for roles on the usual job sites has become an awful lot more competitive than it once was. Whereas in the past, you might have been one of the only relevant candidates applying for a role, the chances are that now there are hundreds. 

Jobs boards and forums are a useful antidote to this. Usually focused on particular sectors, industries or roles, these places will feature niche roles that usually are:

Highly matched to your professional interests and career objectives
Less likely to attract the huge numbers of applications that mainstream job sites do
The trick is to find the relevant online communities for your own professional interests. This will take a bit of desktop research and will be informed, in a large part, by your own personal career interests and goals.

They’re particularly useful when it comes to finding specialist roles that serve a specific niche or area. Usually wherever people from a profession congregate online, you’ll find discussions about industry issues and networking opportunities, and find job opportunities being posted.

No matter how niche your field, you’re likely to find a jobs board or forum that’s relevant to your needs. If we know one thing about the internet though, it’s that if you can think of it, there’s probably an online community for it.

6. Develop your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is the secret weapon in your arsenal when it comes to 21st century job-seeking, letting you find decent job opportunities both actively and passively.

As a social network focused on professional connections and careers, LinkedIn provides a platform for recruiters and companies to share opportunities and to contact people they think may be relevant for a role. In other words, you can use LinkedIn actively: ie. you directly apply for roles, or you can use it passively: ie. you create an excellent profile and wait for recruiters to contact you (and believe us, they probably will).
Collected from icslearn