5 Tips for Targeting the Right Job

 

When we’re looking for a new job, how many applications do we send off a week? It maybe 40, it may even be 50+? It’s very easy, especially if we need to find a new role quickly, to churn out applications at this rate, but then we’re often left wondering why we don’t hear back from anyone.

 

The big problem is, if we’re sending out that many applications, then we probably haven’t had the time to sit down and assess if each of those jobs would be right for us, and to target our approach to the employers or the recruiters accordingly.

 

The key to getting the right role is not to apply to as many positions as we can in as short a space of time as we can, but to target the right job for us and then invest our energy into getting that one application right. This may feel difficult, but it works!

 

Here are some pointers for creating an effective targeting strategy.

 

1. Identify target organizations

 

Whether you want to stay in your current industry or shift to a new one, consider targeting specific organizations.

 

• Look at organizations within your field and see if they match up with your values, objectives and style of working.
• Connect with employees on LinkedIn, what are they saying about the Company?
• Do you need an organization that’s close by to you, or are you willing to commute or move?
• Does the Company offer flexibility in their working arrangements? How important or vital is that too you?
• Think about whether an organization is suited to you before contacting it for a job.

 

2. Find out about your targeted area of opportunity.

 

Maybe you want to change careers altogether or experience the same role but in a different industry. Maybe you don’t have a choice and you need to widen your job role net a little. You may not know much about it now, but you don’t have to wait until you start work in that field to find out what it really entails.

 

• Research your targeted area of opportunity by looking at trade magazines

 

• Review Company websites

 

• Attend industry events

 

• Connect and network with others in that industry, find out it like working in that industry before you make a move

 

3. Make a targeting plan

 

Once you’ve done your research and chosen your target career and organizations, you can draw up a targeting plan. This will focus your choice of industry and company even more. Include in the plan:

 

• The size of each organization you’re looking at

 

• The type of business it is

 

• The culture of the company

 

4. Examine what your plan reveals.

 

If you’ve done your research in order to create your plan, you might come up with some interesting information that will help you choose the right roles to apply to. For instance:

 

• you might find that a multinational brand is struggling, whilst a company with a more low-profile reputation is expanding in size and scope and doing exciting, innovative things.

 

• Which one did you want to join before doing your research?

 

• Which one do you want to join now?

 

5. Think through what you’ve found.

 

Once you’ve done all this, use the information instead of discarding it and reverting back to mass job applications. Your research and planning should have helped you narrow down which jobs you’re going to target. Once you have a manageable shortlist, your job applications will be that much more effective, invoking more of a response as you can be very clear about how to match your skills and what value you can add.