Overcoming Challenges and Finding a Great Job in a Competitive Landscape
Job searching in today’s tough and competitive market can feel daunting. With countless resumes to send out, interviews to attend, and networks to leverage, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, with the right strategy and mindset, landing a great job is achievable.
In this blog, I’ll share my journey of how I successfully secured a job by focusing on the numbers, leveraging my network, investing in continuous learning, and using modern tools to tailor my applications. Whether you’re just starting your job search or looking for ways to enhance your current efforts, I hope my experience provides insights and practical tips for anyone searching for their next role.
Embrace the Power of Persistence
I recently shared with a friend how many resumes I sent out during my job search. The total was 54, and she was surprised. I customize every cover letter and resume to each job posting. It reminded me of when I first moved to California and sent out 506 resumes. So only having to send out 11% of companies seems like progress to me.
Job searching is all about numbers. For me, it was crucial to find a role where I could make significant contributions and that met my criteria for success (manager, team, culture, purpose, and growth opportunities). To make an informed decision, I needed to interview and connect with as many opportunities as possible, rather than just taking the first offer that came my way.
Sending out more applications increased my chances of finding the right job. It also helped build my resilience because I knew, like any large-scale marketing campaign, I needed a lot of opportunities at the top of the funnel to result in offers at the bottom.
Here is my job search by the numbers:
- Time of search: 10 weeks
- Number of personalized resumes sent: 54
- Number of interviews: 6
- Number of offers: 2
This averages out to an 11% conversion rate from resumes sent to interviews and a 3.7% conversion rate from resumes sent to offers.
It’s simple math: the more resumes you send out, the more opportunities and offers you’ll receive. Additionally, sending out more resumes in a shorter time frame can speed up the job search process.
Leverage the Power of Your Network
Three categories within my network were crucial: mentors, referees, and recruiters.
I had amazing mentors who I regularly sought advice from throughout the job search. I was candid with them about my professional and personal situation. It was amazing to learn from my mentors again and learn from their brilliance and industry perspective.
The second group consisted of referees — people in my professional network on LinkedIn who kindly sent my resumes to their companies. I rarely sent a resume directly to a recruiter or through a website. Instead, I asked trusted colleagues to recommend me, which also provided a great opportunity to reconnect with them. I made it as easy as possible for them by drafting an email to their company contact and link to the job posting.
Finally, I worked with a reverse recruiter, who referred me directly to the company recruiter or hiring manager. Although I didn’t get an interview for the positions they referred me to, it was valuable to get introduced directly rather than getting lost in the applicant pool.
Commit to Lifelong Learning
People often comment that job hunting is a full-time job. However, I spent 15 to 20 hours a week on my job search, that included networking.
During this time, I took the opportunity to learn about artificial intelligence by taking a 6 week course from MIT that took 8–10 hours a week. It was an excellent way to stay updated on new information and technology while keeping my skills relevant. Including artificial intelligence on my resume showed employers that I was committed to continuous learning and adaptability to new technologies. It also allowed me to learn from people outside my usual network and I met great people from the class discussions.
Tailor Every Resume to the Job Description
There are many articles on how recruiters use artificial intelligence to screen candidates. Therefore, tailoring your resume to the job description is crucial. In the past, this would take me almost a day.
Enter ChatGPT. I used ChatGPT to draft resumes that mixed my current resume with the job description. I already edited my current resume, entered the job description, then reviewed section by section. This way, ChatGPT assisted in writing my tailored resume per role rather than being the writer. There are ethical implications to consider, and it’s important to keep your resume true to your experience and not match the job description exactly. I edited on the average 40–50% what ChatGPT recommended.
What used to take me almost a day now took an average of 1.5 hours.
Express Gratitude Through Follow-Ups
After starting my new role, I went through all my emails and LinkedIn messages to make a list of people I needed to thank. Finding a job is not easy. My network ultimately provided opportunities, the moral support, and fueled my motivation needed to keep going.
By focusing on the numbers, leveraging my network, investing in continuous learning, tailoring my resume, and following up with gratitude, I was able to navigate my job search successfully. Good luck on your search!
I am happy to share that I have joined Global Payments as the Director of Technical Product Marketing. I feel fortunate to have found leaders and a team at Global Payments who believe that technical marketing for the developer audience can significantly impact a company’s growth.
