How to Get a Job: 10 Strategic Tips to Land the Right Role

Key takeaways:

• Getting a job typically requires finding a relevant job posting, applying, completing an interview process, and hopefully—if you're the strongest candidate—receiving an offer.

• Before you begin applying for jobs, it's essential to reflect on your career goals, research relevant industries, and identify transferable skills.

• These crucial foundational steps will ensure your job search is more focused on achieving the right position for your broader career goals.

Discover different strategies for getting a job. Afterward, uncover your skills and explore new career possibilities with the Google Accelerate Your Job Search with AI Specialization.

How to get a job: Effective strategies and tips

There are different ways to find a job, such as job search engines and staffing agencies. But getting a job involves more than actually discovering relevant openings.

There are some important steps to follow before and during your search to ensure you're applying to the right roles—and that your materials stand out once you find the jobs you're most interested in.

1. Reflect on your career aspirations.

While you might try to sit down and apply for any job you’re qualified for, assessing your career hopes and dreams can be a more satisfying and productive way to start a job search. Thinking about what makes you come alive can help narrow your search to target specific roles and careers.

Envision your career future. Here are some questions that can help you:

• Are you passionate about a certain cause or industry? Perhaps you are excited about supporting theater arts or interested in finance in emerging markets.

• Do you want to become a team or organization leader, or do you prefer to be a creative and independent producer?

• What salary goals do you have? Do you aspire to earn a six-figure salary? 

• Do you value team cohesion and collaboration?

• What kind of lifestyle do you want?

• What skills do you bring to a job role? For example, do you know how to persuade people through spoken or written communication, or are your skills more suited for patient care?

Read more: How to Answer “What Are Your Career Aspirations?”

2. Research potential industries and job roles.

Researching potential industries and job roles is a crucial step, which involves exploring various aras and positions that align with your skills, interests, and career goals. Begin by identifying industries that interest you or align with your educational background. Then, dive deeper into specific job roles within these industries.

Use online resources, industry publications, and professional networking sites to learn about different positions, their typical responsibilities, and required qualifications. Through this research, you'll gain a deeper understanding of current job market trends, in-demand skills, and potential career paths. It can also reveal opportunities you might not have considered before.

By thoroughly researching industries and roles, you'll be better equipped to tailor your resume and cover letter to specific positions, prepare for interviews, and make informed decisions about your career direction. This knowledge will also demonstrate your genuine interest and initiative to potential employers, giving you an edge in the application process.

3. Identify your transferable skills.

Once you have a better idea of your career goals and what types of jobs you’re interested in, think about how your experiences can apply to these roles. Identify your transferable skills, including technical skills and workplace skills you have acquired in your personal and professional life. 

If you are seeking your first job, your transferable skills might come from extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or daily life (for example, taking care of children or siblings). For those switching jobs or changing careers, you can leverage your previous work experiences to identify technical skills, such as data analytics or data entry, as well as workplace skills like leadership, creativity, and critical thinking.

4. Build your social media presence.

Seven people are hired every minute on LinkedIn [1]. In fact, many recruiters use LinkedIn during the hiring process, especially when vetting candidates [2].

• Build an attention-grabbing profile: Your LinkedIn profile should reflect your current resume and include links to projects, videos, and content you've worked on. A professional, friendly profile photo helps recruiters put a face to the name, while a bulleted list of accomplishments using keywords can boost your credibility.

• Consider posting more consistently: Although posting on LinkedIn is not necessarily going to get you hired, sharing and liking posts can create engagement and help you get noticed by potential employers. If you decide to post, consider sharing pictures and summaries of projects you've worked on, as well as articles that demonstrate your industry expertise. 

• Reach out to recruiters: You can even contact recruiters on LinkedIn by requesting to connect or messaging them using InMail. When crafting your message, explain who you are, what you’re looking for, and why you’re hoping to connect with them.

5. Grow your network and conduct informational interviews.

Breaking into a new industry or field can be difficult, especially if you’re unsure whether that career is right for you, so it’s important to understand your industry and make connections. That’s where informational interviews come in. Job seekers can conduct this type of interview to gather insight into a prospective field or job role.

The following offers a glimpse into how an informational interview works:

• Decide what you want to know.

• Reach out and request a meeting.

• Develop a list of questions to ask.

• Get to know your interviewee.

• Send a thank-you note.

• Keep in touch.

Informational interviews build relationships, provide valuable interviewing practice, and even open up future opportunities, especially if you make an effort to stay in touch with your interviewee.

6. Tailor your resume.

For each job you apply to, the best practice is to customize your resume to the job description. It’s essential that your experiences align with the role’s requirements, and sometimes you may need to emphasize or even omit certain skills and experiences. Always double-check your resume for spelling and grammar errors.

Crafting your resume to demonstrate you are an ideal candidate is not enough. These days, applicant tracking systems (ATS) filter job applications, so you must strategically include exact keywords and phrases from the job description on your resume.

7. Write a customized cover letter.

Each cover letter you submit must reflect your enthusiasm for the job you’re applying for. You can create a basic cover letter template for each type of job and mark the places where you’ll tailor information to fit each job.

For example, if you are applying to three types of jobs, such as communications consultant, social media specialist, and marketing analyst, you can create three separate cover letter templates. In each template, list specific skills and experiences relevant to each job type. Then, when customizing your cover letter for the job, replace your interest in one company with another and adjust your language accordingly.

8. Prepare for interviews.

It's helpful to remember that an interview is a two-way street. While it may seem like you are proving your worth to an employer, it is also an opportunity to assess whether the employer and role will be fulfilling for you.

To prepare, consider writing down or saying out loud your responses to the most common interview questions. Reflect on the role’s responsibilities, the skills needed to perform the role, and the questions a hiring manager might ask to determine if you are the right fit. The role may require several interviews.

If your interview is virtual, as many initial screenings are, you might consider practicing mock interviews with a friend to ensure your tone and body language properly express your enthusiasm over the internet. Plus, small adjustments to your setup can make a difference. Clean up any clutter in your background, and ensure that your internet, camera, and microphone are reliable and ready well in advance of your interview.

Job-specific interview questions

Some jobs require very technical skills and responsibilities, and recruiters will ask questions to gauge a candidate’s ability to perform them. Here are a few guides with interview questions for specific jobs, including project managers, back-end developers, scrum masters, data analysts, UX designers, and IT and marketing roles.

9. Send a thank you email.

Always send a follow-up email to thank your interviewers for their time. The best practice is to write a few sentences about any highlights from your conversation that resonated with you and reiterate your enthusiasm. This simple act of courtesy and gratitude doesn’t require much time but can help solidify a hiring manager’s decision to hire you.  

10. Negotiate salary and benefits.

Hopefully, after all the work above, you will eventually receive a job offer. At that point, it's time to negotiate your salary and benefits. Check sites like Glassdoor and Payscale for data to confirm your salary expectations compared to market rates.  

Nowadays, it is culturally acceptable and even expected that you will negotiate. When in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to negotiate 10 to 20 percent above their initial offer in addition to the benefits package. Often, these packages will be similar for every company employee, but year-end bonuses, signing bonuses, and paid time off (PTO) may vary. Do your research, and feel free to clarify any questions with the hiring manager before accepting a job offer. 

Learn more: Signs You Will Get the Job After an Interview

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