Researching, tweaking your CV, writing cover letters and then preparing the different stages of an interview is an exhausting process. And most of the time, if you leave in a city like London, chances are you are juggling between a full-time job and a passion project meaning you have less and less time for yourself, your loved ones and things like job hunting. If a side hustle takes your time and energy, job hunting will take your time, energy and your sanity! You will experience a roller-coaster of emotions including stress, exhaustion and deception, hence why you will need nerves of steel. But at the end of the road, when you will get this job you wanted so badly you will feel a mixture of relief, joy and motivation.
Job hunting is a sport that requires tenacity and organisation that is why I gathered some of the things I did to feel less stressed and have a sense of control of this process that is somehow out of our hand.
Set when you will start looking for a job
Back in 2013, I was an editorial & social media intern at Stylight for six months. It was the first and only internship I ever did. I was 25 and had just graduated, so my goal at the end of it was to find a job. At all costs. At the time I was supporting myself because I decided not to follow my parents’ will to work for the French government, so I took upon myself to not have them sending me any money to prove them I was responsible for my choice. But though I risked everything, I arrived at Stylight with the idea that I would let myself breathe the first three months in order to learn everything I needed to learn while I was there. I was conscious I had no experience in fashion, so these three months of ‘breathing’ were crucial. I was determined to focus on the internship only. By the third month, I had a little bit of knowledge under my belt. It was then time to look for jobs actively. And by actively I mean scouring every job hunting sites and fashion companies career page every day after work. Literally. Monday to Wednesday was dedicated to research and picking the positions matching with my profile while the rest of the week – weekend included – was assigned to sending CVs and cover letters. I arrived at Stylight on July and started job hunting in September, by November mytheresa offered me my first job in fashion.
Though I admit I put a lot of pressure on myself, these three months of purely focusing on the internship were fundamental in helping me individuate what I was good at and what needed improvement so that I didn’t apply randomly later but in a targeted way. I also use this first half of the internship to gather information about the fashion companies in Bavaria. Founders, ethos, history of the brand, you name it, I wrote everything down in a notebook. You don’t know how much time it saved me when I started applying in September. The last thing I did during this ‘breathing’ time was asking around about salaries, housing and working contracts. I was looking for a job in Germany, a country I didn’t know and was living in Munich, one of the most expensive German city, so I needed all types of information to avoid any bad surprise.
If you are an intern, I really recommend dividing your internship time into two phases. The first half of your internship you should focus on absorbing every tiny bit of knowledge that will help you get your full-time job. This period is also useful to do some groundwork like checking the fashion companies you would like to work for and do your homework about salaries, taxes, contracts, cost of life and housing if you are relocating for a job. It will lessen your burden when in the second half of the internship you will start sending applications. This period will see you more confident in your work hence more at ease with sending off CVs and cover letters. During this time, discipline will be essential. Set days you will dedicate to just scouring website and save down offers and others for applying for jobs.
Install Linkedin Job Search on your phone
Looking for jobs while you are a permanent employee is different from when you are interning. When you intern, your job search is determined by the time of your internship meaning before or by its end you must have secured a job position. When you are on a permanent contract, time is more flexible. By that I mean it allows you to take your time. Nonetheless, I don’t advise dwelling on it. Instead, I would think about this flexibility to learn how to organise yourself. For example, if you are required to work on a big project just when you planned starting applying for jobs maybe it is better to focus on your project, it might be a plus for your CV. On the other hand, if you have ‘nothing’ important going on in your office, it is time to be strategic. Sometimes working on a slow-paced period makes you feel like you are doing nothing, but comes 5.00pm and you are exhausted. It is because, though not accomplishing significant tasks your brain is not resting because you are still working.
When I decided it was time to leave my second job, I was in a situation where I didn’t have much work but coming home I didn’t have that bulk of energy to go through job offers like when I was interning in Germany. I received my paycheck each month, the job was neither annoying nor exciting, in brief, I wasn’t in a situation in which I felt compelled to leave – the perfect timing to dangerously dwell on my job hunting. To shake up this bad habit I first started by giving myself a deadline. I had been there for one year and seven months and told myself I should be gone before hitting two years in the company. So it was leaving me five months to focus on looking for a job. People don’t realise, but routine makes you tired, so I had to find a solution to find still the strength and will to send applications when I reached home. So to be more efficient, I decided to install Linkedin Job Search on my phone. The app enables you to set up job alerts according to the location and the industry you want to work for. You have many other selection criteria allowing you to perfect even more your research. You can also let recruiters know you are looking for a new opportunity without other people on Linkedin knowing. It saved me from the bothersome job sites scouring as the app would let me know each time there was an offer matching my research and profile. During lunch, I would check them and save the ones I deemed interesting and would come back home knowing for which company I should apply that day. Other times, I would save offers that weren’t exactly a match for me to remember myself to visit the companies career page and check if there were offering jobs more in line with my profile. It was a useful method as in the process I learned that some companies don’t post all their job offers on sites like Linkedin. Using that technique, I found a new job after one year and ten months.
Working as a permanent employee can put you in a dangerous comfort zone even when you are not satisfied with your job so make sure to give yourself a deadline to motivate yourself. Working full-time is exhausting so instead of spending hours jumping from a job site to another, ensure that the offers are coming to you. Install job apps on your phones and set up targeted alerts so that you just have to pick up roles matching your skills and come back home just to send your application.
Keep in touch with the recruiters
The more you post on Linkedin, the more you have chances to be noticed by recruiters – that is if you switch on the button for that purpose. Though some recruiters contact you merely for their quotas and commissions, there are some who really care about you. So don’t neglect them. I especially pay attention to recruiters within companies. It might be they contacted you for the wrong offer, but a week later another one matching your profile can surface. Grab the occasion to recontact them and tell them nicely you have noticed they were looking for a new position you are interested in. Chances are because they already know you, they will answer. But before doing that, you might want to tweak your CV to adapt it to this new role.
Even if a company just offered a new job and a recruiter contacts you, answer you have found a new position, but you would like to connect on Linkedin for future opportunities. Always let the door open so that when you are looking again, you can rely on someone.
What is your method to find your job? Tell us in the comments below.
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