What to do or not do in your job search!

Do this! - Don’t do that!

Write a cover letter… Don’t write a cover letter!

Keep your resume to one page! - “How dare you only have a single page resume”

“You need to have the Open to work banner!” “Open to work banner makes you look desperate.”

SO MANY ARBITRARY RULES!

Jobseekers, I get it. It’s hard to know what to do when there is so much conflicting advice!

Let’s talk about these conflicting advice from a recruiter that talks to jobseekers all day in hopes to hire them.

Cover letters: To do or not to do? - Here’s the thing about a cover letter, most of the time they aren’t going to be read. However, there is a population of recruiters and hiring managers who still prefer them.
But how are you going to know when to have a cover letter vs not to?
Look at the application portal. Is there a upload button for a cover letter that’s separate than the resume upload button. If there is one, you want to add a cover letter. If there isn’t, don’t bother uploading one.
Cover letters are also helpful when you are switching industries or job families to share how your skills are transferrable. It can also help if you had a career break since your last job. Explain what you did to stay up to date on the industry.

Open to work banner: Most recruiters source on LinkedIn using this banner and filter. I do it myself. If you are open to work, it’s an easier conversation. I’m not a believer that we always need to “poach” candidates who are happily employed. There are two OTW banners. If you have the green banner, then everyone can see that you are open to work, vs ones only for recruiters who have paid a premium subscription to LinkedIn. My recommendation is to open it for a few weeks for everyone. If you aren’t getting a lot of responses, only do it for recruiters. Are there some recruiters and hiring managers who will judge you for being too desperate? Yes! And you might not want to work for them, however sometimes we need to do things that we would rather not because we need to feed ourselves and our families.

Resume length: I’ll say this, it doesn’t matter for the most part. If you are sharing how you’re qualified. My rule of thumb is 2-3 pages if you have more than 5 years of experience. If you have less than 5 years of experience, you’ll likely only have 1 page. HOWEVER… this isn’t a hard and fast rule. If you need the second page, use the second page.
If you are a person who isn’t getting any interviews using a one page resume, expand it. If you are using two pages, and aren’t getting interviews: use one page. Try different things. Your resume typically shouldn’t go past the most recent 10 years unless the job asks for it.

To apply OR to network: The right answer is to do both! Apply and then network. Recruiters cant push you through the interview process unless you are already in the system, so apply and then do some networking. Network with old coworkers, alumnus, etc.

And remember there are no hard and fast rules in job search, it’s constantly changing unfortunately. There are no absolutes, try different things.

Until next time,
Stay Caffeinated!