Stop! Do This Before Applying for Jobs

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It’s that time of the year again. New year, new me, new beginnings. People have come back from the holidays and they’re ready to go full throttle on doing everything they can to achieve their goals. One of those things is landing the job that they want.

Job hunting can be difficult especially when the year 2024 was not the greatest when it came to the job market. Hiring picks up at the start of the year and the market gets competitive. Therefore you want to make sure you stand out by doing your homework.

Before the market gets too overwhelming, in this article I will state a few strategies that can help you keep ahead.

Pick The Right Companies

 
The last thing you want to do this new year is go crazy and apply for every company you can find. Settling for a company just because they have a job post is what will make the job-hunting process more overwhelming for you.

You want to narrow your list with companies that align with your goals, and cultural values and excite you. For example, you may be looking for a remote job but some organisations would like their employees to be in the office every day. Or you may be interested in going into the office and if that is the case you want to consider the commute.

Outside of the logistics around getting back and forth to work, you also should be looking at companies that are on the path to growth and scale with innovation. You want to be looking at listing around 20-30 companies that you can confidently say you would be happy to work for them.

Research The Companies

 
Now you have your short/long list of 20-30 companies, the next thing you want to do in-depth research on each one of these companies. Time to dig in and it won’t be short and sweet so be prepared for it.

When I talk about research, it goes beyond diving into the company’s website and checking out their LinkedIn. You want to be listening to podcasts which feature their leaders or their yearly reports. The best thing you can do is set up alerts that can keep you informed.

The best thing about this time-consuming phase of research is that it will help you prepare when you’re writing your cover letter or during the interview phase.

A List of Key Contacts

 
After picking the right companies and doing your research on them, your next step to better understand the company is by connecting with people who work at the company. You can use platforms such as LinkedIn or the company website to create a list of key contacts that will align with the role you are going after.

Plan to reach out to these people with a personalised email or connection which can help start open conversations as well as early doors for you to land your dream job. Remember to optimise your LinkedIn before you pitch yourself.

Wrapping Up

 
The job hunt is not an easy phase but the process before and during it is important in ensuring you get the job you want. Although it seems like a lot of work initially, when you land your last interview phase you will be happy that all the hard work paid off.

Happy job researching!
 
 

Nisha Arya is a data scientist, freelance technical writer, and an editor and community manager for KDnuggets. She is particularly interested in providing data science career advice or tutorials and theory-based knowledge around data science. Nisha covers a wide range of topics and wishes to explore the different ways artificial intelligence can benefit the longevity of human life. A keen learner, Nisha seeks to broaden her tech knowledge and writing skills, while helping guide others.