Job Search Like A Pro

6 min read

Updated: Feb 7

A woman with brown hair and a white shirt is laying on a fall brown couch. The caption reads, “Coffee flowed through Trisha’s veins after spending all night job hunting.”

Professional Hunter and Gatherer

Blake hates competing with a robot. There has to be another way.

Finding that first job sends everyone into a mid-life crisis. You realize you have to work to afford benefits like “food,” “a stable living space,” and “healthcare.” You’ve been applying for two hundred jobs using the “apply and pray” method. Now you’re downing your third cup of coffee on two hours of sleep. You start to wonder why you’re living in this capitalist hellscape called the United States of America.

Looking for a job is complicated—that's just a fact. It’s more like a professional hunt—the hunting ground—LinkedIn and Indeed and they're filled with jobs. Some jobs are better than others. Some jobs will make you question your will to live. Some jobs will make you excited to wake up in the morning.

Job searching is a skill in and of itself. You’re competing against an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and about 180 candidates. Theoretically, one should be able to apply, get an interview, and get the job. Unfortunately, living in the world of the ATS makes this much more complicated. Realizing that the “apply and pray” method no longer works can make anyone question everything, such as, “Why does this thing exist?”

I can tell you why employers decided to make our lives as job seekers ten times more complicated. There are not enough HR people in the world to manage all of the job openings. For every 25-30 job openings, you need 1 full-time recruiter/HR person. Most companies are very understaffed with HR people. They are trying to save as much time using an ATS as possible. It’s not good for either the HR person, the company, or the candidate, but this blog can teach you how to get a job without you questioning all your life decisions until now.

Finding the One

A Black woman with wavy black hair is wearing a green shirt staring at a laptop frustrated. The caption reads, “This is the 60th job Eva applied to. What gives?

Even when you apply filters about location and whether the position is remote or in-office, your search for the desired role still yields a thousand results. You start blindly applying with your resume ready to upload. This strategy is called the “apply-and-pray” method. It doesn’t take much work. You don’t know what you’re applying for or if the job meets your requirements like salary, work-life balance, or who works there; you just need a job to afford to be alive. More often than not, you would have better luck winning the state lottery.

With the “apply and pray” method, you compete against at least 180 candidates. This is the average for every job opening. You are up against an ATS filtered by the recruiter to “thin the herd” so they don’t have to meet 180 people for 1 position. These certain things can be keywords, location, years of experience, certain skills, platforms, or a type of degree. Your application will likely never be seen by a human! All because the ATS deemed you not a good fit for the job even though you are a perfect candidate.

A man with a beard and blue shirt is holding a water bottle getting off the bus. The caption reads, “At this moment, Stephen realized the world doesn’t teach lessons gently.”

You might be thinking, “It’s what I did in college! I got internships this way.” Internships are for people with

no network or experience in their chosen field. Often, the university sets them up. I hate being the bearer of bad news, but this isn’t college anymore. You’ve stepped out of the playground into the “real world” that teachers warned us about.

And I know you’re asking yourself, “So, how do I get a job I don’t hate?” Stop looking up random roles that align with your degree in your city. That won’t help you, and applying solely through the online application system won’t help you either. Let me show you a job search strategy that won’t be a complete waste of time.

1. Mission Possible: Job Discovery

Two people are sitting at a table. On the right, a woman is wearing a polka-dot shirt, red shorts, and glasses. On the left, a man is wearing a blue shirt with the number 3 on it, red shorts and glasses. On the right, it says 1. Mission Possible: Job Discovery

Humans are social creatures. Even the most introverted people like having one or two close friends to talk to occasionally. Job hunting is like dating. You won’t find the one from a couple of coffee chats or the first few interviews. It takes time to build relationships. Being picky about the companies you apply to will save time.

Building relationships will help you narrow your search and be intentional about applying. It will also allow you not to be overwhelmed and discourage you from applying to random companies that don’t align with your values or to random companies in the hopes of getting lucky. Desperation is never a good look. You won’t look back a few months from now thinking, “I hate this job! Why did I apply to this?”

Building relationships isn’t a foolproof way to get that perfect company, either. Perfect companies don’t exist. Nor will this guarantee you won’t work with people with questionable morals or views on life; people put their best foot forward on LinkedIn and Indeed. However, it can help weed out any obvious red flags.

2. Stalk Their LinkedIn Profile

Look for employees at the companies you want to work for, connect with them (and HR), and ask them work and non-work-related questions such as, “Your LinkedIn profile interests show you’re following a company that isn’t like the other ones, why are you following that one?,” Based on that response, you can gather more information about the kind of person they are professionally and gauge their more personal interests. Once both parties feel comfortable with each other, ask your new online bestie out for coffee or a casual lunch. You can find out more about this here: How to Get An Interview

Stalking profiles can relieve some anxiety of walking into a situation you might regret because you’ve already done a “vibe check” on the people and company culture. If you want to go further, see if you can find who might be interviewing you if you pass the HR round. You’re already familiar with the person, which may help you feel more comfortable. (Although, don’t let them know you’ve stalked them, that’s just weird). When you pass that round, send your resume to HR and the potential interviewer. (If they ask for it).

3. Be Ready to Pounce

By stalking profiles and developing a relationship with other employees and others at the company, an actual human has your resume, you’ve expressed your desire to work there, and you’re not just prey in a safari of applicants that may or may not get picked by the ATS. You’ve built trust with them. Building trust allows people to let their guard down while being forgiving for any hesitations of hiring you, such as a lack of experience or skill in a certain program.

Keeping it 100

A black woman with afro hair is smiling, holding a pen and notebook. She is wearing a fall brown shirt. A woman in a light blue shirt and brown hair is sitting by her typing on a laptop. The caption reads, “Laila’s boundless positivity won her the interview and now brightens her workplace.”

So, you’ve completed those three steps and are now at the interview stage. Congratulations! The most important thing now is to keep it 100 (or at least workplace-appropriate 100). The interview serves two purposes: to determine if you are qualified for the job and to assess your fit with the company culture. You want to emphasize your skills as a candidate and give them that amazing personality that got you the interview in the first place.

Develop the Relationship

A group of people are taking a selfie. From left to right: A shaved woman wearing an orange shirt, a black woman wearing a red striped shirt with afro hair, a white man with a beard, wearing a maroon shirt, and a white man wearing a white shirt and glasses holding a green phone. The caption reads, “Elias met his new co-workers an hour ago and they’re already besties.”

If you develop a relationship with the interviewer and employees at the company, people will know who you are and, thus, trust you. People are more likely to hire people they know than a random resume they didn’t even look at because it was filtered out through the ATS.

The ATS only looks for keywords, degrees, and years of experience. It doesn’t see the person who can learn a system in a day, who makes their co-workers laugh, who can interact with difficult clients, or who is willing to close a high-pressure deal on short notice. It doesn’t recognize the person who spent blood, sweat, and tears to a degree that is possibly even more beneficial to the role than the hiring manager initially realized. It doesn’t see the transferable skills you learned at other jobs that will make you perfect for this role. It doesn’t see the person behind the resume and it “thins the herd” that's why hiring managers love it. The ATS only sees what it’s programmed to do and its version of the “perfect candidate.” (Why hiring managers think those exist is beyond me but that’s a blog for another day.)

Nail Your Zoom Interview

A black man with a beard wearing a patterned shirt sits on a blue couch with a laptop and camera. The caption reads, “Sean wants to get that perfect angle before his interview starts.”

For a video conference interview like Zoom or Skype, have a good camera set up. Be near a window with natural light. Wear noise-canceling headphones to block any outside noises. Be warm and inviting while emphasizing your skills and the company's values. Answer questions confidently and ask questions throughout the exchange to the best of your ability.

A sign on the door works well to warn everyone, “I’m interviewing now! Please be quiet and do not disturb me.” TELL YOUR FAMILY! Make sure Uncle Mike doesn’t walk in with his shirt off or any other things that make you question why you haven’t moved out yet. No one needs to see that.

Dress to Impress

A white man with a beard is wearing a white shirt and black tie, sitting at a laptop. The caption reads, “Alex’s slacks were in the wash but he still made the interview.”

For an in-person interview, dress nicely but comfortably. Being comfortable will translate to the interviewer and help show you’re the right person for the job. It will be less distracting if you’re not thinking about why you bought this shirt that’s itchy, feels like your skin is on fire and why you bought the blazer that clearly doesn’t fit. No one cares that it’s a size zero when you’re struggling to breathe or a blazer so big that you look like a child in your parents’ clothes.

Getting a job isn’t easy. These tips will make the job hunt more like a hunt rather than a deer getting eaten by a lion.