Welcome back to our career development series! So far, we have spent a bit of time on self-exploration and learned how to effectively answer the “tell me about yourself” question. Next, we turn our focus to the job search. What strategies can you use to find and apply to roles that are a good fit for you?

A Simple Strategy To Structure Your Job Search

Before you start applying to jobs, it is important to structure your search to make it impactful, meaningful and effective. Researching jobs and applying to them is a full time job in itself, so you want to make sure you use your time wisely!

We recommend that you structure your job search across three dimensions:

  • Industry
  • Company
  • Role

Industry

Research the types of industries that interest you. For example, ff you have a background or interest in the environment and are a developer or want to become one, you could research the solar energy industry. Or if you’re into fashion and coding, perhaps you could research the wearable tech industry.

Company

Once you have shortlisted a list of industries, research companies within those industries. This is not going to be clean cut, because many companies spill over into multiple industries, but that’s fine. It’s just something to keep in mind. For example, if you’re a developer interested in large healthcare companies, they often are made up of smaller business units that work across multiple industries such as medical devices, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals.

Role

Finally, research roles within your shortlist of industries and companies. It is important to research roles across both these dimensions. An important point about roles is that the title of roles can be vague and hard to understand at times. A web developer role at an ecommerce company might have very different expectations from a web developer role at a nonprofit. Comb through the job descriptions to understand the role better!

For each of these dimensions, we provide a list of sources of information to help you research and an accompanying list of what exactly to look for when you’re using those sources.

Industry

Researching Industries: Sources

Industry: What To Look For When Researching

  • Market Share: What is industry size relative to competitors? What is its global ranking?
  • Trends & Forecasts: Where is the industry right now? In 1, 3, 5 years?
  • Economics: Is the industry cyclical or noncyclical? What is the impact of raw material prices?
  • Domestic vs. International: What is the impact of trade deals, tariffs and taxes?
  • FInancial: What is the total size of the industry? (in currency)
  • Legal & Regulatory: What is the impact of legal issues? Which legal bodies influence it?
  • Innovation: Is the industry outputting new products? Is it slow to change?

Companies

Researching Companies: Sources

  • The Muse
  • Glassdoor
  • Fortune 500
  • Fortune 100 Best Companies
  • Vault
  • Google News
  • LinkedIn
  • Company Website
  • Company Social Media
  • Informational Interviewing
  • Job Shadowing

Companies: What To Look For When Researching

  • Financial Health:  Annual Report, “Investor Relations” section, Google News
  • Values and Culture:  Informational interviewing via LinkedIn, Google News
  • Competitor Analysis:  Know what makes the company unique. Check “About Us” section (vision, mission, values, team)

Roles

Researching Roles: Sources

  • Glassdoor
  • LinkedIn
  • Company Website “About Us”
  • Company Social Media
  • Informational Interviewing
  • Job Shadowing

Roles: What To Look For When Researching

  • Read through job descriptions with similar titles to see patterns
  • Pay close attention to skills required
  • You may not have all the required skills, but you should still apply!
  • Take notice of years of experience required
  • Check for prerequisites and instructions to apply
  • Be sure to incorporate keywords from job description in your cover letter and CV
  • Use similar terminology to the job description

For questions or more tips about writing your career story or your career development in general, please contact Shilpa Melissa Rodrigues at shilpa@spiced-academy.com.