When I first graduated from university and was searching for my dream job, I applied to over 50 positions I thought I was qualified for. I got 2 interviews, maybe 10–15 “thanks for applying”, and a bunch of nothing from the rest. At the end of the first 3 months of working full-time on job applications with little success and no job, I realized I had to change my strategy. After making a few small but powerful modifications to my application strategy, I started getting way more interviews, to the point where I would have three interviews per week. Here are my top 7 tips for fresh job searchers: 1. Apply to less-known companies: Landing a job at Google, Apple, and Walmart is impressive. The process also takes a long time, and the number of people that apply for each position is extremely high. Reportedly, Google receives approximately 2,000 application for every opening. In contrast, small companies usually receive at most 50–100 applications per opening (but usually less). The chance of landing an interview is 2000%-4000% higher at small or lesser-known companies than at Google, and the job is probably just as good if not better (more chances to advance). 2. Find out who to send your application to: This is actually easier than it sounds, but most people do not do this. In small companies in particular, it is easy to find out who the hiring manager is for the position (simply ask customer service for it). Personalized greetings tend to stand out significantly more than generic salutations. 3. Write a great resume by matching the requirements and keywords of the job: This is a big one. Remember, if your resume is 1 of 100, it’ll get thrown in the “no” pile immediately unless you match every single requirement that the company has. Being able to point out that you are fully qualified for the job will take you far. 4. Write a cover letter: Although this is not required at all companies, it does not hurt to write a cover letter for every job application. It helps show that you care about this job and gives you more space to show how you will fit into the company. 5. Ask around your social networks: Down the road, this was a big source of job opportunities for me. In particular, I would contact peers in my age or within the working relationship to see if they had openings. This was a great tool for meeting people that may have had jobs for me. Using these tactics will highly increase your chances of getting job interviews. Although job searching was still a full-time job (I applied to approximately 60–70 jobs over the month I landed all these interviews), the response was much better when I targeted my resume and cover letter, reached out to the company and networks for assistance, and focused on finding openings at less-known companies. Sagiv Some is a consultant at The Career Guys, a Taipei-based career consultancy helping people seek job opportunities in international companies and overseas by offering job search advice, resume and cover letter editing, interview preparation, and job-search workshops and advice. Check out more articles at http://www.thecareerguys.tw/blog --

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