During your job search, you’ll develop some good habits that will help you get through the day-to-day workload of applying and the occasional tough and emotional times. These are awesome skills to develop and will get you to your next gig faster. Luckily, they’re also highly beneficial and easily transferable for when you finally start your new job.
Here are some habits you’ll develop in your job search and why they’re awesome on the job.
Habit #1: Staying organized (with JobHero)
Why it’s healthy: You’ll send out better, more effective job applications when you have all your notes saved in an easy-to-find place. You’ll never miss a follow-up email or forget to send a thank you note after an interview.
How it will benefit you on the job: An organized job seeker is an organized professional. When you start your job, you’ll know exactly how to set up the processes you need to keep yourself organized. You’ll never miss out on a lead, forget to send an email, or arrive late to phone calls and appointments, all because you developed a strong organizational habit as a job seeker.
Habit #2: Utilizing job search technology
Why it’s healthy: Technology can make the job search a whole lot faster and easier. Whether for finding new opportunities, marketing yourself effectively to employers, or using wearable devices to track your health, effectively combining the internet, mobile apps, and news and career advice sites will allow you to run a smart, healthy, targeted job hunt.
How it will benefit you on the job: You’ll learn how to test various tools, discover avenues of online research, and become savvy in how technology can optimize a process. Your tech habits will drive you to eliminate inefficiencies at your new job through the clever combination of tech platforms.
Habit #3: Following up
Why it’s healthy: You’ll get more answers, plain and simple. Even if they’re replies to tell you that you won’t be considered for a position, you will come away with a clearer picture of where your job search stands.
How it will benefit you on the job: Following up is a crucial business skill to learn. The majority of sales, partnerships, and business relationships don’t occur on a first contact. The ability to effectively follow up when you’re reaching out for potential new clients or business partners is crucial to receiving more responses. Email is inefficient by nature and tends to become a pile of work for busy people. You’ll make their lives easier by following up, and you’ll receive more responses.
Habit #4: Personalizing your outreach
Why it’s healthy: By making sure you understand exactly who you’re reaching out to and how you should speak to them, you’ll write more effective correspondence, whether it’s a cold email or a post-interview thank you note.
How it will benefit you on the job: You’ll know how to judge others and adapt your behaviour to fit the framework of their personality. This is an extremely useful skill to have when you’re trying to sell others something, but it’s also really important when you want to get something out of them. You’ll find that talking to a person on their level enables you to build rapport faster and get what you want from them with less friction.
Habit #5: Seeking education
Why it’s healthy: Beyond filling a potential gap with activity before it starts opening, seeking to further educate yourself is a great sign for potential employers that you’re eager to learn. Employers love teachable candidates. It allows them to help you grow into the role knowing that you’ll eventually be a perfect fit, rather than trying to push a square peg into a round hole.
How it will benefit you on the job: You’ll learn crucial work skills, expand your knowledge both within and outside your field, and be able to work cross-functionally with efficiency and understanding. You will also keep your professional skillset sharp so you can get right to work when you get hired and start making an impact on day one. Finally, you’ll also (hopefully!) develop a thirst for knowledge that will drive you to continue learning, thus opening new doors for more complex projects, faster promotions, and a more fulfilling career.
*Habit #6: *Staying healthy and exercising
Why it’s healthy: This one’s pretty self-explanatory! All joking aside, exercising and keeping physically fit will allow you to lead a more alert and aware job search. You’ll have more energy during the day for job applications, and most importantly, it’s a great stress release valve for when the job search blues get you down.
How it will benefit you on the job: That stress release valve you used exercise for in your job search? It’s also pretty darn great on the job. Taking the time to exercise in the morning (or during your lunch break!) will give you the energy you need to be at your best during the workday. And making a habit out of paying attention to your health will also allow you to avoid the extremely unhealthy pitfalls of a desk job, such as sitting for hours on end, not taking the time to walk and get the blood flowing, eating bad snacks, or skipping lunch.
Habit #7: Research, research, research
Why it’s healthy: The best job applications are sent by candidates that decided to do their research and stay relevant. Understanding the role, company, and hiring manager by playing internet Sherlock Holmes will allow you to cater your resume and cover letter to be as relevant as possible to the opportunity at hand. It’s the easiest way to stand out from the crowd.
How it will benefit you on the job: You’ll run organized, data-driven projects that more effectively target the audience you have in mind. Whether it’s doing research to understand potential users for an app, finding out about the quirks of your sales leads, or A/B testing subject lines to best target your email newsletter’s audience, developing a healthy research habit will allow you to make informed decisions and take effective actions.
Habit #8: Expectation management
Why it’s healthy: Pressure can come from all sides in a job search - yourself, employers, and your family. Your ability to effectively manage expectations, both internally and externally, will enable you have a clear outlook on your job search, set realistic goals for yourself, and keep others informed on your progress.
How it will benefit you on the job: Expectation management is crucial when you’re dealing with project deadlines, your manager’s goals, and your own ability to get things done. The ability to effectively manage the expectations of your boss will take the pressure off your workload and allow you to reach a deadline at your own meticulous pace. The ability to manage your own internal expectations will enable you to work efficiently, avoid procrastinating, and never have to overwork yourself.