How to focus on one job application at a time

Given so many women in technology are actively job hunting, it seems appropriate to focus this week on the 5 common mistakes to avoid when job hunting.

And how to stop making those mistakes.

Everything I’m sharing with you in this series, is based on my experience of taking 100s of women through my LinkedIn training, my career coaching or when I’ve run in-house redundancy transition programmes.

What I’m sharing this week is typical of the tips and tricks that I also share in my Career Conversations group on Facebook.

Today we are looking at how to focus on one job application at a time.

How to focus on one job application at a time

Whether you’re job hunting because you’re bored and fed up at work, or going back to work after a career break, or it’s through necessity because of job hunting, one of the most common mistakes that I see women make is to take the scattergun approach and apply for everything!

Yep. I know – I’ve been there and done that far too many times.

Whereas what you really need to do first is to get clarity on your skills and strengths. (See yesterday’s post).

Once you are clear on your skills and strengths, and you know which ones you want to use in your next career move, focus only on the job applications that allow you to do that.

You also need to think about what’s most important to you in terms of:

• location
• type of employer
• type of role
• industry or sector
• size of organisation
• size of team

Job hunting can be a real rollercoaster. There will be ups and downs. That’s inevitable – at least for most of us.

Don’t waste time and energy firing off multiple applications left, right and centre.

Focus, focus, focus.

Apply for the roles that are a proper good fit for you. That offer you room for growth. That give you the salary and benefits that you and your experience deserve.

I know it’s tough when you’re out of work and you’re worrying about the bills and the mortgage.

When you focus on one job application at a time, you can really tailor each job application to the job criteria and person specification.

It means you’re less likely to make mistakes.

It means you can bring more energy to each individual application.

You just can’t do that if you’re doing 10 or 20 applications a day.

To ensure you are focused on the job application in hand:

• Don’t try and multitask. Focus on what you are doing in that moment.
• Read the job description and person specification carefully before you write the cover letter or fill in the application form.
• Take your time. Don’t rush.
• Take regular breaks.

Focus means you’re more likely to catch the attention of the recruiting or hiring manager and therefore more likely to get to the interview stage.

5 mistakes to avoid when you are actively job hunting

Today was the second in a series exploring the 5 mistakes you need to avoid to be successful in your job hunt.

Yesterday we looked why lack of clarity will damage your job hunt. And tomorrow we’ll look at how your social media can hurt your career.

For more tips like this, join my Career Conversations group on Facebook.

p.s. if you’re actively job hunting, facing redundancy or going back to work after a career break, you’ll love Job Search Confidence, a 12 week structured job search programme. Get crystal clear in your job search goals and become the stand out candidate for your dream job – before you even apply! Find out more HERE.