How to land your dream job in 2023 – What to do for a successful search

Searching for a new job is a journey. You need to set yourself up for success by deciding what you’re looking for, refining your resume, preparing for interviews, and the list goes on…

So, if you think it’s time to leave, make sure you’re certain it’s the right step for you.

Below we’ve delved into a few signs that hint it’s probably time to leave for your next venture.

You find that you are not growing or being challenged anymore

You worked hard in your role, learned new skills and experience, and now there is little opportunity for growth and development left for you. Maybe the role feels stagnant, or you’ve gotten all you can out of it. You simply outgrew your position and are now looking for a new challenge.

If you find that you lack satisfaction in your current role or lack the motivation and passion you had in the beginning, you’re likely to experience burnout. Burnout is a known contributor to reducing job satisfaction and productivity in the workplace. It also takes a lot of time to recover from burnout. 

Resigning will prevent the possibility of experiencing burnout. On top of this, if you desire change and constant stimulation, handing in that resignation letter will allow you to explore new possibilities, grow and develop your skills further, and reignite your motivation. 

You want to explore a different career path

Maybe you’re not sure your current position will help you reach your ultimate potential, or you haven’t explored enough opportunities to know what your career end goal is.

Whether the skills you want to develop don’t quite match your current role responsibilities or your knowledge and capabilities extend beyond what the role requires from you, changing to a different industry or career path could be the breath of fresh air you need. 

You might find that previously unrealistic career paths have now opened based on skills you’ve acquired since your last search. If you do not think the industry you work in is where your passion really lies, or you want to explore something a bit different to what you’re doing, go ahead and chase your dreams!

Low opportunity for leadership or role progression

If you’re interested in a leadership or management position, be sure to express interest to your manager. If the response is that your workplace does not offer the ability to progress in your career or into a leadership role, there is your reason to look for something that will help you take a step forward.

Finding a role that aligns with your career goals will allow you to feel more accomplished and keep you motivated to push closer to your true potential.

Inflexible workplace policies

If flexibility could make your life a lot easier and reduce stress, finding a role that caters to that will help your mental health.

Finding an organisation that offers a healthy work-life balance and wants to assist their employees in feeling as comfortable as possible both in the workplace and at home justifies a reason for resignation.

You found your dream job 

Finding your dream job is a completely valid reason to leave. A great employer would be supportive of your decision to leave for a role that better aligns with your goals. If they’re not, that alone is probably a good enough reason to leave. Find an employer who has your best interests at heart!

When you follow your passions, work is enjoyable. You’ll constantly enjoy new challenges, and find yourself feeling more inspired and creative with endless sparks of new ideas.

Consider your career non-negotiables

Before starting your job hunt, think about your non-negotiables and create a list. Non-negotiables are the aspects of the role you must have and will not accept if you do not get it or at least get close to it. This will help you narrow down your search and have a better understanding of what you want out of your next job.

Your non-negotiables are the standout factors about a job; the factors that are most important to you and the ones that will keep you engaged and motivated once the initial excitement of a new job wears off. 

Consider asking yourself these questions:

What do you expect from an employer? 

Do you want a fun workplace culture? 

Do you want the opportunity to work from home?

Why do you want to work from home? 

Do the company’s values align with your own?

What benefits would you like your employer to offer?

The list is endless because everyone’s non-negotiables are different. 

Carefully think about what’s most important to you. To give you a better idea of where to start, consider the following:

• Location
• Salary
• Company culture
• Training and development opportunities
• Travel for work requirements
• Flexible working arrangements

Once you have your list of non-negotiables, you’re well on your way to finding the job that is the best fit for you! You’ve put in the time to reflect on what is most important to you when it comes to your career. This will help you avoid applying for, or accepting, a job purely out of desperation. It will help to compare multiple job offers if you’re lucky enough to receive a few!

Craft the perfect resume

Updating your resume can be confusing.

What should you include? How do you update it? 

Let us answer all your questions!

Update your resume when:

• You change to a different role or company
• Receive a promotion
• Acquire a new professional skill
• Obtain a new qualification or certification
• New responsibilities are awarded to your role
• Finish an important project
• Your personal or contact information changes
• You fail to receive a response from employers despite sending multiple applications
• Your resume hasn’t been edited or updated in over six months

Keep it simple, clear, and concise

Employers will not read your resume word for word. Long and detailed explanations won’t do you any favours. 

A simple, clear, and concise resume assists recruiters and hiring managers in their search to locate key information and helps to position yourself as a favourable candidate. 

To ensure your resume is as compact as possible, follow these points:

• Is it relevant to the job I’m applying for? If you are applying for a role in marketing, your work at a cafe from when you were 15 is probably not pertinent.
• Avoid listing common skills. For instance, someone employing a lawyer does not need to know that you were a kitchen hand.
• Utilise bullet points to make your resume shorter and easier to read. Long-winded sentences are unnecessary and counterproductive.
• Read your resume out loud. This helps you catch errors in spelling and grammar as well as edit phrasing that may be stunting its flow.

Have a short summary so the reader can get straight to the point

A resume summary is slightly different to your LinkedIn summary because it is tailored to the specific role you’re applying for. It highlights your qualifications and experience. See our example below.

Example: 

Quality assurance professional with five years of experience ensuring product and service quality in the manufacturing and technology industry. Skilled in developing and implementing quality control procedures and utilizing industry standard tools such as Six Sigma and ISO 9001. Strong analytical skills to identify and resolve quality issues and experience in working with cross-functional teams to improve processes and performance. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering.

Think about what the main objective of the role is and explain how your skills and qualifications will help to reach that objective. 

Iron out grammatical errors and proofread

This one is simple and shows you have attention to detail and is completely within your control. 

Asking someone to read over your resume or utilising tools such as Grammarly will ensure potential employers don’t sit there thinking you don’t pay attention to detail because you forgot to capitalise the first letter of a sentence. 

Format your resume for easy reading

Keep important parts at the top. Whilst you could argue that it’s all important, experience, qualifications, and achievements will take precedence over your references and skillset. 

Employers are often looking for something specific when reading a resume, and if they can find this easily, they’ll keep reading and potentially reach out. 

To know what hiring managers are looking for, look at what they’ve detailed in the role responsibilities and requirements of the job ad. 

Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for

The position description in the job ad will tell you what the company is looking for. Tweak details in your resume to fit the role requirements and include language that has been included in the job ad. 

Remember, the company has used specific wording for a reason. Incorporate keywords from the job description and the company’s mission and values statement to highlight yourself as a desired candidate. This also shows your potential employer that you have done your research for the position. 

A large majority of companies today use resume-parsing software. Resumes are scanned by the resume parser to look for keywords before being read by an actual person. Using keywords will help the resume parser pick you up as a potential candidate.

Prepare your (optional) cover letter

Are cover letters optional? Some will argue, yes, and others, no.

Hiring managers won’t always read your cover letter but it can help to provide one because it gives them clarification about things they see in your resume. 

In some cases, its that extra bit of information that progresses you to the next stage.

So, even if the job ad says, ‘cover letter (optional)’, submitting one anyway will increase your chances of success.

Here’s how to write a cover letter that illustrates you as an ideal candidate (with examples).

Introduce yourself and tell the reader what job you’re applying for

Example: 

I am writing to express my interest in the Marketing Coordinator role at [Company Name]. I came across this opportunity on [where you found the job listing], and I believe my skills and experience make me a strong fit for the position.

Talk about achievements in your previous roles that relate directly to the role responsibilities mentioned in the job ad

Example:

As a marketing professional with [number] years of experience in the industry, I have a proven track record of developing and executing successful marketing campaigns for a variety of clients. In my most recent role as Marketing Coordinator at [previous company], I managed all aspects of a successful product launch, including market research, product development, and coordinating with cross-functional teams. Additionally, I have experience with social media management, email marketing and google ad campaigns.

Explain why you are interested in the role and the company

Example:

I am particularly drawn to [Company Name] because of its reputation as an innovative leader in the [Industry]. I am impressed with the company’s mission and values, and I believe that I can make a meaningful contribution to the team.

Make it more specific to the role you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a marketing role, touch on the company’s marketing initiatives and if you’re applying for a civil engineering role, touch on the company’s project portfolio.

End the letter by thanking the hiring manager for their time and consideration and express your enthusiasm for the opportunity to interview for the role

Example: 

Thank you for considering my application. Please let me know when you plan to schedule interviews. I would love to discuss the role and how I can bring my skills and experience to benefit [Company Name].

Other things to note:

• Keep a professional tone
• Proofread and make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors
• Always tailor your letter to the job you’re applying for

If you want to learn more, or you’re looking for a new job, speak to our consultants today for a free chat and career advice.

If you’re looking for job hunting advice in 2023, take a look at our job hunting guide below.