5 Ways to Boost Your Job Search

It’s easier than ever to apply for a job. It’s also seemingly harder than ever to land one.

That’s the conundrum facing job seekers in the current labor market. Thanks to artificial intelligence, a job seeker can tailor a résumé and cover letter to a specific role and apply for it with a few keystrokes. On the receiving end, another AI application can scan a candidate’s application and determine in milliseconds whether it’s a fit. 

On top of that, of course, few organizations are doing much hiring. The national hiring rate (or the number of monthly hires as a percentage of total employment) is 3.3%, the lowest it’s been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and, before that, 2010.  “Every conversation I have these days is about how ineffective job searching has become,” says Michaela Buttler, a Korn Ferry senior consultant and executive career coach.

With that in mind, we asked our experts for tips on how to conduct a more effective job search. Here’s what they said.

Filter the pool.

For many people, job searching consists of running a keyword search on a title similar to their own and applying for whatever role comes up. But that can get pretty overwhelming pretty quick. Korn Ferry career and leadership coach Val Olson Armstrong says job seekers can search more efficiently by breaking down the role they’re seeking into its component parts. These include not just company, role, and compensation, but also things like commuting time, culture, purpose, and more. Then filter your queries on job sites to align them with your criteria, she says.

Assess your risk level.

Are you looking to join a start-up, ride it to an IPO, and cash out? Do you have kids heading to college and need more stability in a job? Buttler says understanding where you are in your life and career can really help focus your job search. “Think through your risk tolerance,” she says.

Use the 80/20 rule.

Angela Galle Sylvester, a Korn Ferry executive and career coach, tells her clients to spend 80% of their time networking and 20% applying. Getting a referral or having someone internal share your résumé “is the only way to truly defeat applicant tracking systems,” she says. She has a point: Studies show that there’s only an 8% chance of getting an interview from an online job application while 60% of jobs are found through networking.

Prioritize your skills over your experience.

Employers are prioritizing skills over experience in hiring, so you should do the same when applying. Many career-networking sites have built-in tools that compare a candidate’s profile to the job description or the résumés of people in similar roles in a range of industries. Based on how well you meet the desired skill sets for the role, you can either optimize your résumé or sign up for a training or certificate course to acquire the skills you’re missing.

Follow the market.

The fact that hiring is slowing overall doesn’t mean particular industries or job families aren’t in need of talent. Follow market trends to see which industries are growing and which roles are in demand. And don’t be deterred if you don’t see roles in your industry or area of expertise, say experts. Given that companies are increasingly focusing on skills, you can construct a Venn diagram to show how your skills are transferrable to industries or roles where hiring is robust. 

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Leadership and Professional Development capabilities.

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