If you’ve spent the first few weeks of January mulling over your future, you’re not alone – the New Year, New Me vibe is realer than it’s ever been this year, and after over 2 years of disruption (and no doubt a little career juggling / soul searching), you may be thinking – what’s next for me?
Worry not – advice is on hand. The basics of job searching, even in our disrupted, remote-heavy new normal, are the same as they’ve ever been. The foundation of any job application is still going to be a wonderfully presented CV, a killer cover letter and a nailed interview.
But that trifecta of job searching is simply the skeleton of your application. The best-in-class applicants build on this foundation. You have to take stock of how you front yourself digitally, how your personal brand aligns with your CV, and how your network advocates for you.
These extras – the body and form, if you will, on top of your job seeking skeleton – are what makes the difference, especially in the beauty and wellness industry. If you get the right balance of digital showmanship and direction; the right presentation of your career and career story; and the right network to speak for you and provide real-time references, you’ll find yourself at the top of every applicant pile.
Here is our top 5 Job Search Prep Hit List—a list of easy To Do’s that will better prepare you for the wild world of job hunting in 2024.
Does your digital persona match your physical one?
Simply put, is what you put on your CV matching how you represent yourself on professional networks and on social media?
While there is much to be said for having a right to a private space online (more on that below), almost every HR professional or recruiter worth their salt will try to qualify parts, or all, of your CV online.
So, to mitigate any crossed wires, here’s are somethings you need to consider:
Does your LinkedIn profile match your CV?
- For those with a LinkedIn profile, the simplest error is not aligning it with your CV. While we cannot vouch for every recruiter, most will use LinkedIn as a public reference base of sorts – they may want to simply clarify roles you’ve held, or with your permission they may reach out to people on LinkedIn seeking references. If you’ve embellished (everyone does it!), or fluffed some of your jobs on your CV, LinkedIn then becomes the simplest way to call it out. But if you get your professional social media profile right (more on that below) you can elevate your application.
If you work in a creative field, do you use instagram/pinterest/TikTok/Tumblr etc to champion your work? Do you have a business page you use primarily for work?
- Everyone is entitled to their private space of social media, and there is enough advice online (here, here and here) on how to make sure you’re presenting yourself in the most professional (and safe) way possible online. But in the beauty, wellness, fitness and skincare fields, presentation and personal brand is everything. We always urge passionate creatives in the field to make their own “business” or “artists” pages where appropriate, to talk about their work without blurring the lines between work and play (more on that below!).
Use the platforms you love and engage on
Social media recruitment strategies abound online, and as any beauty hobbyist and influencer fanatic knows social media has become a literal career game changer.
Here at Bloom, we like to take a more holistic view of the market, and how you can leverage social channels to help your job search.
Purely from a visibility and advocacy perspective, SM has become the first port of call for almost anyone connecting and engaging with a brand. Undoubtedly you’ll have your favourite. While we absolutely condone using visual-first platforms to find out more about certain aspects of a brand and company (which is essential info for wowing an interviewer with an in-depth brand summary), you can also use SM to connect the dots between job advert and hiring manager.
- Our advice is to do some brand reverse engineering – starting at the front of house social media profile, connect social media accounts with professionals online (seek out the decision makers on LinkedIn, for example); reach out to ex-employees on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook and seek a name to send a CV too. Connect on every available channel, influencer network and industry publication to find out more about the people behind the platforms. That is how you leverage SM to get your CV seen, and your name at the top.
Make a strategy (it’s easy!)
Simple, but highly effective – make a strategy for sending out CV’s and connecting with people week by week.
This doesn’t mean spend an inordinate amount of time grazing aimlessly through Reed for a job that night piques your interest. Keep it simple, like this:
- Send out 10 CV introductions to a variety of recruitment professionals: HR heads, agency recruiters, solo-preneures building a brand,
- Connect with 5 people on LinkedIn in your industry,
- Seek 1 endorsement you can use publicly (via LinkedIn or other platforms),
- Timeline your applications and conversations.
That’s it!
Network, Network, Network
The art of networking has changed. While COVID has (to a degree) put the stoppers on physical meetups, Zoom has stepped into the small-talk fold.
Networking takes patience. It takes consistency, and it takes a bit of luck. But, by following all the above (connecting with people on a regular basis, keeping your LinkedIn up to date etc), you’ll find your network expands exponentially week on week.
A fair few of those connections will be duds. The odd one here or there could turn out to be a life changing connection with your new boss. If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win the lottery, so keep reaching out and start chatting to people.
Lastly, your CV – does it tell a story?
Whether you have your own hosted URL page with reams of creative, or whether you keep to a humble, yet professional 2-pager, your CV has to shine.
While optimum lengths and tone are pretty well established in the main, the secret to writing a good CV isn’t about mapping out the world’s most perfect ATS-smashing document. It’s about telling your story.
The Global Head of Recruitment for Google, Brendan Castle said it himself – “The No. 1 thing you want to be thinking about is to tell your story — not just your work experience, but also what you’ve learned and the accomplishments you’re most proud of”.
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/getting-a-job/social-media-and-job-hunting
https://helpfuldigital.com/ten-ways-to-keep-your-social-media-accounts-safe/
https://insense.pro/blog/social-media-marketing-beauty-industry-lessons-for-brands
https://influencermatchmaker.co.uk/blog/20-instagram-influencers-you-should-be-following
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