I’m not sure what’s worse: working a job you hate or having to search for a new job. The constant submitting of resumes, applications and cover letters then trying to coordinate interview after interview feels like a full-time job by itself. Despite all of the resources available online, hunting for a job can be exhausting. Sifting through pages of job descriptions that seem promising but have already received 113 applicants and just praying that the next interview goes well is an experience many of us know but try as hard as we can not to repeat.
So if you’re currently on the job hunt or just want to acquire some tips to make your next job search easier, we’ve gathered some of the best advice from the Life Pro Tips subreddit to help lighten your job searching load. From interview pointers to red flags to look out for in job postings, these tips can help make your next career transition as smooth as possible. Below you'll also find interviews with founder and CEO of JobJenny, Jenny Foss, and host of the "Find Your Dream Job" podcast, Mac Prichard, and career success coach and the founder of The Careers Academy Career Success Program, Jane Jackson. Be sure to upvote the responses you find most helpful, and then if you’re interested in even more job hunting tips, check out this Bored Panda piece next.
#21
If a company says, I can’t pay you too much now, but if you stick around you’ll be greatly rewarded…. Leave. They’ll just dangle it like a carrot if you want a promotion.
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63points
Ideally, we would all love our jobs and be jumping out of bed in the morning excited to start our day. And while that is not the reality for most people, it is important to try to find a job that you do enjoy, at least a little bit, because you will be spending countless hours there. Well, maybe not countless, but approximately 1,786 hours there each year, or 38.7 hours each week. And on average, you will work the same job for about 4.1 years. So while it might be tempting to apply for anything and everything when you’re unemployed, remember that a job that sounds miserable when you apply is likely to get much worse after sucking up almost all of your time.
#22
When you check a company’s Glassdoor, pay attention to the date of the reviews. If you notice a lot of good reviews in a short time frame, that means HR sent out a bulletin to internal employees to write artificially inflated reviews for the company.
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62points
#23
When you meet most of the qualifications for a job but they require prior experience, apply anyway.
Many employers will be willing to overlook the lack of prior experience if they like you.
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61points
#24
Beware the "Intern Trap". Don't take a job as a X Intern at a company that doesn't have anyone who can do X.
Interning should be a process of learning a craft while you help to contribute to the overall institutional goals.
Interning should be a process of learning a craft while you help to contribute to the overall institutional goals.
If a company is advertising for an intern position, but doesn't have anyone who does that job, then they are probably just trying to pay someone less for a job that they want someone to be able to do. Traditionally, these are jobs that young people are adept at, but older people may not have the skills to perform.
For example, they probably need/want a Social Media Manager, not a Social Media Intern, but they want to pay less, hence the title. If you interview for a position like this, ask who at the company you will be learning from. If they don't have someone senior in the role, they may be willing to offer a mentor in other valuable skills - a senior marketing manager, for example.
Consider negotiating a title that reflects what you will be learning, not just what you will be contributing. This will help you develop your resume and, well, hopefully learn new skills. Also consider negotiating a title change and salary adjustment to reflect that title. "It seems that you don't have anyone at the company in a position to mentor a Social Media Intern and that what you really need is a Social Media Manager. I'm happy to take that role, at the junior level, and prove my worth to the company."
Really take a look at the learning on offer and what it's worth to you - if they're paying you $20k less a year, then your mentorship better be up to that value. You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and money by avoiding this "Intern Trap".
EDIT: To be clear, some internships are genuine where you trade your work for real on the job learning (and a small paycheque). These should have someone on staff who is responsible to the intern - an actual mentor - or there should be a clear trade of skills/experience for your work and time. These are not the "Intern Traps" I intended to warn about. Nor am I talking about internships or practicums related to an educational course of study.
I'm talking to job seekers looking for a job who might be undervaluing their skills, potentially negotiating with a company that is trying to take advantage of the applicant.
In Canada, where I'm from, unpaid internships are (now) illegal, though were prevalent early in my career. These privilege people who have enough resources and support to be able to give their time and labour away without financial compensation and disadvantage people who can't afford to work for free because they have bills to pay.
EDIT 2: A lot of people are reading this post as anti-internship. It is not intended to be! I am very pro-internship. This is a tip to ask in the interview to determine if what is on offer is, indeed, an internship or if it is a lowball play for your skills and labour. Just know what you are getting into by asking about the mentorship, training, and skills that they plan for you to learn. If they don't have a plan, they might be exploitative. If you had a great internship experience, great! Lucky you! And thanks for sharing these experiences. It's great to know some people have made the best of their situations, or, indeed had a good experience with a company that does internships right.
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59points
When it comes to how satisfied Americans are with their current jobs, the results are mixed. 49% of employees in the US say they are very satisfied with their current positions, 30% report being somewhat satisfied, 9% say they’re dissatisfied and 6% say they are very dissatisfied. Those aren’t terrible numbers, but what is interesting is that most of those people are not actually engaged at work. Only 30% of Americans say they are engaged at work, compared to 70% of employees at the world’s best organizations. I guess not everyone has to be stimulated to be satisfied, but I can’t help but wonder if these people spend their days feeling bored. Maybe they end up reading Bored Panda on the clock…
#25
Before ending a serious relationship, change 100% of all of your Passwords and remove your account info / auto login on ALL devices
I'm in the midst of hiring which is no small thing in this COVID world. I had one applicant who stood head and shoulders above the rest, she was exactly what my org was looking for.
Unfortunately, during the interview process she informed us via email she was no longer interested in the opportunity. So, we moved on to our 2nd pick candidate.
Fast Forward 2 weeks. I get a call from the applicant wondering if we had found someone and expressing interest in the job... I told her that she said she wasn't interested and I showed her the email she sent us. Apparently, she didn't send the email.
She had recently broken up with her boyfriend during her applying for this job and he "hacked" into all her accounts and fucked her life up. He deleted all of her social media and also sent us a false email saying she was no longer interested in the job.
Unfortunately, we hired someone so that opportunity is lost to her forever.
If you are in serious relationship then your partner has all of your passwords. They do. It is ridiculously easy to get someone's passwords if you have access to their phone or computer. It is to your advantage to just assume someone you are serious with has all your passwords. BEfore you break up with them you need to change all, yes ALL, of your passwords.
It is amazing how evil and vindictive people can be when they are heartbroken. Even so-called "nice" people can have a moment of temporary insanity after a break up and torch your whole life if they have the chance.
Don't give them that chance. Change your passwords
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58points
#26
No matter how much your workplace pushes "team building" and "family culture" - remember, they're not your friends and it's still a workplace.
Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. I work for a small business who put huge emphasis on everyone being friends and building a strong team, but it just means it hurts more when someone inevitably stabs you in the back. I'm not saying go around and be a dick to people for no reason, but it's better to build relationships outside of work or in places where there aren't any politics or power imbalances.
56points
#27
When applying for jobs (especially to large organizations), look through the job description and add any keywords they use to your resume as frequently as possible to get your application through HR.
I've learned this heuristically over the last couple of months. I'd love comments from anyone who works in HR hiring or similar fields that can either corroborate or refute this theory.
I've learned this heuristically over the last couple of months. I'd love comments from anyone who works in HR hiring or similar fields that can either corroborate or refute this theory.
HR is the first line of defense for hiring at most large organizations, but HR people aren't all that great at judging qualifications for specific jobs (e.g. A person with a Master's in HR doesn't know what makes for a good nuclear safety inspector). This leads them to filter out resumes using keywords and jargon as an indicator of abilities. Paid resume development tools have figured this out. They essentially populate your resume with the keywords that they've found effective at getting interviews, but you can do this yourself if you know your industry well and research the job.
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52points
If you’re currently on the job hunt, don’t get discouraged. Finding the perfect position can seem like an impossible task, but when it comes along, all of your efforts will have been worth it. We hope you learned something from this list that you’ll take with you throughout your future job hunting journeys, and I hope those journeys are full of more excitement than anxiety. Keep upvoting all of the pointers you find useful, and then let us know in the comments if you have any more job searching tips that could help a fellow unemployed panda out!
#28
When you submit a resume to a potential employer, submit it as a PDF, not a Word doc
I actually judge the potential of the candidate by how they format their resume (typos? grammar? formatting? style?). If you format it as a PDF, I see your resume how you want me to see it. If you have it as a Word document, margins, fonts, etc may be lost or adjusted when I open it.
Ensure you show me your best self by converting it to a PDF.
And please... proof read it. Give it to a friend or family member to proof read it thoroughly. I will likely not recommend you for interviewing if you have poor grammar or obvious typos. I assume you are providing me a sample of your work when I look at your resume. It shows either that you don't care or aren't detail oriented when you have typos and I assume I can expect the same if I hire you.
Edit: There is a lot of conversation about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and how they can vomit on PDFs. So, please be aware of this when submitting to systems that may utilize this.
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51points
#29
If an employer says you have to treat an entry level job as more than just a job to be successful, that's key for you'll be overworked and underpaid.
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44points
#30
Never tell the recruiter how much money you make and never be the first to give a number
A lot of recruiters will ask what salary you are interested in, partly to see if you are within their budget but also this is a huge opportunity for you to sell yourself short, especially if you don't fully understand the scope of the role yet.
Instead, say something like "I think I would need to hear a bit more about the scope of this role and expectations before discussing compensation for it. Can we revisit this discussion after I have had a chance to talk with the team and determine whether I am a good fit?" - they might immediately ask you what else you want to know about the role here so be prepared.
Recruiters will frequently ask how much you currently make as well, again, partly to see if you fall within their range and again a huge opportunity for them to take advantage of you. I would recommend never answering this. Instead say something like:
"I would prefer not to disclose that at this point in the process. I would prefer to have a more comprehensive salary based on my skills, what I can offer to the team, and company benefits. Is there a certain budget that you had in mind?"
This does a few different things. For one, the recruiter doesn't know what you make now - so if your current compensation is below their range, they cant just offer you the minimum or even attempt to match your current salary. You're also asking their budget range to get a better idea of what this company is comfortable offering as well as their benefit package. Most companies will let you know what their benefits early on in the hiring process.
TL;DR Don't tell the recruiter your salary! It might be way below what they were going to offer you in the first place and will immediately minimize your negotiation attempts!
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44points
