Job hunting is one of my least favorite things to do. Sitting at the computer for hours on end, filling out the same questions over and over again. Then reading back all of the rejection emails, if you even hear anything at all.

After a while it starts to feel like you’ll never get anywhere. Sometimes I wonder if anybody has ever even read the applications that I send in. It’s likely that you’ll end up banging your head against the wall, but before you go completely mad, maybe you should seek some help. There are so many tools online that can help you with finding jobs, it needn’t be this hard.

As long as you make good use of the resources that are available to you, you’ll have a new job in no time.

Online Job Searches

I know I’m probably stating the obvious here, almost everybody uses online job searches to find vacancies to apply for. But the question is, are you using them properly? One big mistake that people often make is that they just use one job search service. You’re massively limiting yourself here because different sites will have more positions that you are missing out on. It’s also a good idea to use more specialized job search sites.

If you have a particular career in mind, then see if you can find a job search service that deals with that career in particular. A lot of jobs will be more inclined to post on these sites rather than on the more generalized ones so you will have a better chance of finding something that is right for you.

Resume

Writing a resume is one of the hardest parts of the job search, but also the most important. It’s your golden ticket to interview, if they don’t like it then you won’t get anywhere. There is endless amounts of advice on writing resumes out there, especially if you are applying for a skilled job that requires certain attributes. Look for examples and see how you could alter your own to fit the mold.

Even better than that, try using a resume builder; You will just need to put all of the relevant information in and it will structure it for you. This will give you a much more professional looking resume than you could ever hope to create yourself.

Social Media

You’re probably fed up of hearing that social media is a valuable tool. It’s infiltrated every aspect of our lives but the truth is, it’s so useful when searching for jobs. The old cliché goes, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Cliché or not, it’s true.

Networking is one of the best ways to get a leg up on the competition. Joining LinkedIn and connecting with industry leaders and potential employers means that you will already be on their radar before you put an application in.

It’s also useful if you manage to make it to interview stage. Regularly checking the social media profiles of your potential employers can give you up-to-date information about the company that you can mention during an interview, this is sure to impress and improve your chances of getting the job.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.