Job search simplified - Use these tools!
by
Impactpool
Being a great project manager begins with your personal organisation skills. Oftentimes we receive emails from applicants asking to retrieve information on a job that they have applied for. Unfortunately, this feature is yet (soon) to be developed in our recruitment system so therefore, most end up not remembering what they have written in that application.
I remember during my job searching days, I would always make a copy of the CV I have used, as well as the cover letter (a lot of work has been put into researching the organization's mission,values, projects and annual reports). I still look at job descriptions from time to time to identify what new skills are in demand, what are the recruitment trends in my occupational group (communications) to plan and educate myself to be ever ready.
Are you looking for the best tools for your job search? I’m not talking about job boards (you already know the world's best Impactpool), but tools to help you manage, organize and conduct a proactive job search!
First and foremost, do you have a system for tracking your job search applications, interviews, conversations? It can quickly become overwhelming to remember everything off head. These recommendations are simple tools to organize and track your job search:
- Excel - include your why, what intrigued you about the position, what skill you quickly acquired to meet all minimum requirements or to stand out etc. Do you know anyone in that Organization that you can contact before submitting your application for a debrief about what is happening inside the organization?
Organization
These are closely related to tracking, but are slightly different. Keeping all your information organized takes a system or tool.
- Evernote - For digital filing in general Evernote is a great application to use. I still use the notes section on my iphone but I know that Evernote gives me more options especially to include bulk notes/attachments/links from reading the organization’s mission, objectives and annual reports. I have a notebook in
Interview Practice Tools
There aren’t many tools available to help with job interview practice especially for the development/humanitarian and Impact Sectors. But luck for you, these tools filled the void!
- Impactpool Interview Questions Database
- Impactpool Online Interview Tutorials
- Impactpool Mock Interviews with Expert Career Coaches
- Impactpool Learning Materials
Find the best researching tools when writing job applications, best overall softwares for ultimate productivity, email tools to help you find someone’s email address, track openings, and more..
Research Tools
Finding the right information is very simple nowadays that most people have access to the internet, and Organizations are understanding the importance of digital communications and information. You can easily find very useful and valuable information on Organization websites to help you tailor your job strategy before applying for a job.
- LinkedIn Career Explorer helps you identify keywords relevant to specific job titles as well as the skills to build on to succeed in that role.
- Google Alerts on your favourite Organizations stay up to date with their projects and fundings etc
- Impactpool Newsletter - Overall announcements and career insights in the Impact Sector
- Impactpool Job Alerts - Tailored jobs matching your preferences and work experiences
Email Tools
Whether you need to look up someone’s email address or track whether your email has been opened, there are tools for job search that help you do both.
- Mailscoop and Hunter.io - to find email addresses of people
- Mailtrack.io - Check if your email is opened. This is very important when it comes to “cold” contacting someone. It is essential for every salesperson but definitely valuable for a job seeker. Another approach that I used after landing an internship was filtering people on Linkedin with the profiles similar to mine and at Organizations that I would like to work with, and be straightforward and frank that, I would like to have a quick chat with them about their career, how they got there, their advice and if we can keep in touch. This way, you learn but also build your network in the industry. Always remember people are human, no matter what positions they fill today, they all started the same way as everyone.
Home Office Essentials
The majority of us are still working from home due to the pandemic, others have adopted a hybrid work schedule. Nonetheless, job seekers aren’t the only ones trying to figure out the best tools to make themselves shine and look professional.
- Good lighting
- Headphones with a microphone to reduce background noise
- A good working desk and chair (workplace ergonomics)
- A bottle of water and snacks - applying for jobs is a job in itself that requires lots of energy!
Other
- Notion - One of the latest productivity softwares and if you ask me, the holygrail for efficiency! With Notion, you can pretty much do all of the above in one place! No, but seriously, Notion is every super organized individual's dream!
- Browsing Privacy - DuckDuckGo as an alternative privacy browser.
- Grammar Tool - Grammarly
- Saving Articles - I recommend Feedly and Flipboard so you can easily find career focused content to share and show others what you are learning for your career.
- Pomodoro App - It is vital to take breaks during your job search to avoid job search fatigue! Yes, that is a thing, and we do receive emails from many frustrated applicants. We understand, and that is why we provided this list that we hope you find useful during your job search process.
