Published: October 1, 2020 by iSchool Career Advisor

Looking for a job takes a lot of time and energy. In fact, you may have heard that job searching is a full-time job in itself. That is at least when you do your job search the right way. A half-fast job search is a waste of your precious time and energy. Your confidence and self-esteem may also take a beating due to the constant feelings of rejection when you don’t hear anything back from employers.

If you are looking for a job, here are 5 things NOT to do.

1. Spend your entire job search sitting behind your computer.
   Searching online for a job should only be one small part of your job search. Get out of your chair and network. 75% of the jobs people get are through networking contacts and not from online job boards. Think big about who is in your network and don’t be afraid to reach out. Most people remember what it was like to be in your shoes and like helping students and recent grads.
2. Have an incomplete LinkedIn profile.
   Approximately 93% of employers search online for qualified candidates or will search social media sites to check-out a potential applicant. If you have an online presence, make sure your profile is accurate and complete, verify that your personal branding statement is sending the right message to the world about you, and clean up your digital dirt.
3. List job duties and tasks instead of accomplishments.
   Your resume should not read like a job description with a long list of job duties and responsibilities. It should be filled with eye-catching accomplishment statements that start with an action verb and demonstrates what you did, how you did it, and the results or outcomes you achieved using a variety of skill words.
4. Send out generic, one size fits all resumes and cover letters.
   Each resume and cover letter you send out needs to be tailored to the specific position you are seeking. A recruiter can tell instantly if you have sent generic documents and they are not impressed. Applying with untailored job search documents sends the message that you don’t really care about the position and that is no way to try to impress a potential employer.
5. Be unable to articulate clearly why you are the best candidate for the job.
   You are doing yourself a huge disservice if you have not taken the time before your next interview to be crystal clear in your own mind why you are the best candidate for the job and why this manager should hire you. The interviewer is not going to take the time to figure it out for you, so do yourself a favor and prepare ahead of time so you can walk into the interview and nail it!

For more tips, check out the Interviewing section on the iSchool Career Development pages.