I’m curious. It seems like a lot of people here are looking for jobs. How do YOU decide what sort of jobs or companies you want to apply for?
Do you have a picture in your mind of what you want your work place to be like?
Do you target specific companies in your industry or job titles?
I’ve recently really wanted to get into the insurance business, so I’ve been tailoring all my applications for that. I’ve applied to nearly every company in my area. So far I have an interview on Friday and am waiting to hear back from another (apparently they’re waiting to get final hiring approval. Once they do, said their HR person, I’m top of their list).
Other than that I’m testing for two separate police departments.
I’m looking for entry level positions, so I look for places that only require a 4 year degree. If they want a couple of years experience I’ll still apply, as I think I can sell myself.
I work in a pretty small industry and I’d like to eventually work for on of the major players. I keep an eye on a handful of organizations and government agencies, and all of these have pretty standard “mid-career” job titles that I’m qualified for. I’ve got a good professional network, so they give me word of what they are seeing at their organizations. I’m not really actively looking right now, but I am thinking ahead pretty aggressively.
There are also a lot of mid-career management-training type programs, and I occasionally apply for these with varying levels of success.
I apply based on the job title. What I do is not industry specific - I’m basically an admin assistant with some specialized stuff thrown in the mix.
I follow my industry really closely and I network with my business school classmates and previous professional associates regularly.
My criteria:
If the answer to #2 is “Yes”, I’m prepared to overlook the answer to #1.
I would imagine that in the current economy people who* need *a job are applying for every one which they are qualified for.
Freelance consultant, international. I apply or not based on my current employment status (as absurd as that may sound… I do have colleagues who are always looking for that 5€-higher rate, never mind the costs involved in jumping ship and the damage you cause to your addressbook), job title, location, rate and end client. There is a former client of mine which pays enormous rates but which happens to be blacklisted by over half their former consultants; I figured it “was them, not me” when I discovered just how many of us hate their guts.
I work in the pharmaceutical industry in a field (clinical trials) that’s heavily outsourced/off-shored. Right now I’m a contractor working for a big international pharmaceutical company. When I apply for work I consider:
With sufficient generalized education that can be applicable to multiple fields, that’s still hundreds of jobs. You have to decide where to start somehow.
I search by job title, and then I read the job description very carefully: my title’s definition varies by company, and can be either entry-level or senior (I’m the latter).
If the req seems at all suitable, I look the company up on LinkedIn. I’m familiar with most of the big players in my industry – and used to work for the biggest one – but I always check to see if I’m connected to anyone who currently works there (it doesn’t matter, it’s just nice if I can reach out to someone and ask if they like working there). And it’s good preliminary research for companies I’ve never heard of.
If the LinkedIn search doesn’t bring up any red flags, I apply.
I am into nonprofit development work. I’m interested in anything with ‘‘development’’ in the job title.
In my experience, you don’t really know what you’re getting until you walk in the door for the interview. A lot of jobs that look exciting on paper turn out to be not so great, and I’ve gone into interviews feeling ‘‘meh’’ about the job description only to walk out impressed.
The thing I care about more than anything else is the organizational culture - what will my day to day experience be like? I want to be in a comfortable environment with friendly people, and I want my own space in which to work, preferably in an office. My job requires a lot of writing, therefore privacy. I can usually gauge these things pretty well by what happens during the interview.
The other thing is whether or not the organization shows real passion for its mission, and whether it’s a mission I can get behind. My current job is perfect. I have my own office and lots of privacy, I love the people I work with and actually have fun with them, and I’m deeply passionate about the mission. I could work here for the rest of my life. It really is a shame I have to leave in September.
I search by job title within my industry within what I would consider to be a reasonable commuting distance. Then once I’ve applied for everything that seems like I would be qualified to do I search within that commuting distance for things with my job title outside of my industry.
My skillset is specialized enough that I have a pretty good idea regarding which companies will be looking for someone like me. I apply to them, but I also look for job ads that match the right keywords and put in applications there too as long as it seems like a good match on paper.