Craft Your Job Search Plan: A Step-by-Step Success Guide

Learn how to make a job search plan with our easy-to guide

Here’s a fact that will blow your mind.

There were 8.49 million job openings in the US, as calculated by the Statista Research Department, on the last business day of Mar 2024.

Let’s just take that in for a second…

That’s a lot of jobs waiting to be filled — and one of them could be filled by you. So how to go about it? You need a job search plan.

What exactly is a job search plan?

To tackle the million dollar question of how to look for a job, you need a strategic approach. It’s like anything that’s worth chasing — a plan of action is required.

There are so many aspects to take into consideration when seeking a job, that a job search plan is the most organized way to go. That’s because it lays down various steps of how to go about identifying, and then applying for, roles that align with your career goals, your experience, and your skill set.

A job search plan will keep you organized, focused on the tasks ahead, and ultimately boost your chances of landing that dream job. It’s hard to find a job, so give yourself the optimum chance of securing one.

Why a job search plan is important

Without one, you’ll be all over the place, as you won’t be able to keep track of who you’ve connected with or what positions you’ve applied for.

Sets clear goals for you to follow

What do you truly want to achieve during this process? With a job search plan, you can approach this with clarity and confidence. In identifying your assets, values, and skills, you can really understand which positions are worth applying for and which aren’t, saving you time in the long run.

Monitors job seeking activities

Did you apply for that Store Manager’s role with Rite Aid or was it at 7-Eleven? While you could trawl through all your emails to find the answer, it’s so much more efficient to have all that information in one place.

Keeps you on track

Maintaining focus is key and a job search plan should help you achieve this as you set goals and break them down into doable chunks. Then you can review on a weekly basis, checking off stuff that you’ve done and clearly seeing what’s next on the list.

So what are the steps in the job search process?

Crafting a strategic job search plan needs to be organized, realistic, and attainable. So what are the 6 steps to the job search? Our easy-to-follow guide will lead you through the job search.

1. Hone in on the ideal job title and industry

To focus the mind, make a list of the top five positions and job titles that you want to aim for. But be realistic. Don’t put Aeronautical Engineer when you’re trained in civil engineering, for example. Alongside that, list out the five top companies that you’d like to work for, or those that particularly interest you.

Take into account their size, sector, location, and work culture, ensuring most of these tick your ideal of the place you plan to spend most of your waking hours.

2. Set a viable timeframe

There’s no set timeline about how long it takes to find a job, as there are so many variable factors, depending on what you’re aiming for. It’s the same adage as, “How long’s a piece of string?” But the average is universally acknowledged as being between 3 and 6 months.

With that in mind, you could set a target date for 6 months from when you start your job search. You can set mini deadlines leading up to that, such as how many jobs you want to have applied for 4 weeks into your search.

3. Prep and perfect any job search resources

One of the most important parts of any job search plan is updating and completing your resume and cover letter.

Not only that, but you need to tailor your resume every time you apply for a job. This is of vital importance, as a generic resume that doesn’t address unique skills or requirements from a job advert just won’t make the grade.

4. Develop a strategic application master plan

This is when the question, “What is a job search strategy?” can be answered. It’s time to find out where and how to locate the jobs you want to apply for. Some paths to explore include:

• Connect with internal recruiters — they are employees of the company you want to work for and can be found on platforms such as LinkedIn.

• Connect with external recruiters — they work for outside agencies for more than one company, so they have a wider reach.

• Referrals — in the form of friends or work colleagues already working in the sector or company you’re aiming for, so tap into their expertise and connections.

• Online applications — Applying directly to a job is the most normal route if you don’t have a better alternative, but do follow the job application guidelines to the letter.

• Cold calling — or rather emailing, is reaching out to a company that doesn’t have any jobs vacant.

• Job search apps – check out this post to find suitable apps that can help.

5. Monitor all jobs applied for

It’s vital that you keep track of every job you apply for throughout the process, otherwise you could end up in a mess of not remembering which company you’ve messaged, or making the mistake of applying for the same role twice! Include at-a-glance columns with headings such as:

• Job title, with a link to the job advert.

• Location, and whether each job is office-based, remote, or hybrid.

• Contact details for the recruiting manager.

• Date you sent off the application.

• The current stage of the process i.e. application sent, interviewing, rejected.

• Salary range.

• Your impressions of the job and company.

6. Following up

Keeping tabs on where you are with a company at any given time will give you insight into the process, so following up on a job application is important. This shows a hiring manager that you’re keen, motivated, and enthusiastic about working for the organization. 

It’s tricky to know exactly how long you might have to wait before hearing back from an application, but you can send a follow-up email after a week and a thank you within 24 hours after an interview.

How to search for a job effectively

With all those jobs out there, how can you search for a job in the most effective way possible?

By making a job search plan, that’s how! 

It’s going to take effort — but as with all things, the more effort you put into this, the better your results will be.

Now that you have your job search plan in the bag, it’s time to concentrate on getting your resume into ship-shape condition. Use ZipJob’s free resume review tool to do just that.

Recommended reading:

• The 100 Best Jobs for 2024

• Should You Include Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume?

• 15 Recession-Proof Jobs That Will Have Demand in 2024