10 Steps to A Winning Online Career Search

Over the years, the internet has become the number 1 resource for candidates to research companies and search for job opportunities. In fact over 75% of job-seekers under 50 cited online as either the #1 or #2 (behind professional networking) resource they use when starting to explore new career opportunities. These numbers skew even higher among those making over $50,000 a year.

While online resources are extremely powerful, and can offer vast amounts of information and perspectives on potential employers in seconds, the landscape has become crowded, making it can easier than ever to suffer from information overload, or to lose focus. This takes away from your progress toward the goal of finding the best opportunities suitable for your next career move.

Staying focused on your career goals amid the chaos, and you’re sure to get better results, and start making your move to the next level much faster. Follow these 10 steps to keep yourself on track and maintain a productive and fruitful job search:

1. Know yourself – Although this is sometimes considered the least fun, it’s really the most important thing about any career search. Before setting out to the sea of online job postings by employers and recruiting agencies, do a full and honest assessment of your specific skills and experience and write them down. Consider the specific responsibilities you currently have and have had in the past, any training you received, and special projects you were asked to take on. Then go to your colleagues and ask them for their opinion of what they see as your unique value to the organization. Don’t just ask your best buddies in the office either, you’ll get better answers from those who know you professionally more than personally.

2. start narrow – Having assessed the skills you have, and gotten feedback on your value to an organization, it’s time to start thinking about the ideal situation for your next step. Make a short list of the things you want from your career (note: lot’s of money and vacation time might not cut it here). What industries interest you the most, what specific companies or products do you find exciting, are you a jack of all trades type who can function well in a chaotic startup environment, or a more process oriented person who wants to know their role and how they are going to be measured so that they can do the best job possible completing the tasks at hand?

3. Organize the thoughts and information you have into two columns: “THAT HAVE” and “THAT NEED”. This will be your guide for your online research.

4. Do some Google searches on the terms you put into your list. For example if you’re interested in the solar industry, and want to work for a global company, search for “global solar companies”, if you want to be a part of an innovative startup company, search for “solar innovators”. Your results will not just give you a list of companies, or job postings, but rather a full view of what you’re looking for. They may include links to industry conferences on Solar Innovation, or third party analysis of players in the global solar market. Review the different information to find out what companies or organizations may be the best fit for you, and what groups or associations they support. These sites will also introduce you to the Executive and Thought Leadership within the companies, and offer you a preview of their positioning in the industry and with the media.

5. Now begin your search for open jobs. Start your searches very narrowly, including only the names of the companies or organizations you learned about in your research, and adding the keywords from your “THAT NEED” list. For example, if you’re a qualified financial analyst and you’re a fit for Sunpower, try “Sunpower AND “financial analyst” to start. Keep adding terms or refining your searches with terms pulled from your two categories. The more terms that match the search query, the better the potential fit for you.

6. Start using your online network – Everyone is using social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook in their job searches these days, and with good reason. Sites like these identify connections that can get you in the door, often through people you would have never known about otherwise. One Major Caveat: Make sure you complete the steps above before reaching out to these people. Chances are you’re not the only one compelled by an opportunity that they’re able to connect you to, and you will need to make a clear and thoughtful case to them if you want them to help you.

7. Communicate your interest to your connection. As a recruiter, I get hundreds of referrals to people who are looking to find new jobs in solar or other renewable energy technology fields. While these contacts are always welcome, and like most people I’m always happy to help however I can, it is difficult when the candidate doesn’t know what they’re looking for or why. So these people are often forgotten among the pool of people who have contacted me for the same reason.

8. Apply to the job via the company website. This is a step that should be taken in any case, regardless of the outcome from your internal referral. If your contact mentions you to a hiring manager they can look you up easily in their database if you’ve already applied, and if not you’re in there to find on their own. If the two coincide, you’ve got yourself in their process with an internal referral ready to go.

9. Keep score of your efforts – be sure to keep track of everyone who you’ve contacted in reference to your job search, and what the outcome was. You do not want to make the mistake of reaching out to the same person twice by accident because you forgot about them. This makes you look very bad and makes your best ally suddenly feel like a piece of meat.

10. Once you have the system down, you’re bound to find out exactly what you’re looking for. Stay tuned in to what solar employers are most in need of by reading “What Solar Employers Are Looking For Right Now”.

Maintain communication with them throughout the process too, you’ll be amazed how far this goes in improving your professional relationships, while keeping you top of mind for future opportunities. Not to mention, everyone likes to hear that they somehow were a benefit to someone else, even if they don’t let on that they do.

Keep using these 10 steps and you’re bound to do great things. Happy hunting.

Joe Boyce