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New job, new year
Pattie Hunt Sinacole shares a job hunting strategy for 2025
Q: I need to find a new job in 2025. I am not sure how to do this. I have been with my company for 12 years as a controller, and lots have changed since I last started a job hunt. I found my current job through my neighbor’s brother-in-law. With all of the talk of layoffs, I am worried. Now what?
A: Here are some suggested steps for you to consider:
- Reflect. Think about what you have learned over the past 12 years. Is the work location important to you? Do you like your industry? What is your ideal culture? Are specific benefits important to you? Where do you want to be from a compensation standpoint? Big company or small company?
- Research. Think about what industries and roles are growing. Think about your experience and how your skills may map back to roles within those industries.
- Get your house in order:
- Update your resume. Have a few other trusted friends or relatives review your resume. They may give you helpful feedback.
- Review your LinkedIn profile, if you have one. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, create one. Ensure that there is synergy between your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- Optimize! When a prospective employer receives your resume, it is likely that an ATS (applicant tracking system) will be used to scan your resume. Then, a hiring manager, recruiter or talent acquisition professional will find you when they are searching for specific skills using the company’s ATS. Make sure that your resume has relevant key words so that your resume “rises to the top of the pile.” The same practice applies to your LinkedIn profile. Your LinkedIn profile should have key words embedded in your summary, or the body of your profile.
- Review your social media footprint, as an employer might well google you to see what they find. Some have called this practice egosurfing. In the job search context, I don’t think it is related to ego, but instead focused on reality. If you need to add privacy controls to Facebook, Instagram or other platforms, this is the time to do so.
- Begin to network. Attend industry events and participate in online events like webinars and podcasts. Slowly add connections via LinkedIn. Why slowly? It is more discreet to add a few connections per week, than 25 in one day. You can also follow companies on LinkedIn.
You mention that you landed your last job as a Controller through a personal contact. Networking continues to be a significant factor in the job-hunting process. I use an acronym to describe this: ABN. Always Be Networking. Even when you are hired in your next job, continue to network. It is critically important in job hunting.
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