This is a very personal blog post about my recent recruiting experience. Beginning of this year, I decided that it’s time for a change, professionally and personally, so I threw myself on the job market with big hopes to find my “dream job” very soon. To understand why I had such high expectations, you must know that I’ve worked for a big Tech company the past five years, advising other businesses on how to create a great customer, employee & candidate experience with the power of Cloud technologies. Therefore, I have an idea how the “perfect picture process & experience” can look like and at the same time, I had many conversations with companies asking for solutions that can help digitalize and automate recruiting processes, so the HR & hiring team can really focus on a great candidate experience in order to battle the ongoing war of talent.

Obviously, my expectations on current recruiting experiences were high. Maybe too high!

I quickly learned that recruiting processes are still very complex for many firms, resulting in good, average and very disappointing experiences for the person who is applying. Since this post will not be a blacklist of companies with, let’s say, not such great recruiting processes, neither a roman of stories I experienced when interviewing with recruiters or hiring managers (btw there are many ). Instead, I would like to share my three personal tips if you are currently applying for a new job.

#1 Use your network

If you are currently looking for a new challenge, my number one tip is to leverage your network. If you are aiming to apply for company “xyz” or job “abc”, brainstorm beforehand if you might know somebody who works there. Or even somebody you know who could connect you to somebody else. Often companies have a different recruiting process if you are getting referred. In turn this leads to the opportunity to have a first conversation with the recruiter or hiring manager where you’re able to pitch why you are the perfect fit for the company and job. To be honest, at the beginning I found it frustrating. I can’t really tell why. Probably because I knew how companies are urgently looking for good talent but still in order to proof your skills, somebody has to put in a good word for you. The more I used my network though, I became more and more aware of how many advantages it has for both sides (culture fit, getting to know the team structure, project experience, “real” areas of responsibility, etc.). Therefore, I would really like to encourage everyone to ask for support and vice versa to share your network if you have one. By the way, I strongly believe the argument that “I only refer somebody where I truly know the person is a fit in terms of skills and work behavior”, should no longer exist. If somebody is interested to apply for a certain job, give them the chance and it’s the hiring teams responsibility to figure out if he or she is a good fit for the role. This can really be an accelerator to find great, out of the box talent!

#2 Learn, grow & ask for feedback

It doesn’t matter in which stage of life you are, see the whole process as a learning curve. During the conversation you have, you will find out what you are passionate about, you will reflex teams’ and management behavior which you enjoyed working together with (or not) and you will think about what kind of responsibilities, company culture and work-life-balance you are looking for. At the same time, you will be challenged who you are as a person – your strengths/weaknesses and growth areas as a person. Of course, it makes sense to think about these points beforehand, but an intensive recruiting process will uncover new layers and let you reflect experiences from your past from a different angle.  Also, always ask for feedback. Often people who are very close to us or colleagues we work together with, have difficulty to give honest and clear feedback. Hence, it’s a real chance to ask somebody external for feedback to sharpen your perception and pitch.

#3 Trust the process

I know this is always a throwaway remark if you are still in the process, but I truly believe – everything happens for a reason! Especially at a point where it can be really frustrating to get rejection after rejection and it seems like the world is against you, this gave me a feeling of inner peace. Often, we apply for job roles which aren’t the right fit. Often, we apply for jobs where the company, culture and/or teams aren’t a fit. And often we apply for jobs where we are not at the right place, the right time. You can’t force it. Therefore, never give up! Ask your network for support. Talk to family & friends about it because every person has been there before. And try to keep up you motivation and positive mindset.

I know this might sound easier than it is but if you are able to, enjoy the ride and if you are still looking for a new job, feel free to reach out and I will see how I can help.

Jenny

About the author

As being a millennial herself, Jenny is constantly challenging current HR practices. For example in her TEDx Talk she explained her vision on how sharing talent across different organisations can boost employee retention and will lead to more innovation. Recently, Jenny joined ServiceNow as a Senior Inspire Value Consultant. In her new role she supports Digital Transformation Journey and ensures that customers achieve the highest possible value with the ServiceNow platform. You can find more information on LinkedIn.

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