5 Best Job Hunting Tips For Millennials

Searching for a job is incredibly hard, especially for a millennial.

Millennials don’t really have a lot of experience, so they need to get creative in the way that they hunt for jobs. Fortunately, Millennials were raised on technology, so they can learn a lot of these lessons very quickly, and chances are, are doing similar activities anyways.

I am a millennial, and I can say that these tips have worked for me. To be honest, I wish I would have thought of these sooner. I only really applied these tips later on in life, and I potentially could have had an even greater job now. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but we never know what could have been.

Job hunting is getting harder for everyone these days because of technology and the ability to hire cheaper labour overseas. But I think if you take time, and are strategic about how you hunt for jobs, you should have a greater chance of success.

Here are my 5 job hunting tips for millennials:

1. Be Active On Social Media

Like I mentioned earlier, chances are most millennials are doing this already, they just need to be smarter about how they use these tools. Instead of sexting on Snapchat, try tweeting out interesting articles about the industry you’re trying to work in. I think we’ve all learned our lesson about not posting drunken party pictures on your Facebook pages, but it’s important to remember that employers actively look at your online persona. Use that as an opportunity to make your Facebook page look professional.

I also think having a well built Linkedin page with a nice picture of your face is important. Try and take advantage of all of Linkedin’s great features. I also think that you should set up a personal blog. Not only will it help separate you from the crowd, but it will give employers a deeper insight into who you really are.

2. Freelance To Build Up Your CV

Don’t be a diva. When you’re just starting out, no job is too good for you. Anything you can do to boost up the content on your CV is worth doing. Knowing that most millennials are good with technology, there are lots of freelance opportunities that you can find online. If you’re not sure where to get started check out TaskRabbit, Fiverr, Elance, or oDesk.

Not only is freelancing good for learning new skills, but you can earn a little money on the side while you’re looking for jobs.

3. Think Outside The Box

Millennials need to be much more creative in their job hunting. Don’t just rely on job websites like Monster or Indeed. Get out there and hustle on Twitter, following recruiters and people that work at companies where you want to work. Same goes for Linkedin, join groups and connect with people who can help you find jobs. Look on Meetup.com for any groups that you could join to meet people in the industry you want to work in. Also, make sure to check out Eventbrite for great local events in your city. Networking is the greatest way to job hunt.

4. Learn New Skills Online

I’ve written a lot about how much I believe in personal development, but this is a great thing to do while you’re job hunting. There are so many great resources online to learn from, but check out Coursera and Udemy if you’re just getting started.

It’s also important to remember that pretty much every company these days uses technology in some way, so learning technical skills is a great way to make yourself more desirable to employers. I’ve personally been learning front-end web development on Treehouse, and I recommend that everyone reading this do the same.

5. Personalize Your Messages

Take it from someone who was responsible for hiring at the last startup I worked at, personalize your cover letters. I saw so many messages come in that were obviously copy/pasted. I understand that it’s much faster to copy/paste if you’re applying to hundreds of jobs, but that’s not the right way to do it. Remember, quality over quantity. You want to work for a company that has an incredible company culture, and encourages team building. Apply to less jobs, and really take the time to personalize the message.

What are your thoughts? Any tips I forgot? Let me know in the comments!

Jacob is the Growth Manager of Officevibe, an employee engagement platform. When he’s not reinventing the world over a glass of scotch, he likes to find new skills to learn.