How Recruiters Can Help Student Clients Stay Organized in Their Job Hunt

By Kaitlin Hurtado on September 12, 2020

The long, strenuous process of hunting for a job can be anything but clear-cut for anyone. Between application requirements, staying on top of recruiter messages, and application deadlines, staying organized in a job hunt may be far easier said than done. Potential applicants can get easily overwhelmed, especially if they are dealing with multiple applications at once. As a job recruiter, you may be looking for ways you can help a student client stay organized and focused on their job hunt. Keep reading for tips to help students stay organized in their job search.

 

stay organized in job hunt

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Make sure student clients know about automated alerts/reminders available

Your student client is likely to have multiple things on their mind, not just their job hunt efforts. With classes, their current job, and personal commitments on their plates, they are more than likely going to forget about a deadline or two or miss out on a message sent to them. To avoid important messages being left unread, or deadlines missed, make sure your student clients know about the automated alerts or reminders available to them.

While they may not have the time to diligently keep up with new postings or deadlines on top of their busy lifestyle, automatic alerts can help keep them on track. Guide them to sign up for alerts that will actually work for them — don’t have them sign up for every alert possible. If they are getting spammed with alerts, they may give up and just disregard each new alert as spam. Help them tailor alerts to their specific needs, from flagging specific keywords to placing emphasis on certain deadlines.

As you teach them about using alerts efficiently, you can also help them set up their inbox to work better for their job search. Using features like labels and folders can help your student client organize their inbox, from who their point of contact is for an application to what document they sent last. This can be especially helpful for students that are juggling multiple applications and projects at a time and struggling to deal with the constant influx of emails sent their way.

Educate student clients on how they can keep track of important information

When it comes to staying organized, there’s always the trouble of information overload. There’s plenty of information to keep track of during a student’s job hunt: when an application is due, what an application requires, when they submitted, interviews, when to follow-up. As a job recruiter, you can give your student client much-needed expertise in managing all this information.

Rae Sanders, a partner at talent acquisition firm WinterWyman tells The Muse that a spreadsheet is a great starting point in staying organized during a job hunt. “For every application you send, add a row [to] track the company’s name, date of application, job applied for, a link to the job if one is available, and a link to the website,” Sanders says to The Muse. 

The Muse also suggested additional columns to track details:

- A hiring manager’s name and contact information

- Interview details, including time schedules and points discussed in the interview

- Follow-ups — keep track of when follow-ups are sent, or when to send a “Thank You” note (Tips on constructing the perfect note here)

Getting your student client situated with a proper method of organizing all the information needed in their job hunt can be vital to keeping them organized and on track.

Stay connected to your student client 

It is easy for anyone to feel overwhelmed during a job search, so it should not come as a surprise if your student client is feeling overwhelmed themselves. While you may think that introducing them to automated alerts and organization methods like spreadsheets is enough to keep them stay organized, it does not hurt to personally keep up with them and see how they are doing.

When you regularly check in with your student client, you are also more likely to catch any issues as they come up. For example, let’s say you gave these organizing methods to your student client and sent them on their way. While it may have worked in their favor for a week or two, the system you introduced to them may not be working for them in the long term. Being able to catch what works for them and what does not early can help you guide them in the right direction when it comes to staying organized on their job search.

While a complex spreadsheet may be an excellent way to stay organized for one student client, it could be far from effective for another student client. Be ready to work with them to see what kind of organization method works best for them — it may just be something as simple as a notebook to keep all information in one place.

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