Here’s Exactly What You Need to Do to Score a New Gig

If you’re less team “show my boss I’m in it for the long haul” and more team “time to beef up my profile on LinkedIn,” then you’ll want this scoop on the job hunting landscape. When you’re looking for a new gig, there’s a laundry list of things you have to do, like getting your resume up-to-date, creating (or polishing!) your personal website and practicing for job interviews. But now, thanks to new info from Jobvite, you’ll be able to prioritize the things that’ll *actually* help you land a new gig.

FOCUS ON NETWORKING, NOT YOUR COVER LETTER

Jobvite analyzed 14 million applications that were submitted through their site in 2016 and discovered some seriously helpful info about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to job hunting. For example, finding that connection on LinkedIn is even more important than you thought. Seventy-eight percent of recruiters ranked referrals as the best source for quality hires and referred applicants are five times more likely to be hired than non-referrals.

Of course, we all know that your resume is crucial to landing a job, but are the days you’re spending crafting the perfect cover letter worth it? Maybe not, according to the data. Only 26 percent of recruiters surveyed said that it was important.

APPLY TO HOT INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE LESS COMPETITION

You can also make some strategic decisions on which industries you target, based on Jobvite’s data. Want to score a job at Zappos or GrubHub? Well, get in line. Apparently consumer internet companies average an insane 66 applicants per hire. On the other end of the spectrum, almost 20 percent of all applicants within the education sector get an interview.

But if you’re really looking to get ahead, you may want to consider the energy and real estate industries, which respectively tripled and doubled jobs created between 2014 and 2016. The data science arena is growing too. Since 2014, jobs created with “data science” in the title have risen 64 percent.

So what should you be prepared for once you land an interview? Well, if you’re looking at entry-level positions, expect to go through at least three interviews and for that number to only go up the higher the level of the role is.

All in all, the job hunt is tough — no matter the position or industry. But the good news is that folks are hiring, so stay focused and remember: You’re a #girlboss. You got this.

Let us know how your job hunt is going @BritandCo!

(Feature image via Getty; graphics via Jobvite)