Looking for a job, regardless of where you are in your career, can be exhilarating at best, arduous at worst.  The hours spent combing the job postings on various sites, the endless updating of your cover letter and resume, the interviews and phone calls, all of it adds up to a stressful and taxing endeavor.

That’s the hiring process from the candidate’s side.  The key to finding a good job, however, is in looking at the process from the employer’s side.  Every company that has an open position has a direct need to fill that position.  Open positions cost companies money.

Also costing companies money are new hires.  It is very expensive to hire and train a new employee and as such companies need to be very particular about who they bring on board.  Job postings, recruiting, and interviewing people all cost time and money.  As you can see, the job hunt is a taxing and stressful endeavor for companies as well.

Companies have a real need to find the perfect person and this need is where you can direct your job hunt to the greatest effect.  When companies write job postings they are often very specific with the qualities they are looking for in an ideal candidate.

If you do not satisfy those qualities directly the odds are high that you will not get called back.  When a company receives a resume from someone with the perfect qualifications that person is almost certainly getting a call back the same day.

Even if you think you are perfect for the job, if your resume and cover letter do not reflect exactly what the company is looking for you are not likely to get called back.  The solution to this dilemma is not to lie on your resume.  It may seem tempting to fudge some of the details about your work history but don’t do it.  Even the most average recruiters will be able to sniff out these white lies immediately.

The solution is to apply for the jobs you are a perfect fit for.  If you are a recent graduate, apply for jobs that directly apply to whatever your degree is in.  If you have been in the working world for a while, apply for jobs that most directly relate to your work history.

It may seem counter-intuitive to apply for jobs that are similar to what you’ve already done, especially if you’re trying to go in a new direction with your career, but it will get you noticed.  You are more likely to get hired for a new job if you’re currently working and every job will give you new experiences and opportunities to expand your skill-set.

Companies want perfect people who fit right into the open positions and can start contributing right away.  If you’re looking for something different, it may be wise to take baby steps toward that goal to ensure that you can pay your bills and remain employable. 

You can always mention in an interview that you would like to go into another role eventually and many companies are amenable to that.  As I said, hiring and training new employees is very expensive for every company.  If you can move into a new role within the same company it works advantageously for both parties.

By far the most important asset you have in your job search is your skills and experiences.  Networking and professional resumes will help, of course, but the most important question on an employer’s lips is not “Who does this person know?” or “What has this person written?”, it’s “Can this person do this job better than anyone else?”. 

If you apply for jobs that are a perfect match to your education and work experience you are more likely to give the impression that yes, you can do the heck out of that job and believe me, employers are going to want to talk to you.