How to Find a Job Fast (25+ Expert Tips)

Are you having a hard time getting a job?

Here are some things you should know about job hunting that will help you attain a new job fast, according to experts.

I have sometimes worked with candidates that need a job immediately. I am not talking about tomorrow or next week, I mean today, right now.

Life circumstance can sometimes just bring a candidate to this point and as a recruiter, I can sometimes be in a position to try and make that happen.

It can actually be quite simple for a candidate. You are sacrificing your job search timelines and career criteria through the necessity of needing a job straight away. So, how do you as the candidate make this happen?

Forget any criteria that are important to you

Maybe you want specific hours of work, a salary at a certain level or a career progression plan. You may be lucky, but if you want a job right now you have to be prepared to compromise heavily.

You must be open to new experiences

Never fancied working in a fast-food restaurant or in a warehouse but that is the job on offer, then you are going to have to go for it.

Network

Finally, if you want quick results in your job search, be prepared to work hard and hustle. Hit the phone and the internet. Phone recruitment agencies and tell them your brief. If they can help, great, if not you move on very quickly and find one that can.

Look through some of the local community job boards

Frequently local employers can be needing some immediate help. Likewise, you can normally put a free advert on these community boards saying you are seeking immediate employment. A job that is starting immediately does not just materialize from no-where, you have to find it and make it happen.

One brief word of caution though before you launch yourself on this kind of fast-paced job search. Just because you are compromising yourself for an immediate job start, do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of or be asked to do something you believe could be illegal or immoral. I promise you; it is just not worth it.

If you need to find a job fast, my advice would be not to consider yourself ‘above’ any kind of work

Apply for a wide variety of positions with the attitude that you can learn how to do whatever line of work you are hired for. You may find that you’ll get hired as a waitress or a sales rep, even if it’s not what you majored in at college.

Don’t turn down opportunities, especially if you really need a job.

Know that your time there may likely be temporary, as you apply for other jobs in fields that are more aligned with your expertise. Make the most of the experience, be willing to learn, get to work on time, and work hard every day.

Getting any job is much different from landing your dream job.

If we’re talking about getting a job fast, then it’s likely you aren’t looking for a long term dream job. With that in mind, you still need many of the core components that go into job searching.

Update your resume and clean up your social media presence

Make sure your resume is up-to-date and includes information relevant to the industries you are applying to. Plus, don’t put yourself in a disadvantaged position before you even start — clean up your social media presence so that it is professionally appropriate and doesn’t give any future employers a reason to say “no” if they were to look you up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Related: How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Consider temporary jobs

Once your baseline is set, start applying. If you’re looking to move fast, apply to as many positions as possible where your professional background aligns.

Consider temp or temp-to-hire roles as they may be more open to hiring employees quickly, and it requires less of a commitment from you (until you find that dream job!). Plus, temp work is a great way to build professional experience, expand your network, and get paid.

Ask around

Last, consider the low hanging fruit – do you know anyone who is hiring? Any of your friends or relatives own a business? It’s worth asking if they would consider you for employment and, if not if they have any connections of their own who would be open to hiring you… fast!

One underrated method of finding a job quickly is to work with a staffing agency

The advantage of working with a staffing agency is that you have an advocate looking for a suitable position for you. Yes, staffing agencies do ultimately have a client, but it is a two-sided relationship.

Staffing agents work closely with candidates to help understand their career goals and identify open opportunities that leverage each candidate’s skills. You’re more likely to get a job faster through a staffing agency because they regularly have a number of open positions.

Overall, with a staffing agency, you spend your time preparing for interviews rather than blindly sending out applications on a prayer.

Sometimes these are obvious but often overlooked tips to ensure you get into employment quickly. Below are tips in no specific order that will take you from unemployed to employed:

Clean up social media profiles

This is a huge one as most employers will google prospective candidates to get the scoop on the personality of the potential employee. Along with cleaning up social media profile, update your LinkedIn profile as this is the most likely social media profile most HR professional will go to for corroboration.

Update your resume

This is an obvious one, but can never be overemphasized. Ensure you have the most current and relevant employment experience and any courses/certifications/webinars attended since the last time you updated your resume.

While at it, ensure your resume font and font size are consistent; ensure your LinkedIn profile links and phone number are correct; turn on spell checker; proofread your resume for grammatical errors; ensure your email address is professional; remove any irrelevant information and ensure your resume is tailored to the opportunity you’re applying for.

Tell everyone you’re in the job market

Yes, do tell everyone you meet and know that you’re in the job market. This expands your job opportunity pool and lends itself that eventually one of these connections would eventually lead to a job interview and ultimately a job offer.

Attend industry networking events

Attending industry networking events is a great asset and puts you at an advantage. You’re staying current and most likely interacting with your potential colleagues and/or next manager in a more relaxed environment. You may end up chatting with an influential person at an organization that could make your entry into the organization much easier. Meetup.com is a great tool for finding these events.

Update profile on job boards and reach out to recruiters

Ensure the correct resume is uploaded; let recruiters know you’re in the job market by updating your status profile to available. Set up job alerts that deliver potential job match straight to your mailbox daily.

Related: How to Reach out to a Recruiter

While it’s never ideal to be in a position where you have to find a job fast, there are circumstances that sometimes necessitate this. Here’s how to increase your chances of quickly securing a role if you find yourself in this predicament:

Reach out to people you know

The fastest way to find a job is through people you know because you decrease the amount of time “selling” yourself. So reach out to everyone and anyone you know and specify exactly what you’re looking for in a role (the more clear/specific you are, the easier you make it for your contact).

Couple this with an updated, professional resume and LinkedIn profile. Having this conversation face to face is the best and most effective tactic followed by video conferences, phone calls and lastly, an email.

Reach out to former employers

Reach out to former employers who know and value your work and let them know you’re actively looking. If you left on good terms, and if you have a personal reason that’s relatable as to why you need something fast, chances are they will help you.

Attend job fairs

Companies who attend are there for a reason and usually, have a few positions to fill.

Meeting people in-person and asking for help will always accelerate your job seeking process vs. dropping resumes through job boards. But remember that it’s not all about you, offer to help the people you’re meeting as well.

Quid pro quo applies here- if you do something for others, they are much more likely to want to do something for you.

Leverage LinkedIn smartly

Technology has changed the way recruiters hire employees, and this change has a strong impact on the job search. Days are gone when updated, and furnished resume was the guarantee of a job interview or even recruitment. Now, LinkedIn has become a center of attention both for employers as well as job seekers.

Most of the candidates probably spend lots of time revising their resume, but if you have not updated your LinkedIn profile, you won’t get the attention of recruiters. Every other day, recruiters open several job openings and look for ideal candidates on LinkedIn.

If a hiring manager checks your updated LinkedIn profile, you get an opportunity to impress him. Besides, an optimized LinkedIn profile makes it easy for recruiters to find you when they are searching for the right candidates.

Related: LinkedIn Headline Advice & Examples for Job Seekers

Today, finding a job is difficult. With hundreds of job listing sites, one-click applications, out-sourced recruiters, and 95% of employers using ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) finding a job have become harder in the recent few years.

Most jobs have hundreds of applicants. On LinkedIn for example, an average new job post has over 100 applications within a few hours. The positive part is, there are plenty of jobs available as the economy is doing quite well.

With all these points playing against you, how do you find a job fast?

• Stay focused and positive. Finding a new job is not an overnight task. Expect it to take weeks.
• Make your resume and LinkedIn profile all about your performance and what you did for your past employer. Remember your future employers are looking for people that will come into the company and move it forward/make it grow.
• Fix your LinkedIn and resume spelling. These two items setup 1st impression, do ruin in my misspelling words.
• Use Microsoft Word resumes, not PDF. Many ATS systems can’t read PDF files well.
• Use Personal Keywords Optimization (PKO) to improve your resume and LinkedIn. PKO is the right usage of keywords that can make your profile or resume stand out.

Ask your family and friends

If you want to find a job fast, one of the best routes to go is to ask your close network of family and friends if their companies are hiring or if they know of anyone who is. Word of mouth is a great resource at your disposal, so get some feelers out there.

Social media search

And if you’re willing to really publicize your search, take to social media to list what kind of jobs you’re looking for to see if any of your connections have a lead.

Job boards and headhunters

But also, you can find countless job postings on various job boards. A headhunter is also a good option, as this will give you someone to help in your search.

Related: The Difference Between Executive Recruiters and Headhunters

If you are a top 1% candidate, you can expect to spend an average of 11 resumes before finding a job. The average job seeker can expect to send over a hundred.

Achieving success is, therefore, a numbers game. To succeed you must put systems in place to habitually send multiple job applications per day. You should:

• Contact everyone you know and let them know that you are looking.
• Post your resume on all job boards.
• Contact professional trade organizations and alumni organizations.
• Experiment with new tools and startups in the job market field who may be more open to trying new ideas too.
• If you are already between jobs, then state explicitly that you are open to temporary contract projects too.
• Finally, if you are a top tier candidate and don’t want to waste time searching, consider putting a bounty on your head to be paid out if somebody refers you to your dream job.

Should you find yourself in the need to find a job, quickly see tips below:

Register with several staffing agencies

Staffing agencies have several connections with organizations that are looking to place employees for temporary and direct hire position. By registering with staffing agencies, you increase your chances of finding work as these are openings that they’re usually trying to fill quickly.

Apply in person (If there is a sign in the window)

In the age of using the internet for everything, sometimes a little face to face interaction can go a long way. If you see a sign in the window, stop in, and speak with the hiring manager as you may be able to get an interview on the spot.

Social Media

If you’re on social media, let your network know that you’re in the job market. The key to finding a job quickly is to have your network help with your search by sharing opportunities.