10 Tips To Jump-Start Your Job Search

Last updated 1/10/2024

Whether you’re looking for your first professional position or a temporary job to build experience (or your bank account) over the summer, searching for a job can be overwhelming. Although it’s tempting to hope that a job falls into your lap, that is probably not going to happen.

There are many things you can do right now to increase the chances of finding that perfect position. If you’re just starting the process or wondering where to begin, the suggestions here will help you set your job search in motion and put you on the path to professional success.

1. Refresh your résumé

Your résumé is your single most important professional document. It is your marketing tool, where you present yourself to potential employers in the best possible light. In many cases, it is the first impression an employer has of you. You’ve probably been using the same résumé for a long time, updating it in bits and pieces as your situation changes. Now is the time to take a fresh, critical look at the overall picture.

  • Verify that everything is up-to-date and current. Are all of your most relevant skills included?
  • Look at the overall impression your résumé gives. At this stage, you should remove older extracurricular activities, especially ones that are not relevant to your career.
  • Make sure your strongest selling points are up front and quantify accomplishments where possible. You may need to reorganize the sections, update the headers, and rewrite points about your experience to reflect your recent accomplishments. For example, instead of “Experience with HPLC,” it is better to explain your accomplishment with a more comprehensive statement, such as “Analyzed 25 samples per week using HPLC, including performing routine maintenance and upgrades to equipment.”
  • Create the best possible basic résumé, then customize it for each position. Your résumé will be one page, or two at most, so make every line count.

For more advice on résumé writing, see Top 10 Early-Career Résumé Mistakes.

2. Take one bite at a time

Make it a priority to spend one hour every day working on your job search. Go someplace quiet, turn your phone off, and make real progress on your search. You don’t have to do everything today, but you have to do some work to accomplish your goal.

3. Create a LinkedIn profile

Your LinkedIn profile is the first place most industrial employers go to find or learn about candidates. If you don’t have an account yet, sign up.

Be sure to:

  • Copy and paste content from your now-awesome résumé into the appropriate sections of your LinkedIn profile.
  • Include a photo—a nice headshot with a plain background (no selfies).
  • Include all the professional skills (and keywords) that are relevant to the type of job you are searching for, and make sure they are consistent with what’s on your résumé. Don’t advertise only your analytical chemistry skills on LinkedIn, and then send a résumé selling your organic chemistry knowledge. Employers like a coherent story.
  • Use your LinkedIn profile to go beyond what’s on your résumé. By joining groups and participating in discussions, and including links to your own blog and publications, you can expand the reach of your profile.

For more tips, check out this Starter Guide to Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn.

4. Perfect your intro speech

When you are interviewing for a position, it is imperative to be prepared. Practice—out loud—your two- or three-sentence response to the questions, “Who are you?” and “What kind of a job are you looking for?”

Describe what you are doing now and where you want to go. For example, “My name is Alex James, and I am about to graduate from Big State University with a B.S. in chemistry. I especially enjoyed my undergraduate research project conducting HPLC analysis of over 50 steroid analogs, and I’m currently seeking an industrial position that will let me expand my skills in this area.”

If you give people enough information so they know what you’re looking for, you can turn your entire network into job search agents.

5. Organize your contacts list

Start a database, spreadsheet, text document, Google Doc, or whatever tool works for you to track all your networking contacts and job leads.

Meticulously record:

  • Names of contacts
  • Dates the contacts were made
  • Conversation topics
  • Information gleaned from the conversation
  • New job leads
  • Anything you might have promised to them, and the due date

Once you have recorded this information, use the document to follow up with all available leads. This can be especially helpful when your contact Victoria suggests you call her contact James. If you documented the conversation, you can contact Victoria afterward and let her know how the conversation went and how much you appreciate the lead.

Create another document to track jobs you have applied for or might want to apply for. Again, keep track of how you heard about the position, who you know at that company, when you applied, which version of your résumé you sent them, and so on. When you meet someone new, you can quickly recall if you have applied to their company and the position you are seeking.

6. Update your references

Keep a references list of the names and contact information for three people who know you well and will speak well of you to potential employers. Make sure to touch base with them regularly. Updating your references on your job search progress is a perfect way to work on making progress so you will have something to tell them.

7. Expand your contacts list

Possible sources of new contacts could include:

  • Current and former employers, teachers, co-workers
  • Current and former classmates
  • Speakers who presented on campus and audience members at their presentations
  • Fellow volunteers at science outreach activities
  • Friends from social clubs and other campus activities
  • Scientific recruiters

Think back through your professional history and identify people with whom you’ve lost touch. Use LinkedIn and other tools to reconnect to rebuild those relationships. Ideally, you will have an in-person conversation, and even a short phone call is better than an e-mail exchange, but whatever they have time for is better than nothing. You can ask for ideas for possible career paths, information about organizations, and especially for introductions to other people.

Recruiters and staffing agencies can be a good way for new graduates to get a first position because they use their professional network on your behalf; however, their primary focus is to fill the position, not to find you a job.

8. Research job listing sites

Using “chem” or “scient” will find many openings, often for jobs you’ve never heard of. Ignore the job titles and focus on the descriptions. Learn what skills employers are looking for and identify keywords to use in your résumé and in future searches. Search popular job websites in your country, on Linkedin, or C&EN jobs.

Other sites to search include:

9. Browse company websites

Study the websites of companies in your local area that hire chemists. Read press releases about new areas of expansion and marketing literature about new products, and sign up for alerts about new information. Will they need people to support their new efforts? Do they sponsor lectures or outreach events where you might meet some of their employees?

You can also inquire about career fairs, where employers come on campus to interview students. The fair may be school-wide or focus on a specific department. If there are none at your school, check nearby schools and ask if you can attend their career fair.

10. Be where the chemists are

Put yourself anywhere that your fellow professional chemists will be. Seminars, student chapter meetings, ACS national and regional meetings, ACS local section meetings… even science nights at local pubs can be great places to meet fellow scientists and learn about the job market.

If you choose to volunteer, find the ACS student chapter, chemical science chapter, or local section near you and get involved with science fairs, tutoring, or outreach events. Volunteering with your fellow professionals showcases your passion for science and your work ethic. 

In summary, don’t panic just because you don’t have a position lined up. There are many things you can do to make yourself more visible and attractive to employers. 

Read How Volunteering Helps You Build Your Résumé.

Bonus: Learn a new skill

It is never too late to learn something new. Look at the skills required for the jobs you’re interested in, determine what you’re missing, and figure out how to get it. Suppose your dream job requires experience collaborating on dynamic teams. You could create a team of students to help each other study for final exams. Assign topics to individual members, arrange meeting times and locations, and find problem sets or sample tests for everyone to work on together. Not only will you be helping yourself, you will be able to add “Organized study team of 10 students” to your résumé!

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