What is reverse job search and how to do it effectively to land a job?

You are probably hearing this term “Reverse job search” for the first time, but many creative people are doing it already and succeed in landing a job through it.

It is also termed as reverse job application.

The difference between normal Vs. reverse job search is summed up effectively in the image below.

Reverse Job Search Versus Normal Job Search Methodology

Create a Website & attach a domain name like LeonCV.com.

Instead of having a resume as PDF, you need to create a website & attach a domain name like YourName.com as a first step.

Install an SSL certificate.

Submit your resume website to search engines like Google and Bing.

Include a contact form for people to contact you on your website.

All this seems to be a lot of work, ResponsiveCV simplifies it all for you, so that you can focus on your connections & networking.

See how to Create a Resume Website like https://LeonCV.com in 2 Minutes.

Do a Video CV

Do a short video introduction and post it on YouTube.

Make it short. It should be less than a minute or two.

The idea is to give a head start, not to provide them with complete details.

At the end of the video, mention your website link & ask to check it for more details.

Speak confidently in the introduction, not to let anyone know that you’re desperate to get the job.

Post the video link as the first part of your website and in your LinkedIn profile.

Here is a sample which I feel is a bit exaggerated introduction, but you get the idea very clearly.

Personal branding & SEO

You have to do some research to do the step effectively. Also, it would be best if you had some patience. It takes months to see results.

The idea is to spread the knowledge you have through blogging, YouTube videos, write answers on Quora, engage with stack overflow community, and in every single place, link back to your WebSite link where your CV resides.

This process is the slowest of all, but you get delighted with the results as time goes by.

It gets results even after ten years.

You may be thinking, what is the use-value if it get results after ten years when you are not looking?

Experienced chess players always think two steps ahead of the game. They are the ones who mostly win in the game.

Here the game is different, but are you willing to be like one of them?

The goal here is not to win the battle. It’s to win the war.

Think how easy it would be your next job search is going to be once your brand is established online.

Once you build your brand online is established, it’s tough to take it away from you. You are the person in control of a career, not others.

As you grow, you can always make changes to your website to suit your needs.

Here is a case study of Reverse Job Search

Andrew Horner is a fresher out of college who didn’t get a job for two years after he passed out in 2009.

Ten years later, in JUNE 2020, when this post was composed, his work is still available & he is known for what he did in 2009.

He speaks about how he landed a job after two years through a reverse job search in this link 

 This case study proves that Reverse Job Search works even for freshers even during the period of recession.

Professional Networking

I am not going to speak about professional networking on LinkedIn as everyone does that today.

The first step is to get in touch with friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

Next is reaching out to someone whom you don’t know, which is not easy.

Get a monthly gym membership, Coverall gyms in your area month by
month to connect with the people.

Most people offer carpool on the way to work, join with them, and ask for a reference. It works most of the time.

I got many referrals on connecting to people during carpool.

The idea is to connect with people off-line, FACE to FACE.

CONCLUSION

Traditional job search may work well for people with less than ten years of experience.

After that, it becomes tough to land a job through traditional methods.

It becomes crucial for every individual to build a professional brand online.

Remember, in the job market, you are the product, and how much you are worth depends on how effectively you sell yourself.

I recommend reading a book – The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz to get great ideas about selling yourself better.

If you want to know a simple math of how many people you are going to compete with, do a reverse candidate search on LinkedIn for your role.

So decide now, start to take action to be unique than the rest of them.

Start by creating a resume website →