The irony of job search tips: there’s so much available that before you land on some nugget of insight or another, you don’t have to waste more than four seconds googling. And, at the same time, there is so much available that some of it completely contradicts other advice that you may find it can easily overwhelm you. What, in fact, is probably the exact opposite result you are looking for in the first place when you go sleuthing for truly useful counsel.

The job search can feel so daunting with everyone you meet throwing their way different advice. So, here are a few very important tips.

Make yourself an obvious fit 

When you apply for a job through an online application process, it is very likely that your resume will be screened first by a tracking system for the applicant, and then assuming that you are making this first cut on human eyeballs. The first human eyeballs to review your resume are always those of a lower level HR employee or recruiter, who may or may not understand all the complexities of the position you are applying for.

During your job hunt, don’t restrict yourself to online applications

Want to last on this job search? Well then keep relying solely on submitting applications online. Do you like to pick up this bad boy? Once you apply for that position online, don’t stop. Start finding, and then endeavoring to people who work at an interesting business. Scheduling interviews with prospective peers. An internal recruiter approaches and asks a few questions. Get on the radar of the very people who can manipulate you to get an interview.

Know that your resume

Your new resume is good. Your profile on LinkedIn, breathtaking. However, if they don’t spot you as a perfect fit for a specific role you ‘re gunning for, don’t be afraid to change the wording, turn main words around, and swap in and out bullet points. Your resume is not a tattoo, and your LinkedIn profile is not. Throughout your job search and career treat them as living, breathing documents.

Be professional throughout your job search

Don’t get me wrong, you will consider yourself as polished, articulate, and competent in the pursuit of your work. But this is converted into Must by other men. Be. Be. Bored.

Realize that few people get hired because their cover letters contained perfect white space, memorized all the right interview questions, or used incredibly safe, common phraseology throughout their resumes. Some of that consistency will make you look fake and unreal. Rather encourage yourself to be polished as well as endearing. Memorable, likable leaders are the ones that go the distance almost always.

If you are not on LinkedIn, you are almost non-existent

This is not an underestimate, considering that more than 90 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary search tool. When you’re a professional you don’t just need to be on LinkedIn, you need to use it to your full advantage. Believe me not? Think about it this way: if a recruiter logs on to LinkedIn tomorrow morning in search of someone in your geography with experience in what you’re doing and you’re not there? Do you guess who they will find and get in touch? Yeah, the name of that person isn’t yours.

Thank You 

We once put a candidate in an engineering role with a company that produces laboratory equipment. He competed head-to-head with another engineer, who had similar talents and just as badly wanted the job. Within two hours of leaving their offices, my candidate sent a thoughtful, non-robotic thank you note to each person he had interviewed with. The other nominee did not send out anything.

Can you know why my applicant got this job offer? Yep, thank you for the thoughtful, non-robotic notes. They sealed the deal for him, considering in particular that the other front runner had sent nothing.

Conclusion

You’ll instantly set yourself apart by lining up with people inside the companies you want to work at. Decision-makers interview people who come as recommended or through a personal referral before starting to sort through the blob of resumes that arrives through the ATS.