How to Get Your Dream Job After Leaving a Toxic Workplace

So, you finally did it. After plenty of soul-searching, reflection, and outweighing pros and cons, you’ve finally handed in your two weeks’ notice. You have a variety of reasons too – stress has been taking a toll on your mental and physical health, management has made results a priority over the well-being of its employees, you just can’t stand all the negativity that welcomes you every day – but for brevity, you simply say that you seek a greener pasture, because... why not? You deserve it for sticking around for so long!

Except, you haven’t applied for thatcompany yet.

Of course, your reasons are valid. Maybe all of your free time has been dedicated to doing pointless tasks day in and day out, you haven’t had the time to even craft a decent resume and cover letter. Maybe your superiors keep badgering you about impossible targets and quotas, you simply don’t have the mental energy to update your LinkedIn profile, let alone search for opportunities.

It’s also been a few years since college, with all the resume-building and interview simulations long forgotten. You sit at your computer, wondering how you will condense years of experience into two pages, and make it compelling enough to catch the eye of a recruiter.

Well, if you’re reading this right now, you’re in luck! We’ve simplified a few tips and tricks to creating a good resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile that will surely land you that job you have always wanted!

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Step One: Update your resume

Creating a good resume is always the best place to start. Make a list of everything you have achieved so far in your career. Think about the times your contributions brought positive change to your previous employer. Take credit where credit is due, maybe your work brought in awards, or recognition to the company? This is not the time to be humble, so make sure to use strong verbs or adjectives that describe yourachievements.

Having a good summary is also a crucial element of modern resumes. Two to three sentences will always get the job done. You will also want to tailor your summary to your application’s needs.

Here is an example of how you can describe yourself in the summary:

Passionate healthcare professional andwellness advocate, specializing in preventive care and rehabilitation.

Here are some other tips that may help.

1.    Think about how you want to introduce yourself to your new employer. How would you describe yourself? Use capital letters to describe anything you want to call yourself – a Project Manager, a Social Media Producer, or a Designer – don’t be humble!

2.    Learn more about the position you are applying for. What does the job description entail? What skills are needed for the position? Does the position need a certain number of years’ worth of experience? Once you have identified the needed skills, make sure to include the skills YOU have and that YOU will bring to the company.

3.    Quantify your skills and your experiences. Have you completed any training? Did you earn certifications, licenses or any other credentials as proof of these skills? Have you done anything significant for the company that improved certain systems or increased sales?

4.    Keep it brief. A recruiter willnot want to read more than two pages when they have dozens of other resumes toread.

Lastly, don’t forget to add your contact details! Make sure that these are placed right under your name too. Also, keep the entire design as minimal as possible, with no distracting colors or images.

Step Two: Create a compelling cover letter

While the resume provides all the information about you that tells employers about what you will bring to the table, a cover letter is usually the preface to your resume. It is the written equivalent of a first impression, especially if you will be applying through e-mail.

Your cover letter needs to highlight the fact that you, the applicant, are the perfect fit for the position you are applying for. It’s not enough that you have a resume that lists down everything you have achieved so far. The cover letter answers the question, “Why should we hire you among the dozens of people with qualifications similar to yours?”

Just like your resume, the cover letter needs to be tailored to the position you are applying for. Explain briefly why this job is a perfect fit for you. Do you fit the job’s required skillset, personality profile, educational attainment, or experience needed? Are you amenable to putting in extra effort to be trained if you are lacking inexperience? Have you ever handled tasks with a previous employer that are similar to what you will be doing with the position you are applying for? Be sure to get that all down.

Step Three: Update, or create, a LinkedIn profile

Whether you like it or not, social media is now a part of a recruiter’s way to learn more about their applicants. Social media may have started as a way to reconnect with friends and family all overthe globe, but it is still one-way recruiters can verify if you are a real person or not. They might not be able to access your Instagram or Facebook profiles if your profiles are private or see your tweets if you are using a pseudonym on Twitter.

Creating a LinkedIn profile is fairly straightforward. Just visit their website and you will be guided along the way. If you already had one, well, time to update everything that needs to be updated! Make sure to add the awards, recognition, and achievement you achieved through the years.

Best of luck to you and we hope this helps you land that perfect job! Life is too short to stay in a toxic workplace.

I know this is a lot to take in or you are very busy or still is having a hard time creating your optimized and buzzword-heavy resume, cover letter and LinkedIn content, here at Tailored Resume, we can help you create the application must-haves that will let you shine even more! Why wait? Hire us now!

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