The 10-5-3 Strategy

10 Companies

5 Positions

3 Applications

Losing your mind on the job hunt?

This is Abi's recommended job hunt strategy. It consists of three simple steps, two of which are research based. The strategy is meant as a guideline to help candidates get started with job hunting and begin to understand the market. It is not a guarantee. Instead, it is the way to approach the job hunt without losing your mind.

1. Research 10 companies

The first step is to research 10 companies. Ask yourself the following questions.

~ What size of company do I want to work for?

~ What type of industries interest me?

~ What sort of company aligns with my values?

There are many more questions to consider but these should get you started. From there, begin your research! Find at least 10 companies that fit with the answers to your questions.

2. Find 5 positions

This is the easy step! Look at the job postings for your companies and pick out 5 that you might be interested in applying for. Keep these in a list since you may use them later.

3. Apply 3 times

This is the hard step. First, pick 3 of the job postings off your list. For each of those, do the following.

~ Tailor every part of your resume to match the job posting.

~ Create a custom cover letter for the job posting

~ Research the company on LinkedIn and message 2-3 people who work at the company.

Why this strategy?

The reasoning for this strategy is hidden in each of the steps. The first step makes you figure out what you want. The second step is the traditional job hunting part. The third step is the special sauce of this strategy. Folks looking at your resume have probably seen 100s of generic resumes. By tailoring yours, you stand out as a beacon of hope to them that their candidate hunt is finally over. Then they see your cover letter that is also customized for them and to them. This seals the deal. However, that does not always work. So now you need visibility in the company. That is why you want to reach out to the people working there.

LinkedIn contact template

I know this is the scariest part so here is some bonus advice. This is Abi's template for reaching out to people on LinkedIn in 300 characters or less!

1. Intro and soft ask

2. Background and connection point

3. Thanks and removal of obligation

I'm a front-end engineer and I saw that you do a lot of front-end work, would you be interested in telling me more about your career? I noticed you contributed to an open source project and that sounds really interesting to me! Thanks for reading this and obviously no pressure!

Thanks!

Thanks for reading and best of luck to you! The job hunt can be exhausting but we can all get through this together.