Trying to find a job is like finding a needle in a haystack. You spend so much time filling out applications, tailoring your resume for each position, anxiously waiting for responses, and hoping for an interview. The entire process is just so stressful where sometimes you get to your point of frustration; you don’t hear back from multiple people, you don’t get the top job on your list, or you miss a deadline. After spending weeks or months searching, you finally get an interview. Now you’re just waiting day-to-day for that acceptance email, and when you see “I’m happy to say…” or “I would like to…” in the notifications you get ecstatic. All the time you put in finally paid off, and you get to tell your friends and parents that you succeeded!

All those moments when you’re feeling stressed and frustrated during the search can be minimized. I’m here to give advice I wish I had during my time of searching for a job to make that haystack a lot smaller to find the needle a lot quicker.

Always have a full, updated resume handy. Have one document with every piece of information and every section typed out in its entirety. You’ll have to make small changes to it for each job, such as deleting sections that aren’t relevant, but that beats having to type out entire sections.

One or two more sets of eyes never hurt. When sending a resume, email, or anything else to a potential employer, always check for spelling and grammatical errors. When reading and seeing a mistake, it’s hard to forget about, isn’t it?

Make time specifically for searching. If you really want a job, set aside time for getting one. Putting it off for your free time won’t be as effective—you may not even have free time for a day or two.

Use your resources! Talk to your family, your friends, the friends of your family, the friends of your friends, or anyone that might know of any open positions. News can travel fast through word-of-mouth in the job industry. When a manager is looking at your resume and remembers hearing good things about you from their friend, you have a better chance at getting a response.

Appearance matters. If you’re not sure, assume everything is professional attire. Always arrive ready to meet the president of the company. Body language is also important. Watching hand placement, posture while sitting or standing, and nervous sweating/shaking will show whether you’re confident or not. (Tip inside a tip—use Chapstick. You’ll be speaking with others, and think about it: where do you look if you can’t fully hear someone? Their lips.)

Research the company. When going for an interview, the company will almost always ask what you know about them. If you can rattle off small facts, their mission statement, or their products it will show you dedicated time to learn about them.

Be confident! As I just stated, employers want to see someone walk in with confidence and speak with it. Confidence is all about being prepared; so practice and use these tips!

Nick Rush ’20 is studying Sports Management and plans on minoring in another business area. He plays baseball for MU, and he plans on working in the sports industry after graduation.