Career Hacks

11 Life Hacks to Make Applying for Jobs More Bearable

Posted on by Charmaine Pocek
04
Mar

Filling out resumes. Scouring LinkedIn for recruiters. Poring over your LinkedIn profile for errors. Bolstering your portfolio. So much to do, so little time! It goes without saying that applying for job takes time and energy. It can be exhausting and emotionally draining. But with these tips, you can save time, work smarter, and get put your job search on the fast track.

tips to remember when applying for jobs

Quick Hacks for Word to Remember When Applying for Jobs

  • Highlight a selection of text and hit Shift + F3 to make that selection ALL CAPS (Shift + Fn+ F3 on a Mac) Also works the other way around in case you’re the kind of person who typed, “PLEASE HIRE ME THANKS” and realized that might be too aggressive.
  • If you accidentally close a Word file without saving (or, let’s be honest, Word crashes on you for no reason) search your hard drive for a .asd file. When prompted, tell your computer to use Word to open. (Only works for Windows) Voila–your deleted resume is back in your hot little hands!
  • To paste information into your resume without pasting the formatting, paste using Shift + Control + V. (Control + Command + V on a Mac)
  • To start a bulleted list of your achievements, type an asterisk (*) followed by the space bar. Word will do the rest. Let your thoughts flow without worrying about formatting!
  • Did you know that Word has a monthly subscription service? You can basically rent it while you need it and then cancel when you’re done. Or choose OpenOffice, which is similar but open source and completely free.

Tune In or Tune Out

If you’ve been tirelessly toiling away on your resume and you’re starting to feel the burn, it might be time for some musical inspiration.

  • Check out Hans Zimmer on Pandora, YouTube, or Spotify. His music is uplifting and inspiration–and best of all, has no lyrics to distract you. The music will give you energy and help you focus as you search for your typos and think of creative new ways to say, “I did my job the best way I know how.”
  • Simplynoise.com lets you pick your poison with many different white noise sounds to give you the peace of mind you need to get cracking on your cover letter. This is great if you’re the kind of person who finds rain or coffeehouse chatter soothing, but it’s sunny, and you’re trapped in your mom’s basement. Alone.

When Applying for Jobs, Get Schooled!

You’ve probably heard of Lynda.com, perhaps the best place online for learning nearly anything technical from photography to Google Adwords. But it’s not exactly cheap. (Though if you work for a big company, ask if your organization has a membership! You might be surprised!) In lieu of Lynda, also check out:

  • Udemy
  • Coursera
  • YouTube: While this one is more self-service and you’ll have to dig for the good stuff, with the right search terms and a bit of patience, you’d be surprised what you can learn for free.

Eat Delicious Cake

Turn any box cake mix into bakery-style perfection by adding an extra egg, replacing oil with butter, and substituting milk for water. What does this have to do with job hunting? You either know or you don’t, my friend. You either know or you don’t.

Happy hunting!