Isn’t it great when you are “in love” with your job? Whether it’s because it’s challenging, your boss is inspiring, your colleagues create a delightful atmosphere and/or your salary is super satisfying. If these are not the cases and you are looking for a change, keep reading to find out how you can smoothly land a new job in the IT industry.

The pursuit of happiness

You spend 1/3 of your day at the office, which means you spend more time with your colleagues than with your family and friends. So, for most people, work in a place that makes them happy is a must. The feeling of not growing, conflicts with colleagues and management, bad working conditions and salary are, generally, what makes someone not happy about their workplace and that’s when they start looking for a new job.

Understanding your personality and drive before looking for a new job

Depending on your personality, you need to understand why you want to find a new job and what would it take to make you happy. Ask yourself these questions:

• What kind of job would I like? Which roles?
• What kind of technologies would I like to work with?
• What kind of team would I like to have?
• Do I prefer consulting / outsourcing and a product/project-oriented job?
• What salary would I like?
• Would I like to work remote?
• What values do I look for in a company?

We also recommend you to think about your next job in 3 different perspectives:

Social: Do you need to be part of an active team? A team that does a lot of activities like lunches or drinks after work. Or you do not care at all?

Challenge: Are you a career-oriented person that needs to feel a constant growth? Do you prefer projects that can change the world? Or do you need a stable job, with no extra-hours where you can plan ahead your day?

Salary: How much more should you earn to feel happy?

After answering these questions, you’re ready for the next phase.

The next (right) steps to find your next IT job

Here are some tips on how to approach the market and increase your chances to get a job that fits you:

1.Update your CV and LinkedIn profile

Having your CV and LinkedIn profile updated is the very basic. We know how boring it is to update them, so let us give you a hint: at sprintcv.com you can easily create your profile and automatically generate your CV in many templates in less than 30 seconds.

2. Take the initiative and grab the opportunity

It’s also time to let your network know that you are available! LinkedIn is great to find job vacancies, so make sure you enable this option at your profile preferences. Also, search for companies where you would like to work, follow them and connect with people that work there – this will increase your chances of getting noticed when you apply.

Adding valuable connections such as recruiters on LinkedIn works well if you actually make a connection with them. Start a conversation by thanking them for accepting your connection and show that you care about them – this can be easily done by congratulating them for late developments and projects on their company. Also, this will trigger them to open your LinkedIn profile, evaluate your professional experience and match your skills with an open position. This little trick can really put you one step ahead!

3. Share your CV in the right CV template

You know that your CV is your business card to your future boss, right? The IT world is tricky and each company as their own procedures, so why not ask recruiters which CV template they prefer? This will prevent you from sending a one-page when they actually prefer a 5 page super detailed CV. You can find some more tips about the importance of the right CV template here.

Also, pay attention to the fact that, if you submit your CV through a company website, it will, in most cases, be analysed by an Application Tracking System (ATS). This will happen even before it reaches the eyes of the recruiter, so you need to make sure that your CV is ATS-friendly.

4. Put yourself in a position of power

We suggest you to enter in as many recruitment processes as you can – also, share this with the companies involved, so the processes speed up and they close the deal as soon as possible with you.

Also, don’t say “No” to a company just because you are about to close the deal with another one. Be clear about what you have been offered so they feel the clock ticking on their side.

More than that, don’t be afraid of declining the first offers since companies have the flexibility to increase it in 10%-20%. If the increase doesn’t match your standards, gently ask them to review the offer even if it includes saying that another company wants to pay you X% higher. You are “kindly” putting the ball in their side and not rejecting it.

To sum up, these are the steps to follow when you are looking for a new IT job:

1. Assess what kind of job you are looking for
2. Update your CV and LinkedIn profile
3. Apply for new job opportunities
4. Expand and make an actual connection with your network
5. Adapt your CV to the company’s needs
6. Be open to different recruitment processes at the same time and let them know
7. Select the best offer taking into account your needs and balance

Sprint CV – Free coaching and CV review

At Sprint CV, our mission is to help IT consultants boosting their career. We will provide you with free guidance if you need:

• A second opinion on your CV;
• Advice on how to get a better job;
• To look for connections to work in European Institutions;

Feel free to reach out to our founder on Linkedin or via Email.

We wish you the best luck finding your next challenge! 🙂