"What am I supposed to do after I submit the job application?" My coaching client in military transition sounded so irritated, I thought he needed an antihistamine. "All I do is second-guess myself and keep checking my email, like they are going to send me a job offer right away. It's making me crazy."
I could see that. As the transition master coach for Military.com, I can teach you everything you need to know about military transition, but I can't make it easy. What I can do for transitioning military members, veterans and job-seeking military spouses is to make it methodical.
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Based on countless interviews with hiring managers, recruiters and military hiring teams, here is what you should do after you submit your application:
1. Congratulate Yourself
In a market that is flooded with applicants, getting your checklist resume and required materials submitted as early as possible is the first step to your success.
I know you are probably second-guessing yourself that you should have reached out to your contact before you pushed the send key. That is only required if you had to list their name on the application itself. Otherwise, you need to be first in the bucket of applicants. Well-done, you.
2. Reach Out to Anyone You Know Who Works There
The internal referral is your best bet in getting your resume read by a real person. Many companies rely heavily on internal referrals to find new employees. Some have a policy that if an applicant is referred by an employee, that resume must be included in the packet submitted to the hiring manager.
Go ahead and shoot them an email now. Believe me: If someone told you in your informational interviews that they would be happy to submit for you on the employee portal, they meant it. After all, if you get hired, there might be something in it for them.
3. Identify Another Contact at the Company on LinkedIn
To find out whether you know anyone else at the company, go to LinkedIn. From your profile page, click "My Network." Then click "Connections." Click "Current Company" and type in the name of the company where the job is. You might be surprised who you already know there. Shoot them a message and tell them you found a listing.
4. Capture the Job Title and the Listing in a Document
I know you think you will remember the name of this perfect job, the description and when you applied. This is not how brains work. Brains drop any information they aren't going to need immediately pretty quickly, especially during military transition.
You cannot rely on going back to find the listing when the interview request comes in. Copy and paste the listing into a document so it is available when you get the call for an interview. It is so much easier to be an interview genius when you know what the questions about the job are likely to be.
5. Make an Alert for That Job Title
Now that you know the name of a job that suits your skills, capture that job title and make an alert on LinkedIn. You can make up to 20 job alerts on LinkedIn at any one time.
6. Follow the Company on Linkedin
While you are on LinkedIn, go ahead and follow the company. It saves time when you are preparing for an interview.
7. Stop Checking Your Email
I know you are perfect for that job. And I know you really, really, really want that invite to come so you can get a job and stop worrying about this all the time. That said, a watched email account never boils.
Watching it wastes valuable time you need to engage in the actions that actually lead to a job, like networking with past colleagues. Take one of our upcoming military transition master classes. Get an industry mentor. Go to industry breakfasts and talk to people at your table or on your row. Attending ball games and your wife's company picnic and doughnut morning at church. All those rando things matter.
8. Apply to Something Else
When you get right down to it, getting a job is a numbers game. It is a very tedious, exasperating, enervating, exhilarating numbers game. After you have done all the things on this list, tell yourself you have, in fact, done all you can and release your expectations. Turn back to the work and apply to something else. You are going to be thrilled when the interview requests start rolling in.
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