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Organizing Your Job Search

Raise your hand if you’ve been having trouble getting recruiters to respond to you?

Oftentimes, getting their attention begins with something as simple as keeping your search organized. Otherwise, you may find yourself reaching out to the same companies, multiple times, without even realizing it. Not to mention, forgetting to follow up on your applications, or even applying to the exact same jobs repeatedly. Big no-no’s in the eyes of recruiting teams and hiring managers.

Keeping your search organized with the help of our easy-to-use Excel template lets you keep track of the positions you’ve applied to, greatly increasing your chances of landing your next job – and future jobs to come!

But don’t stop there! It’s also important to make sure you are tracking when you’ve applied and when you will want to follow up on your applications, requesting status updates or inquiring about next steps in the process. Once actively interviewing with a team, keeping track of interviewers’ feedback and anticipated hiring timelines are known to help smooth the transition into your new role.

Be ready for your next search by keeping your template handy to help you remember which positions you were declined from, as well as the reasons, like a skills mismatch, or perhaps the position closed or was filled.

The template is completely free to use, and you can download it from here. We’ve included a few How-To Tips below to help you get started.

How To Use the Spreadsheet:

  • Company: In this column, fill in the name of the company you’re applying to.
  • Position: Here, fill in the specific position you are applying to (be sure to include a Job ID, if available).
  • Contact Name: This should be your contact at the company, or the recruiter you are working with for the role. Common company contacts include: Director of Human Resources or the Office Manager. This could also be the person you addressed your cover letter to.
  • Contact Email: Include your contact’s email (or telephone number) if applicable. This is important for your follow-up efforts.
  • Date Applied: This is the date you sent in your application. If you haven’t heard back within a few weeks, don’t wait – see #6 for good follow-up practices.
  • Application Follow-Up Date: Include the date you submitted (or will submit) any follow up materials such as a thank you letter or email. We suggest following up on your application within 2 weeks of your application date, and to continue following up for 3 months unless the company gives you an outright no.
  • Applied VIA: In this column, record the application method you used. Some common examples of these application types include an in-person referral, an application through a recruiter, a LinkedIn connection, direct-apply on a company’s website, or using Job Boards. Be sure to record which one as the same job is often posted to multiple Job Boards by multiple agencies as well as the company itself.
  • Interview Date: This is the date your interview is scheduled for, or if you’ve already interviewed, the day it was on. (Success Tip: Remember to send a Thank You email within 24-hours of your interview.)
  • Application Status: Update this column with the current status of your application (such as if you were accepted, rejected, or asked in for a second interview).
  • Notes: This is a place for you to record any relevant information about the company, position, application, etc.

Feel free to reach out with any questions, we’d love to hear from you! Email works best. recruiting@quardev.com. For more information and new job opportunities, click here.

Happy job searching!

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Lovestruck? How to Find A Job That You Love!

Blog image for Finding a job you love

You’ve heard it before. Love works unexpectedly. You can’t just go out and find love. It happens over time, at the moments you least expect love to happen, it happens. But what about when it comes to your job? Do the same rules apply? When it comes to finding a job that you love, is it really wise to sit back and wait for a job that you love to magically appear? Cupid will be the first to tell you – and we’ll second – that when it comes to finding love, especially a job that you love, sitting back and waiting will only make you wait – and you know you don’t have time for that. The real keys to finding a job that you love, one that can truly have you feeling lovestruck at times, require you to TAKE ACTION!

How? Start today with these Four Keys:

KEY #1 – UNDERSTAND WHAT MOTIVATES YOU. Understanding what motivates you is important because once you know,  it is easier to understand how these drivers fit with the roles or the companies you are looking at. Not to mention, how they fit with the job you have today! Still, while it’s true that everyone is motivated by different things at the workplace, few take the time to truly understand what their motivators are. This will suffice for the short term, but can eventually lead to boredom, frustration, and finding yourself distracted at work asking, the #1 most-Googled career question of 2018 in the US, “how to quit a job.”  So, how do you begin to understand what motivates you in your job? It’s simple, really. All you have to do is ask – yourself that is. And take time to sit and consider your answers.

To begin, here are a few motivators to consider:

Personal relationships. Look for a job that allows you to engage with people directly. Because you value relationships, knowing that others value their relationship with you too, can make the difference between, #lovemyjob and hate it. So, don’t be afraid to take extra time throughout the interview process to observe how your potential new team interacts with each other. Do they value their relationships with each other? Are they respectful? Engaging? Open and emotionally flexible? Walk the office halls and listen for conversation tone, and overall “vibe of good intention”.

Goals and challenges. Be sure to stay on the lookout for where this exists in a potential new role and be quick to make note of them in your current position. Find a job you love by evaluating the complexities in the role – problems to solve, team structure, even the marketplace itself may suffice. Do they leave you feeling fired up and wanting more? This may be the one for you!

Leadership. Feel energized when making key decisions and directing overall team activity in your job? You may find it easier to love your job when it is focused on leadership responsibilities. Still, if you find yourself in a subordinate role, encouraging your manager to provide you a sense of autonomy and ownership over your projects may be all it takes to keep that loving feeling alive.

Sense of Mission. This can be one of the trickiest to identify. So be sure to do some digging during your introspection! You might start by asking yourself how important it is for you to feel like you are helping others or making the world a better place by doing your job. Did you answer, yes, to either of these? A sense of mission is at the top of your love-your-job meter. Happily, this is something you can find in your job easily. All you have to do is look. To take your sense of mission to the next level, initiating a special project or community outreach effort company-wide, is a great way to start.

Creativity. Do you love varied responsibilities that require a wide range of skill and aptitude? These are signs that you are motivated by freedom to be creative. You may recognize that you are bored with day-to-day repetitive processes but shine as bright as a thousand lights during strategy and brainstorming sessions. Consider roles that provide variety and freedom of exploration. Current role leaving you feeling less than inspired? Seek ways to bring more creativity into your workflow. If not day-to-day, perhaps with a special initiative or project, manager approved.

KEY #2 – ASSESS YOUR SKILLS. Once you’ve identified what drives you to go to work every day, it is time to evaluate your skills. This is a combination of technical and non-technical skills. Technical being made up of the technologies and technical tools you bring experience in, such as coding languages, databases, and industry-specific software – and non-technical being everything else from interpersonal skills, to project management, analysis, reporting, presenting, writing, calculations, and the like. For love-at-first-sight, it is critical to know that your skills align with a job’s key requirements BEFORE you apply for the job – and to be continually evaluating how your skills align with your current role. Adding and improving your skills along the way is a great way to keep the love for your job alive.

KEY #3 – START YOUR SEARCH! You’ve done your soul searching and know your skills. No it’s time to look for that first date. Easier said than done, we know. Here are some pointers to help you get started:

Use job boards to search for roles that match your key skills, prior work experience, and – yep, most important – your key motivation.

Speak with recruiters working for the companies and on the roles you find interesting. Share your motivation. Communicate your top skills and your prior work experience. Most recruiters will appreciate your hard work and transparency and use the information to help point you to the teams, roles, and hiring managers that make the best sense for you.

 Research throughout the hiring process.  Check LinkedIn to see if there are company employees you already know and ask them for insight to help you determine if it truly is the one for you. Review the company’s and hiring manager’s social media profiles to gather more impressions. This is a great way to help answer questions about company culture, organizational structure and your likelihood of success or opportunities for advancement too!

Key #4 – PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! We’ve all been there. You bring your date home, or out with your BFFs for the first time and… ugh… it’s all too easy to get caught between what other people think is best for you and what you really KNOW is best for you, based on your motivations, and what it is you want to accomplish in a job that you love. In the end, of course, it’s your choice what career you want to pursue and what job you decide to take.  By keeping these Four Keys in mind, the better are your chances that you’ll find a job you love – and the better your chances of creating a career that continually leaves you feeling lovestruck!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Check out our careers page to see if you can find your perfect job. If you would like more information about how our Quardev Recruiting team can assist you in your career search, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Email works best. contact@quardev.com.

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Top 6 reasons to join Quardev

Are you ready to work for a company that values you and not just your skills? Consider Quardev. We’re a team of professionals who are smart, passionate and committed to having fun innovating and helping businesses succeed.  Here are top 6 reasons to join our team.

Top 6 reasons to join quardev

If you would like more information about how our Quardev Recruiting team can assist you in your career search, please don’t hesitate to reach out at contact@quardev.com. For more information and new job opportunities, click here.

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