The EASY APPLY button on LinkedIn can be a convenient way to apply for multiple jobs quickly using either your profile on LinkedIn, or a generic resume.
But I can tell you from experience that mindlessly “spraying” your resume/LinkedIn profile everywhere and hoping something will stick is equivalent to throwing a dart in the dark and hoping it hits the bullseye. Yeah, sure, it could work. But it is an exercise in futility and you will only frustrate yourself.
In this post, we’ll go over the steps you should take to make using the EASY APPLY function on LinkedIn a productive tool for you as you search for your new or next role.
Step 1: Define your ideal role
Before you go using the EASY APPLY function, take some time to think about the exact type of role you want. It’s important to consider your skills, interests, and career goals to narrow down your focus. By defining your ideal role(s), you can ensure that you’re applying for positions that align with your aspirations.
In my case, three types of roles were at the top of my list when I did this kind of introspection: medical writing, medical affairs, and becoming a teaching professor.
If you’re wondering what kinds of non-academic jobs you could qualify for with a master’s or PhD, download the career list I created.
Once you define the kind of role(s) you want, jump to the next step.
Step 2: Research your job titles
A great place to start your research is on LinkedIn. As one of the most popular professional networking platforms, LinkedIn provides a wealth of job-related information. Here’s how you can use LinkedIn to research your job title:
- Log into LinkedIn and use the search bar to look for the types of roles you’ve narrowed down.
- Read the job descriptions for the first 5 jobs that show up in the search. These are often the most closely related to the search term you typed into LinkedIn.
- As you read, take note of recurring skills, qualifications and even phrasing across those 5 job descriptions.
- Copy and paste those recurring skills, and words into an Excel Spreadsheet or a Word document. This will be a “skills document” of sorts that you can use throughout your job application process, all the way through interviewing. Furthermore, a skills document will help you identify any gaps in your skill set, giving you the opportunity to upskill or gain relevant experience before applying.
Step 3: Create a generalized resume for that SPECIFIC job
Once you have identified the required skills for the job you are applying for in the previous step, it is now time to create a general resume for that type of role using the common keywords from your skills document. This general resume will be specific for a type of role though. I know this is really a play on words here. But the idea here is that if you create this general resume for the kind of role you want, based on the research described above, you can use this resume to apply for multiple similar roles.
Using this rule, I created a separate resume for all the three types of roles I mentioned above. I had a resume for medical writing, a resume for medical affairs, and a resume for teaching professor roles.
As you create this resume, make sure you are bringing the skills you already have to the forefront and making it painfully obvious that you will be an excellent candidate for the job.
Step 4: Feel free to use the EASY APPLY button
Now that you have a resume that is generalized and yet which has your relevant skills highlighted and keywords sprinkled all throughout your resume appropriately, feel free to use that EASY APPLY button!
You’re more likely to get more callbacks with this strategic approach.
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