How to find your dream job with Pareto's Principle

Laptop with Google search on screen, placed on a desk with a phone and notebook.

A bad market, lack of employment, overqualified, underqualified… There can be many things attributable to a person’s thus far unsuccessful job search. Many of these factors can be extremely valid, but you can also work methodically and strategically to ensure you don’t encounter these objections often. How? Something called Pareto’s Principle.

Pareto’s Principle is a basic principle that can be used highly effectively in business management and sales. Put simply, Pareto’s Principle shows us how the vast majority of our inputs don’t result in desired outputs. This is called the 80/20 rule and was coined when Vilfredo Pareto noticed that 80% of Italy’s wealth was held by 20% of the population. There are important examples in business worth noting, like the fact that often 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your client base.

But this can also be applicable in everyday life. At home, 20% of your carpet will often receive 80% of the wear. In your bedroom, 20% of your wardrobe will be worn 80% of the time. Your seats, 20% of your house’s seating will be used 80% of the time. Sound correct? Well, how can we apply this principle for a more effective job search?

By Pareto’s definition, only 20% of the jobs that you spend your time on and apply for will bring you 80% of the success rate (phone interviews, interviews and in turn, offers). Find those 20% before investing your time.

If you look at 20 jobs on Seek, pick out the four that are your “20%”. This should be based on factors such as:

Selection criteria matching your background
Culture fit looking like it fits your personality
Something you could be passionate/excited about

Now that you have decided on the roles you have most chance of obtaining, you can use the extra time being more strategic in your attempts to secure them:

Keep a list of every specific job you are applying for
Tailor your resume to match each of those specific jobs
Create a cover letter with bullet points reflecting why you match their specific criteria
On your list, create a column to remind you to follow up regularly (once a week often recommended) to find out the progress of your application

Once you have created your list and used your additional time more efficiently, you will have a lot more time to spend on other areas of your job search including:

Updating your LinkedIn profile and connecting with appropriate contacts
Attending networking events specific to your field of work
Joining appropriate networking groups on LinkedIn
Approaching companies directly who may not necessarily have advertised, but who you think could benefit from your skill set

Hopefully when all of these things are put into place it should make your job search more efficient and prioritise the things that are more likely to get you a new role. If you need help or advice with any of the above, please feel free to reach out and I will be more than happy to help: stuartsmyth@michaelpage.com.au

01/03/2018