Six habits of a smarter job hunt

When the job market tightens, most people respond by applying to more jobs. More applications, same CV, same results. I’ve coached job seekers for over ten years, and the ones who land roles in hard markets aren’t the ones sending the most applications. They’re the ones who change how they search.

These are the six habits I come back to with almost every client. They’re in no particular order, and you need all of them. Drop one and it shows.

1. Take your faith seriously

I’m a man of faith, so I’ll start where I start. I’ve seen too many job offers arrive in ways no plan could explain, in my own life and in my clients’ lives, to leave this out. I once told a Muslim client to take her relationship with Allah more seriously. She did, and she had an offer the next month.

A client once asked me what this means for atheists. I don’t know. Atheists get jobs too. What I do know is that faith doesn’t replace effort. You still have to do everything you ethically can, which is what the other five habits are about.

2. Network with something to offer

Your most valuable resource in a job hunt is information: which roles are open before they’re posted, what a fair salary looks like, where your application is stuck. Information comes from people, and people share it with those they trust.

At Accra Academy we had a rule called NCNC: No Contribution, No Chop. At lunch, everyone pooled what they had. Water, shito, tinned fish, gari. If you had nothing else, you brought your bowl, and the biggest bowl in the dorm was a real contribution. You walked away fuller than your share alone could have made you.

Networking works the same way. Bring something to the table, and you leave with more than you brought. If you don’t have a skill to offer yet, offer your time. Volunteering lets people see your work ethic up close, and that’s how people end up recommended for roles they never applied to.

Do it in person at events, and online on LinkedIn.

3. Build your CV on results

Your CV is the first thing an employer sees of your value, so it has to show what you’ll contribute. That means measured results from your past roles, not a list of duties. The employer already knows what an accountant does. They want to know what you changed.

Keep a master CV with everything you’ve achieved: work, leadership, volunteering. When you apply, build a version from it that matches the job description. A supply chain CV and a sales CV should look different. My recruiter friend Jonas calls the alternative “spray and pray,” and it stopped working a long time ago.

When you finish, read it as the hiring manager and ask one question: would this person make my business better?

Then keep your LinkedIn profile active. It’s your CV that recruiters can find without you applying.

4. Send a cover letter, even when it’s optional

A good cover letter explains why you want this job and backs it up with your best qualifications, skills, and results, pulled from your tailored CV. One page. Say what draws you to the company, not to employers in general.

For email applications:

• If a cover letter isn’t requested, attach your CV and paste the cover letter as the body of the email.
• If it is requested, attach both, and keep the email body to a short, professional note.
• Always write a clear subject line with the job title or reference number and your name, e.g. Sales Executive application – Abena Yalley. If the posting specifies a subject, use exactly that.

5. Start interview prep the day you apply

Everything above gets you into the room. The interview is where you justify your place on the team, as footballers say.

Some employers add an aptitude test first. Treat it like an exam and practise. Interviews come in many forms: phone, video, group exercises, panels, even a “casual” lunch. Prepare for all of them.

I tell clients to start preparing the moment they submit an application. Even if that one doesn’t call you back, another will. Rehearse out loud, ideally in front of someone who’ll be honest with you. Answer situational questions with a structure like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or CARL (Context, Action, Result, Learning). If your CV is built on results, you already have most of your answers.

6. Manage your expectations

This is my favourite one, and the one I spend the most time on with clients.

You can do everything right and still not get the job. Hiring has biases. My first job came after six months of interning without pay. Applicants with more experience applied for the same role, and I got in with two other interns. Not because I was the strongest candidate on paper, but because the company had watched me work for six months. Even a nervous interview wouldn’t have sunk me.

The same bias can work against you. When a rejection comes, it doesn’t mean you aren’t good. Find out why if you can, learn what there is to learn, and move on. Hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Which habit matters most?

I get asked this a lot. Treat them as six glass balls you’re juggling. They all matter, and dropping any one of them can cost you the offer.

Companies are still hiring. Keep going.