Job Hunting 💼 🔎 Your Strategy to Land A Job + Templates

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By: Mayra

Hey, recent graduates: applying to jobs is not a numbers game. Sending out countless identical applications and crossing your fingers might seem like the easy way when you're in need for a job.

But before you head down the road of burnout, I’m here to tell you that your energy is precious, and in this journey, a strategy is your best compass.

As an international student, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the Canadian job market, unsure how to stand out among thousands of applicants.

I spent hours researching, tailoring my resume, building my portfolio, updating my LinkedIn and refining my strategy behind everything. So, trust me: if you're feeling lost, frustrated, or anxious about your job search, I completely understand, AND it is not your fault! Job-hunting is a challenging and humbling experience.

Now that you are here, you can take a deep breath, put on your self-advocate-strategist hat, and dive deep into my step-by-step job hunt guide.

Before you even look at a job board, let’s do some self-reflection. Be incredibly honest about your skills and experience.

Grab a notebook and answer these questions:
What are you genuinely good at? What type of experience do you have, paid or volunteering? What workshops, courses, and certifications have you taken? What tasks do you enjoy doing for long periods of time, and which ones drain your energy? What type of environment do you thrive in? What are your career goals and dreams? How do you wish to feel on a daily basis?

After you answer these questions, take a moment to analyze them. Do you notice a pattern?

This simple audit forms the foundation of your job search, helping you target roles that actually align with your strengths, interests, or previous experience. Choose one or two roles that you are targeting and stick to those.

I used to get repelled by the idea of “marketing myself” 🫠 I wanted to be valued for who I was, and I thought that to market myself, I needed to become “someone else”.

But in this process, I learned one big lesson:
Marketing Yourself means owning your story. Owning your story means advocating for yourself.

If we don’t clearly communicate who we are, what we bring to the table, and what we are passionate about. We either confuse people or give them the chance to interpret us however they want.

You want to be exceptionally clear about what you bring to any team, the story behind it and the metrics/projects that back that up! This is how you authentically sell yourself to potential employers.

Here’s my process as an example:

My background might seem a bit all over the place. I have experience as a teacher, a photographer, a creative entrepreneur and a marketing assistant at the SSU.

After analyzing my experience, I decided to position myself as "A Storyteller turned into a Marketing Specialist." Someone who's passionate about using her marketing skills to tell stories not just visually but also strategically.

This way, when people see my experience, instead of thinking “this looks like a scattered lost soul,”

I tell them that I know how to create stories (photography). I tell them I know how to sell those stories (I built my own brand). And lastly, I tell them I thrive in mission-driven organizations (as evidenced by my experience at SSU).

This is where strategic storytelling becomes your best asset.

Instead of just listing your degree requirements, tell the story of the unique perspective you bring to the table. Find ways to sell any big or small experience, volunteering project, college assignment, or any side gig you might find relevant!

Now it’s time to put that story on paper.

As I said earlier, your story is your north star! Use it to create your resume, cover letter, and portfolio. You don’t have to be super literal; just make sure everything you include is RELEVANT to your story.

For example, if you are applying for jobs in the non-profit sector and have volunteered at non-profits in the past, make sure to include that experience on your resume! The information you choose to share, its the story you are telling.

While creating your resume, using a trusted format is KEY because it not only makes it more presentable but also ensures your document is clean, professional, and easy for applicant tracking systems to read. You can check the resume template I used here.

For your cover letter, (and this might be a hot take), 🙅🏼‍♂️ don't just paste the job description into an AI and submit whatever cover letter it generates.

Instead, write it yourself, aligned with your market positioning, or, if you are using AI, tweak it until it feels genuine to you. Trust me on this one, recruiters smell AI-written letters! 

I used this video to help me write mine. I feel like it’s worth the watch even just to gather insight!

I know there are HUNDREDS of tips and tricks for when applying to jobs, so I’m just adding the ones that I practice myself. I try to stick to this checklist to avoid getting lost in the endless online advice. Feel free to follow what makes sense to you and your specific industry!

Job application best practices:

⏰ Apply ASAP or let it go! Apply as early as possible, if you see a job posting that seems interesting but it’s been up for a month or more and has +200 applicants, they most likely are close to hiring someone if not already did. Focus on the ones posted the same day or the same week.
⚠️ Set your alerts correctly. Use different Job Search Websites to set daily job alerts so that anytime a new job posting (relevant to you) goes live, you can hopefully be one of the first in line to apply!
🗣️ Reach out to the right people. After you apply for a job you’re very excited about, look for the company/hiring manager on LinkedIn to see if you have any mutual connections. If you do → ask your connection if they can introduce you! If not → send them a short but sweet pitch message to the hiring manager! Especially if it’s a smaller company.
🌟 Quality over Quantity! Prioritize the quality and strategy behind every job application: tailor your resume to each role, include relevant keywords and metrics to help you stand out, and write an authentic and thoughtful cover letter. To me, all of this is far more effective than sending hundreds of resumes without cover letters or without tailoring them to each specific job opening.
📊 Optimize. Optimize. Optimize. If you aren't hearing back from employers, do not panic. It just means something in your strategy needs a quick adjustment. Revisit your resume and double-check your market positioning. If you are getting interviews but no offers, practice your interview skills with a career coach or a peer. It is all about resilience! 

You have the skills, the degree, and the drive. Step into success and claim the career you have worked so hard for. 

Job hunting can be an emotional rollercoaster for many.

You might face anxiety, stress, and moments of heavy self-doubt, especially when you are applying to so many jobs and hearing nothing back.

Staying centred, taking good care of yourself, and taking breaks are absolutely essential.

Here are some golden rules I follow to keep myself sane and energized during my job hunt:

• Resist the urge to stay up late

• Take regular walks / move my body throughout the day

• Work using blocks of time / Pomodoro videos

• Thank myself for all the hard work every night

• Take a one-day or half-day break to do something that brings me joy

Remember that your personal value is not tied to how fast you land an interview. Rejection is a normal part of the professional process, not a reflection of your worth.

Take breaks, lean on your community, and use psychology-backed tools or community resources to protect your mental health.

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A Grad To Remember 📸

The SSU, in partnership with Lassman Studios, handles your professional Graduation Photo needs.
If you're graduating this year, don’t miss the opportunity to capture your great achievement for a lifetime of memories!

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