Friends are always ready to lend a hand ‒ even in the job search

Friends are there to share the good times and help each other through the bad times. Real friends do anything for each other, so why not call upon them during your job search? Put the shoe on the other foot ‒ if your friend asked you to help them with their job search, you wouldn't say no, would you? You'd want to help.

During any transitional period in life ‒ including looking for a new job ‒ friends are there for support, never forget that. Get your friends together, let them know you're looking for a new job and get the nod from each of them that they're willing to help you in any way that they can.

You might be lucky and have friends who know exactly what to do, but in case they're not sure, here are some pointers to share with them.

Motivate you

Job seeking can be a relentless, lonely task and there will be some days when you've had enough of rejections. You might even feel like you can't be bothered to try anymore. When you feel like this, your friends can help to motivate you by sending you inspiring quotes, leaving you motivational messages, forwarding you a podcast ‒ anything that will kickstart you into positive thinking again.

Review your CV

Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes to go over your CV will help highlight spelling and grammar mistakes. Even if your spelling and grammar are good, a friend could read your CV as if they're the employer and critique it for you. Will your CV make the employer want to interview you? You might think it does, but your friend might think not. Their constructive criticism could help you get your foot in the door.

Help with roleplay

We all know how nerve-wracking it can be ‒ walking into an interview room to face someone or a team of people you've never met before. The nerves get better the more prepared we are. Your friends can help you to prepare by doing some roleplay, where they get to be the interviewer. They should have a mixture of questions to ask you - some general and some random. The random questions are great because they will prepare you for anything ‒ you never know what could be asked on the day.  

Keep an eye out  

The more friends you have, the more eyes you have looking for opportunities for you. Once your friends know what type of job you're seeking, they can then become your very own private investigative team. It's amazing how many people do not ask their friends to keep a look out for them; it's such a simple ask.   

Use their network

Friends have friends who have friends. The power of the second connection is greater than anyone can imagine. A friend who has a Facebook account will have an average of 338 Facebook connections. Wouldn't it be good to tap into that network? A simple post to say they're looking for a job opportunity for a friend could achieve amazing results for you.

TopCV is here to help you too. Submit your CV for a free CV review for expert feedback on your document.

Editor's Note: This piece was written by Julie Bishop and originally ran on Glassdoor UK. It is reprinted with permission.

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