Let Me Show You How to Love Your Job Search

John Refford — December 4, 2017 Follow @iamreff

— December 4, 2017

If you’ve ever conducted a job search you quickly realize one of the biggest challenges is keeping track of who you’re networking with. By the third week you’re likely awash in post it notes. Perhaps you prefer to track your activities on paper or you manage calls and emails in a note-taking app such as Evernote. However, if you don’t mind investing a couple hours to set up a CRM, you’ll find it your job search has become much more organized.

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Hubspot CRM

There are other customer relationship management systems (CRM) built for job searches but many of them are centered around the application process. Since I believe I’m more likely to land a new position through my network, as opposed to online applications, I didn’t prioritize application tracking features. Instead I wanted a real CRM that would be a database of all the people and companies I care about. If you are looking to mass customize emails, track interactions and have a system for following up, Hubspot is a great solution for you. Oh, and it’s free.

Getting started

You don’t need to be a Marketing Technology wizard to pull this off but you’ll need to be comfortable with spreadsheets and somewhat tech savvy. After registering at Hubspot you need to:

1. Upload a .csv of your contacts. If you’ve already created a spreadsheet of your contacts, this will be easy. Warning: Hubspot requires separate fields for first name and last name. Another helpful hint, your contacts in LinkedIn often have their email addresses listed on LinkedIn but they are hidden on the page. You’ll find the email address when you click “Show More” at the top right of the LinkedIn contact page.
2. Upload a .csv of the companies you’re following. Ideally, you’ve created a list from a third party search site based on your criteria.
3. Configure Hubspot to track your applications as “Deals”. This article will show you how.

Making things easy

Here are some tips to make streamline your networking!

1. Install the Hubspot Chrome browser extension and your networking contacts and associated emails will be tracked in your Marketing database (i.e. Hubspot).
2. Use Hubspot “Snippets” to reuse common language you use in emails.
3. Send emails via Hubspot and, before you hit send, create a follow-up task to make sure you are following up as needed.

Now, go network! Good luck in your job search!

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