1. Deciding to make a change

Everyone’s job search begins differently. Some people choose to make a career change, while others find themselves looking for a job through no choice of their own. It’s deeply personal and only you can know when searching for a job feels right.

In a recent survey, 91% of employed adults said they look for jobs at least a few times a year, so job searching is a regular activity for many people.¹ Like any activity, you’ll get better with practice. The following steps will help you hone your search skills and increase your chances of getting the job you want.

No matter how your job search begins, an important first step is considering what kind of work you’d really like to do. You may want to further your progress in the same career or change career paths completely. In any case, you’ll need to be specific about the job you seek next. This will help you decide where to focus your search and confidently answer interview questions about why you’re attracted to a particular role.

2. Researching jobs and employers

As you begin your search, you’ll want to learn about available jobs or how much you can expect to earn in different jobs or locations. Indeed provides several resources to help you do this.

Salary trends

This tool lets you see the salary trends for specific jobs. Enter the job title you’re interested in learning more about, and you’ll see a salary range and average wages at popular companies. You can get the national trend or select individual states and cities.

Research companies

At the same time, you want to start researching companies that capture your interest. There are a lot of ways to research companies, including:

• Creating a target list of employers you’d like to work with. Visit their careers page and Indeed Company Pages to get a wealth of information like reviews, videos and current openings. From a Company Page, you can choose to “follow” that employer to get email updates when they post new jobs.

• Visiting a company’s social media pages to learn more about its day-to-day operations.

• Using a search engine to search for recent news about the company so you’re up-to-date on latest developments.

• Reaching out to people you know at the companies on your target list. In these conversations, come prepared with specific questions.

3. Searching for jobs

Start your search by creating a free Indeed account. With this account, you can save jobs and apply for them when you’re ready. These saved jobs will appear on your “My Jobs” page so you can return to them when you’re ready to apply. Once you’ve applied, you’ll be able to track your status from the same page. It’s the easiest way to keep track of all the opportunities that catch your eye.

Next, set up job alerts as you explore. Alerts are regular email updates about new jobs that fit your saved interests. It’s a convenient way to see new job postings as soon as employers post them. You can create multiple alerts to be sent daily or weekly. You can also pause or delete them if you want to take a break from job searching.

Third, use advanced search techniques to narrow in on the right job. You can search for specific companies or job titles by adding “company:” or “title:” to your search.

You can also use filters to refine your search. If you’re using the Indeed Job Search app, enter the job you’re looking for and select “Find Jobs.” The search results will display on the following page. To add filters, select the “Filter” button. You can set your search distance, job type (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.) and experience level. Select “Update” to save your filters. You can update these settings at any time during your search.