Tools That May Help You Get Through Your Job Applications or Even First Job!

Hello! Actually this article was in the previous one: Fresh Graduates Guidelines for First Job Deal but it seemed too long so that I had to cut it out and make for its own stage so that I post 2 articles in a day lol. This has been a really fun journey to share with y’all! I must tell you though, as it is from my experiences, feel free to discuss with me. I love discussing this stuff.

Okay, besides what-to-do and how, there are tools or mediums you can use to smooth out your application process and your first job journey as well. I’m not saying it’s a must to do or have but it definitely can help you. Okay, let’s start!

Trello: This is one of the organizing tools you need! With Trello, you can track down which jobs you want to apply, the progress and the details you will help you. So that you will never face “shit! did I apply there already? I don’t remember!” or even recklessly tell the HR/Recruiter that you indeed forget — honey, if you do that, goodbye. Therefore, you can use Trello (and please explore, I just share the general idea) and you will be amazed how useful this tool is. Also, it comes with mobile apps both in Android and iOS — so, there is no excuse!

Tips: it is totally okay to follow up with the HR/Recruiter if it has been more than one week after the interview (usually 2 weeks) so that you can put deadlines for yourself as well for follow-ups; but remember, ask nicely with attitude, keep that bridge alive even they don’t accept you for now.

Here is the example of your Job Application progress

You can fill the details of every job vacancy you have applied for

And for employees, this one can also help you to track down your own progress and KPI. You are aware that you are the one that’s responsible for your won welfare and growth right? You might as well make the best out of it! 😉

The concept is similar, though. You can put your to-do list for the week, what’s already you’re working on and what has been done. You can aim for longer plans as well, like, for myself personally I also use Trello to track down my career path — what I want and should do in 5 years, and how to achieve that. It will seem more realistic and you will be triggered to work on it. For you, yes you.

Miro: this one is for a team actually. This is an online kanban that can be useful for the team’s brainstorming without having to spend money on post-its, especially if you have a remote team. Some of you may wonder what even Kanban is, okay, so Kanban is (according to Digite):

a visual system for managing work as it moves through a process. Kanban visualizes both the process (the workflow) and the actual work passing through that process. The goal of Kanban is to identify potential bottlenecks in your process and fix them so work can flow through it cost-effectively at an optimal speed or throughput.

So, in an easy way, Miro is a more details-adjustable-and complex version of Trello. Therefore, this is very useful for the team to align the goals and how to achieve them.

Canva: this website provides service for you to make graphic design including CV. They have so many templates that you can adjust as you need! Use the tips for CV above and you will be good to go.

Choose Resume and you will have many design options you can adjust

It even has a tutorial for CV/Resume

Besides resume/CV, on canva you can make various kind of design as well if you need. It might be for your own self-branding on Instagram, Linkedin or Medium because nowadays we need to work smart and this is one of the ways.

Grammarly: this tool can correct your English, therefore, as you polish that CV and Cover Letter, you also learn about grammar! Win-win solution! Oh, Grammarly needs to be installed in Chrome to run smoothly. I have tried the app one for Windows but it didn’t work as good as the chrome one, so, web-based is way better.

They will suggest you with the right word even for the whole sentence

It definitely works for you who need to write things down in English on daily basis like email, documents or others. Just try first and you will be amazed!

Google: I know, I know, you will definitely think, “You don’t say, Rizca!” with this expression lol

“y0u dOnT sAy, rIzcA!?!?”

but I mean it, you can use Google to:

1. (Gmail to) send out and receive emails for your applications; including for follow-ups. Remember to always check your email, too!
2. (Google Docs to) write Cover Letter and save it as a template that you can change and adjust no matter where you are, even on your phone, okay?
3. (Google Drive to) store up the documents you need like your CV in pdf, your portfolio in pdf, or stuff. Just organize it well so that when you need them you exactly know where to find them.
4. (Google Calendar to) set schedules for interviews! Usually, the online invitation will sync with Google Calendar.
5. Google the companies you are applying for. You can dig the needed information about the culture, the goals, the vision and mission, and stuff relate to the companies. Believe me, that information will come in handy — how? I might talk about it later, or I might not lol but you can definitely discuss it with me on Maukerja Indonesia anytime you want. 😉

So here’s the tools I wish I knew when I was applying for jobs and starting my career. Hope these tools somewhat enlighten what you’re doing for now.
Thank you for reading!