So, you're looking for a new job?

Here's a few tips for creating a winning job search strategy to maximise your chances of securing a role.

Firstly, are you considering your wider career goals when you're looking through job ads?

Is an organisational culture in which you thrive an absolute must?

Does the job need to be focused on issues that you're deeply passionate about?

If you answered yes – then you're on the right track.

According to global recruitment specialists, Hays, following relevant organisations on social media, saving your C.V across all your devices and taking notes of who you're speaking to about what opportunities are also key parts of a winning job search strategy.

“There are great job search strategies and then there's the scatter-gun approach,” says Jason Walker, managing director of Hays New Zealand.

“We fill 1,000 jobs every working day and see a lot of focused, winning job search strategies. But we also see jobseekers who frantically send off their CV whenever they can spare a minute to any role that looks vaguely suitable.

“These job seekers would benefit from investing a little time in putting together a job search strategy that allows them to apply for the right roles in the time that they have,” adds Walker.

To form a winning job search strategy that's up to scratch in today's job market, Hays suggests you start by identifying your ‘must haves':

Consider your career plan

What's the next step in your career plan? What type of role and organisation would help you work towards your wider career goals?

For instance, if you would eventually like to move into a senior people management role but need to work on your leadership skills, look for a role that provides you with basic leadership responsibilities outside your comfort zone, where there is room for progression and where a mentor could support your development.

Whether you are looking to ramp up your career and continue climbing the same ladder, or looking to scale back and take on less, it is important that your next opportunity is aligned to your ambitions.

The perfect company culture

In what type of organisational culture do you thrive?

Your preferred industry - Which industries interest you, and what topics are you passionate about?

Work-life balance - Consider your personal priorities. Would your ideal organisation require you to be in the office at 8 am sharp every day, or would it offer more flexible working hours or work from home options?

Practical considerations - Factor in what you need in terms of salary, rewards, location and commute.

Once these are ticked off, you're ready to plan your job search:

Now that you know which type of organisations you are most interested in, follow them on social media and review their career sites. Keep an eye out for updates surrounding current vacancies, and setup job alerts on recruitment websites such as Hays so you can be quick off the mark when the right role does come up.

 In doing this, you will be ready to apply as and when jobs crop up, wherever you are, whichever device you are using.

Take note of all jobs applied for, what stage you're at which each one and the name of relevant contacts. Add any meetings or interviews to your calendar and take notes.

Refer to these before you make any follow up calls or emails. This can be very useful if you have multiple opportunities in the pipeline and you need to keep track of who you're speaking to, about what and when.

An expert recruiter will help find the right roles for you and put you forward for them. This can save a lot of time and they can introduce you to roles that may not reach the open market. Save your recruiter's details on your phone and keep it close by.

It is important that you keep your spirits high during your job search, even if you don't get an interview for a role that you really wanted. Not every application leads to job search success, but don't give up.

It can help to talk about your next move and your search progress with mentors, friends and family. You should also take regular breaks and reward yourself for a productive job searching session. The key is to stay motivated.