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Job Hunting
Telephone
Address Book
Diary
Filing System
You should keep records of all paperwork that an organisation has sent to you and photocopies of everything you have sent to an organisation. Keep all paperwork from the same organisation together in one place, so the information is easily accessible if you are called in for selection events.
Job Application Tracker
The Job Application Tracker is a piece of software that will enable you to do all the things mentioned above. You are able to put in all the details of the organisation you have applied to, details of the job and keep track of any correspondence you have sent to a particular organisation. Click here for more information.
Company Research
The key questions you need to answer when you are researching companies that you are going to be applying to are:
- Will this organisation suit me?
- Will I suit this organisation?
There are other things you need to find out about a company, which will aide you in your choice are:
- The history of the company.
- What Products and Services do they offer?
- Who are their main competitors?
- What challenges are they are currently facing?
- Any recent news about the organisation.
The more research you do into your target organization, the better prepared you are for the application process and for any selection events. It also shows that you take your career choice seriously and want to work for the organization.
Job Hunting Techniques
There are a few places that people can find jobs:
- Newspaper Advertisements
Newspapers have job advertisement sections on a weekly basis. Libraries often have daily newspapers in them and increasingly newspapers are also advertising vacancies on their Website.
- Trade Magazine Advertisements
Most Trade Magazines have job advertisements included in them; it may be useful to have a look through them. Trade Associations usually have a website with a dedicated area for job vacancies.
- Online Job Posting Databases
There is an abundance of websites, which offer the opportunity to complete an online CV and search and apply for jobs in the database. Typically potential employers are able to search the database and contact you directly.
- Company Websites
Today most organisations have their own websites and often list any job vacancies they have on their website. These are beneficial for companies, as they do not have to spend a lot of money advertising positions, but it tends to be big companies who do this in conjunction with another method for attracting clients.
- Out and About
Many job opportunities can be seen when you are walking around your neighbourhood, or the town/city where you live. You often find jobs advertised in local shops and supermarkets, this is particularly true about jobs in retail.
- Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment agencies exist to put people into jobs and they are only making money when they have people working in jobs.
- Networking
There have been scores of books written on networking and the best way to do it. Basically, networking is a term to describe the way we interact with people and build relationships with them. In job-hunting terms, it is about asking the people you know, your friends and family for help in your job search. They many have information that could be useful to your job search.
- Speculative Approaches
Making speculative approaches is a very good way of getting a job. Many employers may be considering taking on an employee, but have not got round to formalizing the process they want to take, or they may even create a post for the right applicant.
- Job Centres / Careers Centres/ University Careers Offices
These places tend to have Jobs advertised that may not be elsewhere. You do not have to be unemployed to go into a Job Centre. Job/Careers Centres often have company brochures and application forms ready for you to take away and complete, bypassing the need to contact organisations directly.
- Create a Job for yourself
Creating a job for yourself basically consists of doing some in-depth research into the target organisation, finding a niche in the organisation that you could fill and the sending a proposal for the job to the person who is in charge of the hiring process.
Just think of yourself as a specialist consultant, offering them your knowledge and skills to solve a problem that they have. You have to put the problem in a reasonably good light, so it does not look like you are blackmailing them for a job.
- Become Self-Employed
Today, with the right idea, you do not have to be an employee. It has never been so inexpensive to start your own business, the start up costs now can consist of; a computer, modem, Internet Service Provider and a Web hosting Account. This has resulted in a proliferation of new businesses worldwide offering every imaginable product and service.
If you want to go down this route, there are many places you can turn to for help. Banks have business advisers and can help you with the financial side of starting your business. Organisations such as chambers of commerce or business networking clubs offer advice to people considering starting up in business. Your local council may be able to give you information about grants that are available for starting a business, hiring employees etc. Make sure you get advice from everyone who is offering help and research and plan for all eventualities.