job hunting tips

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so, where exactly do you start?!

here's some great tips to help you find your next great job - 


create a great CV - sounds obvious, however this is where the majority of candidates fall at the first hurdle.  every position in the market now will receive 10's, 100's and sometimes 1000's of CV's, so just how are you going to stand out from the crowd?  time, effort, and sometimes money spent on this stage on creating an impressive, short(!), professional and visually appealing CV will enable you to leapfrog ahead of the competitors.  read our CV writing tips page! 

start the search - in this day of the internet, there are hundreds of job advertisement websites, recruitment agencies, company careers sites, and now with social media recruitment tools springing up all over the web, there are unlimited directions in which to take in order to target the right jobs in the right locations.  just by typing IT Jobs in google, you can see how many thousands of results are brought up!  so, where do you begin?  the main job sites for IT & digital jobs in the UK are:
most recruitment agencies will post all their jobs on the job boards above, so there is no need to trawl through thousands of individual recruitment agency websites which would take you until retirement to cover!  simply fill in the job title and main skills that you are looking to utilise, the preferred location (most include a postcode search) of your job search, and salary range, and this should bring up quite a few suitable roles that you can apply online to.  also, a lot of companies advertise their roles directly on these websites, so you may not need to go through an agency to submit your CV.  make sure that you apply to as many jobs as possible, as invariably this is a volume game - agencies can receive hundreds of CV's for a role they advertise, so you might need to apply to more roles than just one that looks a good fit.  don't be too fussy! 

post your CV on the main job sites - lots of agencies and employers subscribe to the main job sites mentioned in the previous section, and actually search the online CV databases that the main boards run.  so, without your CV on their databases, you simply won't get found!  it's worth uploading your CV to as many of these boards as possible, to gain maximum coverage and therefore the greatest chance of being found.  make sure that you include as many different contact methods as possible when registering, so that employers can get hold of you easily.  nothing is worse for an agent or employer than finding the perfect CV but not being able to contact the candidate easily - this does happen!  call the agency / company once you have submitted your CV! - in this world of massive competition for jobs, very few candidates actually follow up their application with a quick phone call.  this is great practice, and you should do this every time you submit your CV to a role.  often CV's can sit in a recruitment consultant's or employer's inbox, and will not be read unless you call to draw attention to your CV, and ask to them to open the CV whilst you are on the phone, so you can point out how good a fit you are.  this will help elevate you above the mass of applicants, and will show the agent or employer that you are very keen and pro-active, which goes a long way.

using social media for job hunting - most companies now have adopted social media strategies that enable people to follow and engage with their favourite companies and brands on a new level.  by following lots of different brands, you will most likely be informed of new jobs that arise at each company, and apply online that way.  more and more companies are adopting social media recruitment strategies that enable them to use twitter, facebook, linkedIn and other social media sites to advertise their roles.  usually on their home page, or careers page, they will display the twitter logo, facebook logo and linkedIn logo, so simply click on the logo and start following them.  be warned that companies are 'researching' candidates' social media profiles who apply to their roles, so make sure that your profiles are not littered with foul language, pictures of you that you wouldn't want you mum to see (!), or boasting about spending the night in a police cell!

keep positive! - job hunting can be incredibly stressful at the best of times, especially if you have been looking for a while and not had any joy.  keep going!  keep checking the job boards, even daily, as new roles get posted every day, and sign up to as many job alerts as possible (most job board websites will have this facility that emails you every time a suitable role is posted that matches your criteria).  keep checking the websites of all the brands/companies that you would like to work at, and keep calling the agencies and employers as this can sometimes unearth new opportunities that haven't been advertised yet.

good luck and happy job hunting!!


go back to the resource centre for more expert advice!


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