Looking for a job - suit up and arm yourself - it’s time to kick a**!
The internet has dramatically changed the proficiency and speed at which we successfully search for information and services. Instant data - once a dream of our forefathers - is now a reality fast implementing itself in the instinctual functionality of society. Why then should searching for a job be any different? As our ancestors carved their way through history in a blaze of exploration and blood shed, we too have to be competitive and fearless to navigate the current job market!
Online job boards and portals:
Use the internet to your advantage. Upload your CV on reputable website’s and browse the market. Find out exactly what you’d like to be doing and for whom. Yes at the moment it’s tough out there and it comes down to a numbers game to get even an interview booked, with thousands being laid off and made redundant worldwide - BUT that means using the internet means you can apply to many jobs very quickly and use your candidate / jobseeker profiles to manage these applications. Increased efficiency by taking less time to apply in bulk! However use only reputable sites and guard yourself against phishing and scammers! Arm yourself with information on keeping your data safe while using the internet and worldwide job boards!
Corporate Career Pages:
If you have a list of companies you’d like to apply to already - you can often browse a company’s corporate website to see if they have an in-house careers or recruitment section. You can then often browse a company’s vacancies and even apply direct!
Print Classified Ads and Trade Magazines:
Long gone are the days of the traditional “help wanted” print ads - however print has not disappeared altogether. It’s still used in specific fields and locations - such as nursing or engineering. Most of these ads are duplicated electronically online anyway, so you’d be able to find them there too. However print has not lost it’s use altogether, if you’re gutsy and innovative you may think about placing PR ads in a few trade magazines, or even newspapers, selling yourself to potential employers. This (if well done and creative depending on your field) coupled with a good CV, and good interviews, will make you stand out from the crowd. However finding trade magazines can prove a bit difficult as not all newsstands hold a wide enough variety. Once again turn to the internet and structure your search keywords per field/trade such as “engineering magazine” etc. this should turn up some results.
Social Networking:
Network as often as you can - find new ways to meet like minded people in your field and market - use the internet which makes it even easier to join facebook groups and other social networking tools like LinkedIn.com and twitter. Go back to university networks and see whether you pick any contacts there they may be fruitful. It’s important to build your network up consistently even when not looking for a job - it takes work but is an invaluable tool to living a fruitful and fulfilled life as well as career.
Wielding electronic, social networking, even print based arsenal - land the career you’ve always dreamed of! Increase your exposure and beat the odds without selling your soul to an agency or search firm (who ultimately work on behalf of the employers best interest any way you look at it). Do the leg work yourself and get all the spoils of a war well won!
