It might be the first time you have ever started the job-search process, or perhaps you have done it more times than you care to remember? Whichever category you fit into you are probably a little apprehensive about having your achievements scrutinised by potential employers. This feeling of apprehension and listlessness can often inhibit you from gaining the most from your search.
The very thought of having to start the job-hunting process will make you grin and bear an inappropriate job until you find yourselves in a situation where you desperately grab at anything. In the long-run, this type of job-hunting methodology will curtail your ability to pursue a successful career. Plenty of people remain in a job even though they have stopped gaining any useful experience from it because it is so safe, easy and cosy.
The main job-hunting resources we have available to us foster a cold and transactional way of finding a new job. Enter keywords into a search box, flick through the results, find something that looks interesting and then click apply. Repeat many times. You have no idea to whom you are sending your details. Is the job still live? Will you ever hear back, or receive feedback? If you don’t hear back, is it because you weren’t appropriate or didn’t have the required experience? All of these unknowns fuel insecurities and lead to postponing a fundamental procedure in any successful career.
Every time you start out looking for a new job, you should take something away from the process. It could be something as simple as a well written CV, some decent contacts that can help you in the overall scheme of your career, or a closer understanding of how you can ultimately reach your goal. This allows your search to grow and gather momentum rather than starting from scratch every time you need to search for a new position.
Recruiters are in a perfect position to help your immediate job-search as well as your ongoing career development. The UK is home to about 20,000 recruitment agencies who specialise in every area imaginable. Firstly use services like seevee.co.uk or LinkedIn to source suitable recruiters with expertise in your chosen industry. Speak to them. Get as much information as you can from them about their current vacancies, what their clients are looking for in candidates, and how they can help you moving forward. They might not be able to help you immediately but take their advice on-board and stay in contact with them. In 6-12 months they may well be working on your ideal job.
We live in an age where almost everything can be done online, it distances ourselves form the actual process. Recruitment is all about communication and relationship building. To standout from the crowd pick up the phone and make contact with the recruiter or hiring manager. Back up your application or CV with a phone call, a two minute chat is far more compelling and memorable to a recruiter than an email.
In summary, when you look for a job do it on your own terms, don’t be hurried into making a bad decision because you have been putting off job-hunting for too long. Take something away from each search, contacts, information, knowledge etc. Build relationships with recruiters, it may not bear fruit immediately, but it will certainly benefit you in the long-run.
Every snippet of information or help you can gain from each job-hunting campaign will make the next one less daunting. As soon as you stop learning from your current role, start planning your next move, research who can help you achieve your objectives and use their knowledge and contacts to help you get there.
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