Job hunting is hard. Whatever obstacles you’re against, they can often feel insurmountable, from the classic catch 22 ‘Need experience to get a job, need a job to get experience’, to the simple issue ofno-jobs-available. But the face of job hunting is forever changing, and there are plenty of tips and tricks to keep yourself up to date with how employers select their employees (and how you can make them select you) as well as how to look for and apply for jobs yourself.
Electronic CVs
A CV needs to sell you to an employer. The first impression someone gets from a CV is the look. At very least, CVs should be typed, but there are plenty of easy ways to make a CV look even more professional, for example CV Maker (https://cvmkr.com/) provides an easy platform to create a sleek looking CV. In addition, it lets you save your CV as a template so you can make fresh ones easily when applying for different jobs, this means you can emphasise the correct areas to make yourself look all the more desirable to your prospective employer.
Electronic Filtering
If you’re applying to work for a big company, chances are you’re not alone. Before interviewing, large companies need to filter out who they want to interview from potentially hundreds of applicants, and a quick and easy way to do this is take a piece of software and run all the CVs they receive through it. This software looks for key words or phrases the company wants from its employees, and puts the relevant CVs straight to the top of the pile. This makes it all the more important to tailor your CV to a specific employer. Look for words used in the ad to make it through this process.
Electronic Interviews
Whew, three “electronic”s already. But, yet again, it simply shows how muchcomputers have crept into the world of job seeking. Telephone interviews are a quick and easy way for an employer to speak to you, but they don’t particularly compare to a full interview. Services such as Google+ Hangouts mean that employers can have face to face interviews across long distances. Don't be surprised if more employers start asking to Hangout before inviting you to an interview.
Social Networks
Plenty of employers nowadays will look you up on Facebook or Twitter, this we have found to our cost... This can have varied effects on your application, depending on what you have chosen to share online. Ideally your profiles should show you in a good light, perhaps with some of the achievements you mention on your CV present. There are plenty of stories available of prospective employees having their social network sites checked and being turned down because of photos of them drunk, or complaints about jobs, however, so be careful with what you make public, and if you have any concerns make everything private.
Professional Networking
Linkedin is a social network that lets you present an on-line face that’s closer to what you want employers to see than Facebook or Twitter, and with 11 million users in the UK, it’s a place that you should put yourself if you’re aiming for success. Plenty of companies out there scour Linkedin both for applicants and in general. All in all, not an opportunity to miss out on.
Going back Offline
While in big ways the world of job hunting is moving online and towards electronic systems, a lot of particularly smaller businesses won’t advertise online, and may even straight up ignore emails enquiring about jobs. In part, this is down to the perception that applying online is the ‘easy option’, so if this isn’t working for you don’t be afraid to visit in person! Just remember that plenty of companies will still want you to print off a CV and talk to you face-to-face.
