The prospect of starting your search for the next job is never a particularly appealing one. Every un-billed day hits you hard.
For instance, for someone earning £500 a day, a two-week gap between jobs has the same impact as dropping your day rate by a whopping £25 for a year!
The difficulty with search is exacerbated if you have been off the market for a while. Your standard answers to a recruiter’s standard questions all need to be rehearsed and updated to reflect your new experience.
Furthermore, you don’t particularly want to spend hours of your time each day searching for new jobs, so how do you make the best use of your resources?
Helpfully, in this guide, we explore 5 tips you can use to secure your next job.
What You Should Avoid
But before we explore our best practice tips, here is what you should avoid doing on your job search.
1) Submitting your CV to a Recruiter Database
Most recruiter’s databases are full of stale information; out of date contact details and expectations to name just a couple. The idea of sending your CV out to every recruiter you know on the off chance they have something suitable may seem like a sensible approach, but this is often a wasted effort.
Pre-emptive applications, whether on a job site or a recruiter database are often overlooked so it is better to focus efforts elsewhere. Remember, your CV is irrelevant to a recruiter until such time he is commissioned by a client on a search for your skills.
Vacancy Driven Market
It is highly unlikely that a recruiter will start an active search campaign for you unless you are in a top management role. Chances are they won’t be able to recall you if the right role for you does come up a few weeks after they have met you. This is because they probably met six other candidates with different skills just after they met you. And the human mind has a finite capacity for recollection.
It is far more likely that a recruiter will start to sift through their database when they have an active role to fill. It is even more likely that they will bypass their database completely and put out a fresh advert. This is down to a lack of confidence in how up-to-date or useful the database is. Furthermore, the best candidates may not even be aware of the need to register with the database.
How To Secure Your Next Job
Here are some tips on how to secure your next job.
1) Learn new skills
There are a several ways that you can build sustainable skills and expand your personal and professional development.
Training Courses: There are a plethora of online training platforms, such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy and Coursera, where you can grow your skills, and develop an understanding of an area you have may limited familiarity with.
Professional Certifications: Professional certifications, such as the CIPS certification, are a great way to extend your knowledge and expertise in a specific subject area.
Webinars: Company webinars are a great way to learn about contemporary tech trends from knowledgeable thought leaders and experts.
Online training courses, professional certifications and webinars look great on your CV and will help you stand out against other candidates in a job interview.
Want to upskill as a contractor without taking a hit on your billable days? Head over to our blog post, How To Upskill As A Contractor (Without Compromising Billability).
2) Refresh your CV
A refresh of your CV on job sites can often be beneficial, as recruiters usually check to see when candidates were last active. The more active you have been, the more likely they are to approach you about a role. Furthermore, if you have recently completed a training course or attained a professional certification this should be added to your CV as well.
3) Write down what you value in a job most
An overabundance of choice and the fear of lingering regret following missed opportunities can leave people unhappy. With a wealth of job openings, you may be hindered by this paradox, aptly named the paradox of choice, on your job search.
To avoid feelings of regret and anxiety it is good practice to write down all the things that you value most in a job, e.g. pay, job promotion opportunities, flexible working, etc. Then, you should only apply for jobs that meet most (or if possible) all of your criteria.
This will narrow down your job options and ensure that whichever job you end up with will be matched closely with your values; thus reducing any feelings of regret of missed opportunities.
4) Use LinkedIn and other job sites
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools around for job searching, as these are used by recruiters, hiring managers and candidates. This is why it is important to keep your profile up-to-date with the relevant keywords, as the right LinkedIn subscription will pull your details through to the recruiter. Registering on a few of the more popular job sites is also useful.
5) Networking
You may want to speak to previous colleagues to see if there are any potential opportunities available for you. If no one in your immediate network can help, attending business events relevant to your subject area can also be a great way to meet new people.
What’s Next?
Job hunting isn’t a particularly appealing endeavour but using the tips we have explored in this blog article should make your life easier.
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