Finding a job can feel like a daunting and time-consuming process – no matter what stage of life you are in. The internet has become a very dominant way of finding a new position, but this doesn’t mean that things are always as simple as logging onto a job site and applying for the first job that you find on there. So, the following blog post is all about some of the innovative ways that you can search for a new position.
Before we get started, it is worth making sure that you are prepared to sell yourself as well as possible. Employers are on the lookout for a set of key skills that are going to be beneficial to their enterprises. Ultimately, you need to be prepared to stand out from the crowd in any way that you can, which is not always easy for those who are a little bit more on the introverted side of life. Obviously, you need to polish your CV and cover letter and make them shine as brightly as possible.
Get Involved in Online Networking
Expanding your network of contacts can feel daunting – even if you are doing it online rather than face-to-face. However, if you can overcome the initial sense of anxiety involved in networking, try to build up a set of contacts – you never know when they may come in useful somewhere down the line. Job discussion groups are useful and are a great way of building up a social network of like-minded people. When you are on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, make sure that you follow the companies that you like. Before you go on a spree of adding new contacts, you should make sure that you send a message explaining who you are.
Take on Further Qualifications
While you are in the hunt for your next job, you could consider how further training will boost your career prospects. For example, check out this article about a communications masters. The widespread availability of online learning these days means that it is more likely that you will be able to balance a course around doing a job as well. Alternatively, if you still find that you are struggling to get any responses, this could prove to be a good opportunity to go back to school and come out the other side even stronger.
Draw on Your Social Network
Often, when you are finding a new job, it comes back to who you know as much as what you know. Staff referrals still prove to be a popular recruitment method. This is simply down to the fact that people tend to trust the people they know. If you are interested in a certain industry, ask friends and family who are involved in it if you have any. If not, they may know someone who is. Even having a ‘friend of a friend’ referral can prove to be a useful way of getting your foot in the door, which is often the biggest hurdle that people are trying to overcome. You may be able to get a jump on finding out about the latest vacancies, which gives you more of an opportunity to put your application in early. You might also be able to get some inside tips on how best to approach the application process.
Don’t Just Focus on Job Listings
While you can have some success scrolling through job listings, it can also provide a great deal of frustration too. So, you may need to engage yourself in some different strategies to achieve the success that you are looking for. For example, you could shift your focus onto different companies directly and send them a message indicating that you like what they do. Even if there are no vacancies, you can still make a name for yourself and when the application process does launch again, you are more likely to get your resume at the top of the pile and properly scrutinized. The bigger companies out there receive such a vast number of applications that it makes sense to make yourself stand out in any way that you can. By following the progress of a particular company, you can get a better idea of their development and when the potential vacancies are likely to arise. Plus, if you get to the interview stage, you also have the natural advantage of knowing a lot about them.
Look at ‘Less Traditional’ Career Paths
While some jobs such as web designer or marketing assistant are commonplace, you may have more success if you focus on some more unexpected career paths, click here for an example. Sometimes, it is just the name of the job that can prove to be intimidating. When you click onto it and delve deeper, you often realize that this is something that you could do yourself and you may already have many of the necessary skills that companies are looking for. When you choose to go down these less traditional career paths, you are also likely to find that you are up against less competition. Also, there may well be more opportunities available as well.
Get Some Work Experience or Try an Internship
If you have a clear idea of the specific career path that you would like to go down, a possible option that you could take is to get some work experience or try an internship. For some people, this is only something that you would do at the very beginning of your career, but it could work out well for anyone. After all, more and more people find themselves taking on multiple career paths these days. Therefore, if you really want to compete with the people who have more experience than yourself, it makes sense that you get some of your own – even if it is in an unpaid capacity. By taking up this option, you can also get a better sense of whether this career is everything that you thought it would be in the first place. You may find that you are simply looking in the wrong area and it is time to give your search a U-turn and move onto another path.
Contact a Recruitment Agency
Many people take job hunting onto their own shoulders but getting in touch with a recruitment agency ensures that a lot of the pressure is taken from you and other people with more experience can do it for you. This is a useful option if you have difficulty selling yourself as this is exactly what recruitment specialists are paid to do. Plus, they are very focused on achieving positive results for their clients, so you know that they will only put you forward for positions that are going to be the most relevant to you. Another advantage of this approach is that it takes away a lot of the legwork in looking for a job. After a while, it is inevitable that everybody gets into a funk and loses some enthusiasm for the job searching process. However, you should be aware that sometimes recruitment agencies source dull work, so you need to make sure that you are on board with the job that they hunt down for you. It should be a relationship that proves to be beneficial for everyone involved – not just one of the parties.
Visit Some Career Fairs
If you are bored of continually scrolling through a screen, it helps to get out there to see what is being offered in the real world. A career fair is a great way to see a wide range of companies showcasing what they have to offer and you may find that you become interested in a particular path that you never would have thought of before. You also know that they are here specifically with the intention of attracting people to apply to their firm, and you have a fantastic opportunity to ask as many questions as you would like to determine whether or not this is a place that you would like to work at some point down the line. Make sure that you gather the contact information of the people that you meet. Sending a follow-up email afterwards is an important part of attending an event such as this one.
Work for Yourself
If you want to get out of the searching for jobs game entirely, you could try working for yourself instead. There is often a sense of fear before making a decision of this magnitude, but sometimes, you just need to throw yourself in at the deep end to see what you could achieve. These days, businesses can be set up online on a shoestring budget, so you no longer have to worry about going bankrupt as a result of your company!
Sometimes, it takes a combination of different methods to achieve the success in the jobs market that you are looking for. So, don’t get disheartened, and continue your search until you find that position that suits you perfectly.
