Jobs & employment blogs

Do you remember the days when jobseekers would to rush to buy a newspaper just so they could scope out all the newly published job adverts and quickly apply via post or fax?

Once upon a time, searching for jobs was a far more time-consuming, arduous process. Jobseekers spent hours sifting through job advertisements, making calls and sending countless letters and faxes. However, today, automation and digital technology have completely changed the job searching playing field, making it far easier for those seeking work to not only find out about the latest jobs, but for the latest jobs to find them.

As such, many would argue that today’s jobseekers have more power than they ever have before. However, to give yourself the best chance of job search success, you need to learn the new rules of this new world.

The good news is that you don’t have to be a technical genius to get ahead of the job search game, nor do you have to rely solely on technology. So which tips and tricks should you know about if you want to be the first to be contacted about the latest jobs?

Revamp your online brand

To increase your chances of being contacted about, or made aware of the latest jobs, one of the first steps you need to take is to build your online personal brand in a way that reflects your expertise, skills and career aspirations.

To be found and approached by a recruiter, you must firstly build your online footprint and personal brand. Essentially, by building your online brand, and thus your professional digital footprint, you will provide recruiters with the relevant data and touchpoints they need to approach you for suitable roles.

And no matter how computer savvy you deem yourself to be, building your professional digital footprint doesn’t have to be too testing or time consuming, simply follow the below steps:

• Update your LinkedIn profile: Ensure you complete every section of your LinkedIn profile and include relevant keywords which mirror your expertise, skills and industry knowledge throughout, particularly in your summary, headline, skills and experience sections. If you need keyword inspiration, try reviewing job descriptions of roles you’d be interested in applying for – it’s always a good idea to mirror the language used, in an honest and legitimate way of course. Another change you can make to your LinkedIn profile which will increase your visibility almost instantly is to switch it so that it notifies recruiters that you are ‘Open to opportunities’. Rest assured, your colleagues won’t see that you have made this change to your profile, only recruiters. Lastly, use your LinkedIn profile as an extension of your CV, one should complement the other. For instance, showcase your online portfolio by adding rich media to your profile.
• Share your expertise with your network: Up your activity levels on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, as this will again increase your visibility and, thus likelihood that you’ll be contacted about the latest jobs. Becoming more active doesn’t have to take up a huge amount of your time. For instance, if you read an interesting article online, take a few minutes to share it with your LinkedIn network, along with some personal commentary which showcases your expertise and view on the topic, as well as relevant hashtags (this will increase the reach of your updates). Try to commit to doing this once a week, and you’ll soon see your number of connection requests increase, and hopefully, messages regarding relevant job opportunities. However, it’s also important to remember here that LinkedIn isn’t an island, try to commit to also writing or contributing to a blog, for instance and sprucing up your other social media accounts. All of this combined will mean that you’re able to easily craft an online presence that accurately reflects you as a professional, and where you want to get to. For those of you who want to get more social media savvy, these job searching tips and advice will help you get started.
• Connect with relevant recruiters: Once your profile is refreshed and you’ve started becoming more socially active online, search for relevant recruitment companies and recruiters using the LinkedIn search box. Always search using relevant keywords and locations (you might want to use some of those which you used to update your LinkedIn profile). And, when you come across a recruiter you think you’d like to connect with, review their profile to double check relevancy, and once confirmed, send them personalised connection request, outlining why you’d like to connect. It’s also a great idea to follow companies, whether they be future potential employers or recruitment agencies who may be helpful in your job search. When you do, you’ll receive regular status updates from them.

For more information on how to optimise your LinkedIn profile to increase your chances of job search success, read our other blogs:

• 4 LinkedIn developments jobseekers need to know about
• Get found on LinkedIn: make these changes to your profile
• What’s more important when job searching – your CV or your LinkedIn profile?

Get the latest jobs to your device, whenever and wherever

A blessing and a curse, smartphones mean that, whilst work may never be far away, neither are the latest jobs. Here are a few tips to help ensure you’re the first to receive them, direct to your device:

• Register and download recruitment and job searching apps: Spend half an hour researching online to find out which are the most relevant recruitment agencies, job boards and potential employers for your job search. Register your details on each of these (some may require an up-to-date CV) and download their job search apps to your phone. This will help you incorporate job searching into your daily routine, meaning you can search whilst you’re on the bus, having lunch or waiting in a queue for your coffee.
• Set up job alerts: Once you’re registered with the most relevant sites for you, most will allow you to set up job alerts based on targeted keywords. These can be sent via email, text, or even WhatsApp, and will take some of the pain away from dedicating time to constantly job searching. You’ll usually be able to change the time and frequency of your alerts, so you’re not rudely awoken in the middle of the night!
• Save your CV to your device: It’s always a good idea to ensure a version of your CV is saved to your device and/or cloud storage. This will allow you to send your CV to a recruiter instantaneously if requested, and of course will allow you to more easily apply for jobs on the go.
• Improve your online job searching skills: When searching on job boards or recruitment websites, ensure you’re utilising search filters correctly and in a way that will serve you the most relevant results. And, as well as applying relevant search filters, optimise the keywords you use – think about abbreviations, locations, seniority and alternative job titles which might make sense to use in your searches – e.g. Social Media Manager and Community Manager roles will have the same or fairly similar responsibilities, so it might be worth searching for both. Also, don’t be surprised if, after a period of consistent searching, you are approached personally by a recruiter with a highly suitable role.

Get out there and meet people

As helpful as technology might be in ensuring you’re the first to hear about the latest and greatest job opportunities, you shouldn’t just rely on your LinkedIn profile, job alerts and apps to bring home the bacon. In fact, you should be putting as much effort into building valuable relationships with people who may prove helpful in your job search.

• Meet with your recruiter and start to build a long-term relationship with them: After you’ve accepted their LinkedIn connection request, or spoken to them about a relevant job opportunity, always take the time to meet your recruiter in person. Use the meeting as an opportunity to bring to life the words on your CV, communicating your skills and passions – all of this will help the recruiter build a fuller picture of who you are as an individual, and in which positions, companies and industries you’d be most fulfilled. Think of your recruiter as a career partner, someone who you should touch base with throughout your career, regardless of whether you’re looking for a new opportunity or not. This level of consistent contact will ensure that you remain front and centre of the recruiter’s mind when they’re recruiting for a new position, and that you’re the first to be contacted. For more help and guidance around how to build a relationship with your recruiter, read our blog.
• Attend networking events: Many find networking or industry events daunting. The prospect of standing in a room full of people you don’t know and having to strike up professional conversation leaves many wanting to dart for the exit, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Meeting people is a great way to generate trust, build your reputation, open doors and generally increase your chances of hearing about new opportunities. There is a real skill to face-to-face networking, especially whilst looking for a job and it’s all too easy to overlook important factors – the advice in this blog will help you hone your networking skills. Whenever you meet somebody you feel would be helpful for your career, ensure you send them a personalised connection request on LinkedIn, reiterating how much you enjoyed meeting them. Sites like MeetUp and Eventbrite can be a useful source when searching relevant industry networking events, so they’re worth a look.
• Volunteer your skills for a passion project: Another great way to build a relevant, and importantly, supportive network is to volunteer your skills for causes you care about. For instance, if you’re a web developer, you could help a charity by assisting them in the build of their new website. Projects like this will not only expand your professional network in a positive way, but also help you build your portfolio of work and skills in different industries.
• Utilise your nearest and dearest: The key to the job of your dreams might be right under your nose. So, speak to those family and friends who you trust, are well connected and importantly, are impartial and have no hidden agenda. It’s a small world, and one ten-minute conversation could open doors for you which you originally thought would remain firmly closed. Not sure who to confide in? Read this blog for more tips and advice.

In today’s technology driven world, you have more power and more resource to find the job of your dreams than ever before. However, to speed up the process, and ensure you’re the first, and not the last to hear about the latest job opportunities, you need to put a little effort in both on and offline, as I hope I’ve outlined for you in this blog.

About this author

Grant is the Regional Director for Hays in Singapore. He has been with Hays for 13 years, enjoying a career that has spanned two countries. Joining as a consultant in 2006 in London where he recruited Accountancy & Finance professionals within the Banking & Financial Services sector, Grant relocated to Singapore in 2010. The past 9 years has seen Grant recruit and manage across various teams. He now is responsible for Hays’ Singapore operations and a team of specialist consultants that cover 12 specialisms including Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Technology & Life Sciences.