Whether you’re fresh out of school, university or past employment, looking for work can be a soul-destroying and distressingly tedious task. These six tips for finding a job will make your job hunt that little bit easier.
Tip 1) Decide your role: apprentice/intern/employee
Before you start any job search, it’s important that you identify the options available to you and which type of placement would suit you best. Whilst apprenticeships and internships offer you the opportunity to follow a more creative and applied career path with greater support, they usually don’t pay as much as a full-time job.
I am currently an apprentice at a PR company, but have had full-time jobs in the past, and, while I do like the setting I am currently in, would certainly appreciate a larger bank balance.
Tip 2) Find several job sites
Type “job vacancies in my area” into Google and you will be presented with a million different search results and very little direction or apparent value. That’s why I recommend narrowing your search right down.
Pick the first top five results or really any five from the front page of Google, and see which ones offer you the best results in terms of site usability, clarity of job listings and the overall quality of the vacancies on offer.
Tip 3) Sign up and set up notifications for your three favourite sites
Once you have found your top five job sites, it’s now time to whittle that group down to your top three job hunting resources of choice. Once you have three reliable, relevant and helpful job sites, you can then begin to start hunting for jobs in your skill set and areas of interest.
Tip 3a) Once you have set up your profile, you will want to get onto the site and begin your search. Most sites will allow you to receive notifications from companies advertising new vacancies, so if you want to be properly clued up and on the ball, be clear about who you would like to work for and follow them on the site.
Tip 4) Hunt out creative opportunities on social media
If you’ve been sifting through the seemingly endless lists of vacancies advertising for waiting staff, admin assistants and store clerk placements and feel that you are not finding the job you were dreaming of, then it’s time to get social!
One thing that I did whilst job hunting, was search for key words using Twitter. As I have a passion for writing, I chose phrases like “writing jobs”, “blog writers” and “freelance”.
This method of finding a job is less than secure. Most placements on offer require you to have a degree and some experience, but there are still opportunities on social media if you are willing to look for them. For example, it was through searching “writers wanted” on Twitter that I found a tweet about how Career Camel were looking for voluntary writers to contribute to their blog. Naturally, I got in touch and now here I am!
As a side note to this point I would also recommend signing up to Linkedin. It is very much the go-between for social media and business relations. An ideal place therefore to network with professionals, and search for vacancies in your chosen sector.
Tip 5) Ask your friends, family and local businesses
The internet is great for finding jobs, cars, strange products with foreign languages on them and just about anything else you can think of. This prolific choice does mean however that finding a job can be very tiresome and somewhat unproductive. That’s why localising your search and asking close friends and family members for any job opportunities can be a much more yielding and prosperous path.
As an add-on to this, if you live near or in a town, this is a hotbed for shop assistants and admin placements. I myself have seen results by simply going into the shop, leaving my CV at the front desk, and awaiting their call. Obviously, do make sure to enquire or check whether there are jobs available before you present your CV/resume, otherwise they will not appreciate this.
Tip 6) Apply!
This final tip for finding a job kind of speaks for itself really. If you don’t bother to apply in the first place, you won’t make any money or gain any experience! For most of the people reading this, it will be your first time in a full-time job so just get out there and do whatever you can to earn some money. Whether it’s scanning products at a till or sorting test papers from one container to another (of which I have done both), be prepared and have fun, meet new people and experience that big world of work!
Do you have any more tips for people trying to find a job? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: trudi1 / pixabay
Hello, Career Camel Riders!
I am a voluntary blogger for Career Camel, writing about anything from working to travelling. I also run my own Short Film blog, called The Local Film Network.
Let me know your thoughts on my writing and tell me if you agree or disagree!
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