Strategic Job Searching
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Reality Check
Candidates have to adjust their expectations to the current market in which there are many available skilled people searching for jobs in an affective manner. Time and money are the main variables affecting expectations.
The Ideal Scenario
Ideally everyone should be doing a job at their level which they feel fully complements their experience and provides them with new challenges. The current economic down turn means that not everyone is lucky enough to be in that situation.
Market Trends
Salaries have slumped in the last few months and continue to do so. Candidates are accepting positions up to two steps more junior than their most recent role. The simple fact is that there are too many candidates on the market and expectations need to be adjusted accordingly.
Monetary Expectations
If you are in the market for work for a long period due to unrealistic expectations your time out of work becomes an additional hindrance to finding a new role.
Strategic Approach
A strategic approach to your job search will help you explore every available avenue to you.
For example you may:
- be an IT business analyst looking for business analysis work
- have a background in Industry and looking for work in the Industry sector
- be living in Dublin and searching for work in Dublin
These are the activities to work through:
- Find out how many companies are suitable to apply to under your set criteria
- Search the relevant sources
- recruitment websites
- web search pages
- golden pages
- job websites
- papers (local/ national/international)
- radio and television advertisements
- Apply to each possible company in the most effective way possible
- Use a recruitment consultancy if relevant
- Use any available contacts in each company (See Networking for more details) a known CV is more favourably received than a direct application.
- Search though contacts in case they may know anyone who can help in application (See Networking for more details)
- Tailor CV and cover letter to the company's corporate culture and possible needs (See CV Guide and Checklist and Job Application Cover Letter for more details)
- Find out the name of the relevant person to apply to
- Follow up application in a way which adds value
- Call the relevant person to check that the application has been received and find out whether it is relevant to a current vacancy or possible future vacancy
- If there is a possibility of a future relevant vacancy put it in diary and follow up again at the relevant time
- If you didn't get to talk directly to the relevant hiring manager/ human resources individual try again later and/or send a follow up email
- If a search under the original criteria is not delivering results within a timeframe which you consider acceptable expand the parameters of one or more of those criteria.
- For example you may:
- be an IT business analyst looking for business analyst and helpdesk work
- have an Industry background and looking in the Industry and Financial Services sectors
- be living in Dublin and looking nationwide and in the UK
- If the expanded search is not delivering results consider alternatives and determine whether they are viable depending on circumstances
- Contracting
- Emigrating
- Voluntary work
- Education
- Career change (See Changing Career?)
- Starting a business
- Low skill work
Tips
- Treat looking for a job as your job
- Be disciplined about time spent looking for work
- Be smart in the ways you look for work
- Explore activities which will add to your experience
- Keep up to date on your sector developments and don't get left behind
- Use available time to contribute to your sector events/associations/magazines/journals
- Keep in touch with contacts from your sector, networking is more important than ever
- Train up on any areas of weakness e.g. presentations/ excel / PowerPoint
