The first step in your job hunt is to let prospective contacts know you’re there. Make first contact.
Starting your Job Search
You need to learn to play the job market game, particularly if it's been a while since you were last in it. The rules may have changed, and your CV and LinkedIn profile may be full of jargon particular to your company. What is an RSP process anyway? Your company may know, but you're not applying there. I made up an 'RSP' process, but that's the point. Using jargon confuses AI, confuses recruiters and can confuse hiring managers, so don't do it.
This step's key objective is to ensure that as many people as possible see your CV and that recruitment systems know you exist.
If you get a response or interview from this, that's great, but don't expect it yet.
Suppliers & Partners
To state the obvious, the first place to look for a new role is with the suppliers and partners you worked with in your old job. Sometimes, your employment contract will have a restrictive clause, so check first.
Assuming there is no issue, they know you and your organization, and you know them. If there's a match, then why not jump there? Ask about their recruitment plans, how to apply for a role and what it's like working there. You'll likely see part of that, but get the whole picture.
Review Job Sites
Job sites, including LinkedIn, are usually aggregated. By that, I mean that they include jobs from multiple sources and that the jobs you see aren't the original postings. That means that some are likely to be out of date. My experience was that when I tracked down the original posting, it was generally over a week ago and they had already shortlisted. But they are great for the following reasons:
You can set up saved job searches that give you up-to-the-minute visibility of the jobs you're looking for. Expect to get lots of emails, though.
When you pay attention to the companies and recruitment agencies posting the jobs (rather than the job sites themselves), you can learn who the players are in your specialization. Write these down in your notes.
If you upload your CV to the source sites, those agencies and employers can search for your skills more easily.
For now, search for jobs and write down the companies and agencies that have your type of job in your notes, as we will go to their websites next.
Read Newspapers
Don't forget that these still exist. Go to the national papers and search their career sites. All will allow you to create a profile and receive alerts.
Contact Recruitment Agencies
Large agencies often follow a process similar to the following:
Get instructions and specific requirements from their client.
Search their internal database (i.e. the people on their records).
Contact those people first.
If this process doesn't produce results, they will post jobs or trawl LinkedIn.
Their databases work just like a search engine but are slightly more detailed, so your CV needs to have the words they search for to be found. Your internal company jargon won't be a search term that they use, so don't use it.
Often, the whole process takes a few days to a week. You don't want to compete with the crowd, so be in their database before they go external for their search. The way to do this is:
Go to the agency's website directly.
Search for a 'candidate's' page, a link to submit your CV, or go to the contact page.
How to send your CV to them is normally obvious, so follow the process.
Wait a day or two for them to add your CV to their database.
Wait to be at the front of the queue when new jobs arise.
The key is to remember that for searches to work, you need to have the keywords in your CV in the first place, so ensure that you address that.
Visit Employers
More and more employers are using LinkedIn to directly approach people when they have jobs, which is particularly true with niche roles, where an agency may charge 15-30% of the first year's salary as a fee.
Employers will find you based on the skills you added to LinkedIn, so ensure that your profile and skills are current.
This process takes time, so don't rely on this for a fast job search. Instead, be proactive and seek out potential employers yourself.
We've already discussed one way to do this — the list you made in your notes when reviewing posted jobs. The other way is to be systematic either by:
Working through the largest employers in your area;
Working through the key companies in your sector;
Working through the key clients of a particular technology you use (go to the technology provider's website and view their clients). An example of ServiceNow (a software company) is here;
Drive around your area and find them simply by looking at large offices, factories, warehouses etc;
Visit the public library and ask for this information in the reference section;
When you come across an employer you're interested in, then:
Make a note of it;
Visit their website;
Find the careers section;
Search for the types of job you're interested in;
Save the search (you'll need to create an account) and
Apply for any jobs you find interesting.
Remember that the objective of this exercise right now is to seed your CV into as many relevant organizations as possible and for job opportunities to be sent to you as they arise. They may not have a job today, but they may have tomorrow.
I call this step the "ping" because you're simply making yourself known to potential contacts. Don't expect more than "we hear you".
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