Job Hunting
Are you focusing your job hunt on publicly advertised positions? If so, then you are limiting yourself to just 20% of the jobs out there. Advertised positions are just the tip of the iceberg, because 80% of jobs are never advertised. The secret to a truly successful job hunt is dividing your search time effectively between the wide varieties of available job sources.
Advertisements:
These are, of course, a great source of jobs, especially if you use all relevant publications, reply in time, think carefully about each job and target your responses to the specific advert. But do not rely exclusively on this method to find yourself a job.
Consider these sources:
- National, regional and local newspapers
- Job centres
- Specialist publications
- Industry and company websites
- Specialist recruitment websites
- The CILT Job Board to
Agencies:
These organisations work by advertising a position and carrying out initial interviews to screen individuals for specific positions. In other words, they handle the early stages of recruitment for an employer. They may retain a database of candidates to offer to employers seeking permanent and temporary staff. CILT’s Knowledge Centre allows members to browse numerous national and regional newspapers daily to view local opportunities as part of their membership.
Key points to remember when looking for work through an agency are available to CILT members via our Career Service. Members can also access a key advisor using the service.
Internet:
More than four million people used the Internet last year to search for work. However, although recruiters are viewing online applications as a streamlined and effective system, remember that with this many people using this method each year, the competition is extremely high. Add the CILT Job Board to your list of online job search resources, to increase your chances of landing a job within the Logistics or Transport Sectors. CILT Members in the UK can visit The Knowledge Centre and with the help of the Knowledge Centre Team, grow their LinkedIn contact list to include individuals recruiting within the industry.
Try to find out as much as you can about companies you are interested in - look to see what social media sites they use and connect with them or follow with them there. More information on using Social Media in your job search is available to CILT members via our Career Service.
On spec:
This is an unsolicited or uninvited speculative approach to an organisation wherein you ask to be considered for vacancies or positions that may or may not exist. Use this method to target organisations at which you would like to work, or where you think there may be vacancies. Follow this three-step process:
- Send a letter explaining what you can offer to the company together with a copy of your CV.
- Follow up with a phone call a week to 10 days later.
- Then phone or send a letter again after a suitable interval.
Conducting sufficient research is the key to success in your speculative campaign.
Networking: this is done by using all of your contacts – and their contacts! – to gather the sort of information that will enable you to make a professional approach to an employer. Networking is best seen as a research exercise that leads to a speculative approach rather than simply asking: 'Do you know of any jobs?'
For many jobseekers, the idea of a productive job search is to send out numerous applications every week in the hope of being invited to interview. In fact, the key to success is to concentrate on carefully tailoring your applications and ensuring that you are practising your various job hunting techniques in the right way.
CILT’s Knowledge Centre provides members with an access to company information using the Corporate Business Review (CBR), is a reliable source of company information for career opportunity and pre-interview research.