Redefining Recruitment
Redefining Recruitment
Many of us discuss changing careers and might apply for new jobs here and there. We soon lose motivation and stop looking and applying to them. Ultimately, we end up staying longer than planned in our current roles and find excuses for not actively looking for a new one. Do you find yourself guilty of this? It is never too late to start looking for and applying to new roles.
With the vast expansion of online job boards, career pages, and social media, it is daunting knowing where to begin your job search. Online job boards are the best place to start initially. You can upload your up-to-date CV, and provide a summary on your profile page outlining the role you want. This allows Recruiters to find you and match you with roles fitting your criteria. This way the jobs find you! Great for when you find yourself with little free time.
Make sure your profile and CV are up to date to ensure the correct roles come your way. We match candidates on job boards using keyword searches. The searches pull key information from your CV and profile page. If you are looking for a complete career change, you will want to ensure this is clearly reflected in your CV and profile. Use keywords relevant to the role you want!
We see a lot of candidates who put the wrong salary information on their profiles or don’t update it. You need a salary band that properly reflects the position you are aiming for. Be realistic with your requirements too! We see candidates who put their desired salary as £100,000+ when they have no upper-level work experience. We all wish we could have that salary, but it is not an achievable step-up salary from our current position! It means you will miss out on the right job for you.
Your contact information is the most important part of your CV and profile. Make sure you include your telephone number and email address and that they are correct. Sometimes, candidates have different phone numbers on their CV to their profile. This means Recruiters will have to leave messages on both hoping one reaches the right person. Don’t miss out on opportunities for this silly mistake! We will want to speak to you more about your experience and get to know what you are after. We cannot do that without your correct contact number. When you are contacted by Recruiters, be sure to move as quickly as possible. Check your voicemails and emails regularly and respond immediately. If you are not interested in the role, a polite email letting them know goes a long way.
Many companies now advertise and share information about their career opportunities on their social media. Some choose to predominately advertise their roles on social media – meaning if you’re not following them, you’re missing out! Have a specific company in mind you would like to work for? Be sure to follow them on social media to keep up to date and not miss out. If you do not have a company in mind but know the sort of sector/industry you are interested in, then it may be worthwhile following lots of companies within that sector. That way you can also keep up to date with the market and develop your industry knowledge base. Often Recruitment Agencies are also on social media, we share new jobs across our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn regularly to ensure our candidates are in the loop!
LinkedIn is a great place to advertise your skills and expertise, make industry connections and apply directly to roles. When applying for jobs on LinkedIn it is important to ensure your profile is up to date, including location and skills. Employers will look at your profile as well as your CV when you apply for roles on LinkedIn. If your profile lacks information, you are ultimately selling yourself short. Consider taking some LinkedIn skills assessments relevant to your roles/experience that can be showcased on your profile too.
Once you have put in the work to attract Recruiters to you, you will want to begin applying for roles direct. You can use the same job boards you registered on, to apply for roles directly. You can use generic job boards such as CV-Library and Reed.co.uk to apply to roles like Administration, HR, Customer Service etc. If you are looking for specific roles within Engineering or other specialist industries, you may want to use more industry-specific job sites like TotalJobs.
When applying direct, be sure to tailor your CV to each role you apply for. You will want to make sure you highlight the key skills you have that match those listed on the job advert. If your CV does not mention your proficiency with certain skills mentioned as essential or required on the job advert, your CV will be immediately rejected. If you have the skills make sure they are there loud and clear! Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems to monitor their direct applicants. These directly impact your applications and chances of success as they automatically scan and review CV’s to the adverts. Make sure you understand how these work so you don’t miss out on opportunities by having the wrong type of CV.
As mentioned before, you can now apply to roles directly on social media. LinkedIn and Facebook are the current social media platforms that allow this however, these may change. When applying on social media, ensure your profile is up to date and professional as these will be checked and looked at by Recruiters!
On Facebook, when you apply, be sure to upload a proper CV. Facebook automatically creates a CV for you based on your profile when you apply without your own CV. This is a problem as many of us have our privacy settings on Facebook to hide information such as our location, work history etc and so this will not show on your application. Your CV application will have minimal to no information which Recruiters may overlook. Some Recruiters may contact you directly and ask for a different CV from the Facebook one so be sure to respond to any messages quickly and professionally.
You can also apply to new roles directly on Agency websites and their social media pages. Often when a job has reached its closing date, if the right candidate was not found, the position is opened up to Agencies who will then advertise and source the roles themselves. This means that via Agencies, you will be able to find positions that might not be currently advertised elsewhere! Some companies outsource all their Recruitment to Agencies like us. If you are not regularly checking Agency websites, you could be missing out on these opportunities too.
It can be worthwhile sending your CV and a brief overview of the work you are looking for to the Agencies as sometimes we do not always advertise all our positions online. We can also then approach our clients to see if there are any positions that are or will be available to meet your requirements. Be sure to check our latest vacancies in your area and submit your CV to us.
When registering with Agencies you should look to remain honest and transparent at all times. You should inform us should your situation change. If you have sent us your CV but have since found your own job, let us know. If you are registered with several Agencies and being approached for several positions with them, let us know. It helps us to understand your availability and we can use this information to ensure a quicker turnaround regarding decisions from our Clients. Sometimes, Clients take a few days or even a week to provide feedback on CVs and Interviews and in that time, Candidates accept other positions. If we know you are being approached for other roles, we can anticipate this and move things along as quickly as possible. Especially if you are currently out of work and available immediately/without notice.
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