Finding best job leads

The recipe for a successful job search can best be discovered if you have the ability to get into the hidden job market. And you have to do so incontrovertibly well. Regrettably, most people out hunting jobs do not take proper initiatives in this regard.

Job vacancies get to be known through different means. They get advertised in newspapers or posted on online job portals. Research shows that accounts for only one-fifth of all job vacancies. Nearly eighty percent of openings do not get advertised at all. So, if you focus on only advertised openings, you will be frittering away your valuable time and losing out on countless other prospects. Therefore, you need to apportion your time accordingly; eighty percent of it should focus on unadvertised jobs and the balance on advertised ones. Why?

Since advertised jobs are in public domain, they are always easy to spot. On the contrary, unadvertised job opportunities entail significant effort in discovering them. If you get to peruse advertised job openings, so will others. There will thus be many contenders for a single post and hence getting into one can prove to be a monumental effort. However, hidden jobs, by virtue of inherent difficulties in finding them, very few people get to know about them. The competition therefore, is much less. And when there is minimal competition, the chances of getting one stands heightened.

Job openings are generally advertised only as an unavoidable option, usually as a last resort. An inference that can be drawn from this is that advertised job vacancies are rather difficult to fill. More often than not, they are less perfect for some reason or the other or the qualitative requirements set by the employer calls for special expertise in a person whose recruitment thus is rendered difficult. An unadvertised job for that reason implies that hiring people is an easy matter. A corollary to this is that unadvertised job openings are mostly for people who are very keen to get them.

A job search confined to advertised openings means imposing restrictions on yourself. Going by statistical logic, every advertised job that you search implies missing out on four unadvertised ones. The prospects of getting a job are thus in the same ratio. The topmost job search secret is earmarking twenty percent of your job search effort on advertised jobs and eighty percent on hidden jobs.

But you need to have a definite job search strategy to be successful. You have to be at your ‘TOP’ – where ‘T’ means thorough, ‘O’ signifies open and ‘P’ implies pertinent. You need to be thorough in your outlook, initiatives and actions. You need to advertise yourself too and hence you must post your CV on various online job portals so that employers and recruiters get to contact you. Being obvious means remaining noticeable and you can be so if you portray your updated picture. Your resume has to be kept updated; it has to be succinct with all your recent achievements appropriately included. Remember that for the purpose of shortlisting, employers and recruiters invariably tend to attach more significance to your last two or three jobs. You also need to be pertinent – to the job being applied for and your knowledge. Accordingly, your resume needs to be tailored for your ideal position. This can be achieved by highlighting your capabilities and attainments in the context of facilitating productivity.

A job search can be a challenging encounter and experience. It is bound to generate tensions and strains because of the prolonged process that it is. You must regard this as an inevitability and carry on with patience. Concurrently, you must mot waste your time and efforts in applying for job whose qualitative requirements are not fulfilled by you. The crux lies in being smart in applying to selected jobs only. You will need guidance and encouragement in your job search and hence must have suitable people to assist you.

  Remember that to be truly successful in your job-search, following up a job lead is very important. After forwarding your resume to a prospective employer, your follow-up action ought to be finding out if it has been received and of course, ensuring that indeed are called for an interview for the position. The follow-up action has to be aggressive, persistent and professional. You may maintain a record of all follow-up actions taken.

Whether you are unemployed or simply looking to make a move, in a world where jobs are more competitive than ever, finding a job is a full-time job. There is no single best source of leads. The obvious ones are the ones advertised, but they are generally the least rewarding because nearly every other job seeker out there is checking out and pursuing them. More often than not, the best job lead comes from the most unlikely source; it may come out of the blue. The reality and the challenge for you is that you need to unfailingly pursue dozens of avenues all the time.