Yahoo Finance 4 Tricks That Can Help You Get a New Job Faster
Jobs—we love to hate them, but most of us can’t live without ‘em. In one of my previous office jobs, 90% of my colleagues, desperate to get out, regularly hounded recruiters to send them for interviews. Trying to find another job is a very trying endeavour when you’re currently in an unsatisfactory one or, worse, when you’ve got none and are eating into your savings just by staying alive. If you’re firmly planted in the “desperate” camp, here are 4 things you can do that can speed up your search other than trawling in despair through jobsDB.
1. Use your SkillsFuture credit
If you’re applying for a job that doesn’t completely overlap with your last role, you might be getting rejected because employers just don’t think your experience is relevant enough. This happens particularly in more senior roles than entry-level ones, because employers tend to want to hire people who can run on auto-pilot the minute they turn up on their first day instead of having to train them.
Taking courses using your SkillsFuture credit can help to plug some of the gaps. For instance, if you’ve been working in corporate communications and want to move into marketing, a course or two on digital marketing or social media management might come in handy.
While it certainly won’t be able to substitute experience on the job, it should help you demonstrate your commitment to mastering new skills and help you sound less clueless at the interview.
Good for: Those looking to move into a role that doesn’t completely overlap with their current experience.
2. Engage a headhunter
Trying to find a new job is a full-time job in itself. From trawling the web for job vacancies to prettying up your resume and attending interviews on the sly, don’t be surprised if you start feeling like you’re working two jobs at the same time.
While it certainly shouldn’t completely supplant your own job-hunting efforts, engaging a headhunter or recruiter can help you to book a few more interviews than you’d have gotten on your own.
Many companies hire exclusively through recruiters, which means you’re not going to find these positions on jobsdb.com. In addition, headhunters will often prep you for an interview by letting you in on the employer’s main concerns.
Don’t just call up one headhunter and then burst into tears when he never gets back to you with an interview. Not all headhunters are going to have the kinds of positions you’re looking for.
When you begin your job search, it’s smart to call up as many headhunters as you can find, and then drop them your resume or show up at their office for a quick chat. Also bear in mind that you’ll probably need a bit of work experience to get a job in this way. Fresh grads are probably out of luck.
Good for: Those with a few years of work experience looking to move into a related role.
3. Make a post on Facebook
There’s a good reason why you should never add your boss or colleagues on Facebook. While social media has the power to ruin lives, it might also be able to snag you a new job faster than your old boss can fire you.
This can be a good strategy for fresh grads, especially those who have seniors or mentors from internships in their social media networks.
If you have a sizeable online network, just making a post that reads “A friend of mine is looking for an entry-level position in the banking industry. Tell me if you know of any vacancies!” might garner more responses than you think.
Just note that only about 10% of the posts you make on Facebook will appear on people’s timelines. So making several periodic posts throughout your job search or sending a private message to a bunch of people might be more effective.
Good for: Fresh grads or those looking for junior positions
4. Ask to meet up with friends in the industry
As minions, we often don’t realise what an organisation looks for when they hire one of us. Our focus centres solely on showing up at work, trying not to fall asleep and leaving in time for happy hour.
If you’ve desperately tried to find a job for months with no luck, it might be time to invite a few friends or friends-of-friends out for a coffee, people who’ve been working in your industry for some time and might have noticed a few things you’ve missed.
While I didn’t have the brains to do this when I was younger, some of my juniors in my previous industry have set up meetings with me while searching for jobs. It always strikes me how little they really know about what employers are looking for, especially when they were newbies looking in on the outside.
Meeting people in the industry, even if they’re only a year or two ahead of you in the game, might also lead to a job offer or at least a tip-off for a vacancy elsewhere.
Good for: Anyone at an early stage in their careers or looking to try something new and unfamiliar.
Do you have any job hunting tips to share with us? Leave your advice in the comments!
The post 4 Tricks That Can Help You Get a New Job Faster appeared first on the MoneySmart blog.
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