Where to Search for a Job

The job market is vast and rapidly changing. The important thing to remember is that job opportunities always exist, whatever the state of the economy. The key is finding out where they are.

In this article we describe the five routes into the job market: the "visible" routes of advertisements, recruitment consultants and the Internet and the "hidden" routes of personal contacts and direct approaches.



Why are many jobs never advertised?



There are several possible reasons:

• the decision to recruit might not have yet been made

• the need to recruit has not yet been identified

• the cost of advertising is too high

• recruitment can be carried out more quickly via the hidden market.



Examine every option



Whatever your experience or expertise, it is important to mount a balanced campaign using all approaches to the job market: advertisements, agencies and Internet as well as personal contacts and direct approaches. The amount of time and effort you devote to each route will vary according to your industry, job function, the level of competition and your own situation.





Advertised vacancies



In the visible job market, advertisements attract a large number of applicants who then have to be reduced to a small number of interviewees. This makes the visible market highly competitive. When they have large numbers of job applicants, employers or their recruitment agents, will scrutinise applications closely, looking for reasons to ‘weed’ people out.



This is another reason why your job applications (whatever form they may take) should be well written, free of spelling mistakes, relevant to the role and explicit about what you can bring to the role (whilst we do not suggest embellishment of any kind, there is no room for modesty in a job search!)





Recruitment consultants



Broadly speaking, recruitment consultants are paid by employers to find the right person to fit a particular job, which means that they will not generally be interested in canvassing employers on your behalf. Having said that, they do develop close relationships with some clients and may be aware of an imminent job opportunity.





Using the internet



The Internet can be used to access many types of material including advertisements, corporate and general company information. By reading trade and general publications you will be presented with Internet website addresses for agencies, recruitment consultants, publications, job servers, trade associations and much more.



Personal contacts



Working in the ‘hidden’ employment market allows you to remain in control and to make things happen. If you have made a direct approach or been introduced by a contact, you may be the only "real" candidate, even if the position is subsequently advertised.





Taking a balanced approach into searching for a new job is the best way to find work. Explore all of the possibilities available for you. If you are concerned about finding work or would like more information and career guidance, contact Career Analysts.