Anyone who says they have perfected the art of job seeking is either kidding themselves or telling a big fib! Finding a job can take many different routes, from the old-fashioned circling opportunities in a newspaper to searching the latest jobs board on a smartphone app. The truth is, there is no single way to do it!
However, a lot of the basics have stayed the same (we’re yet to see the end of HR Managers replaced by robot counterparts!) and jobseekers still tend to fall on the same mistakes which might make their job search that much harder than it needs to be.
We’ve listed the most common pitfalls we see in recruitment… are you guilty of any of them?
Not adjusting your CV or cover letter
Make your CV specific to the job you’re applying for – don’t send out the same one with a blanket statement to every company out there. Employers tend to scan over a CV, so the most relevant skills should be toward the top.
A cover letter catered to the company will also make it even more personal. It may add an extra five minutes onto your application time but it’s worth doing to make your application memorable.
Spreading yourself too thin
If you apply for anything and everything, you’re in danger of landing yourself a job you may not necessarily want. Unless you are in dire straits, keep in your mind what direction you want to take. Alternatively, you may wish to consider temporary work if you need a job ASAP.
Plus, no employer wants to hear you want any job out there. They want to hear that their job is the one for you and why!
Trusting a website
When you view jobs on a website, whether it be a job board or a company website, you are relying on data that is in danger of being completely out of date or inaccurate. There could be 10 jobs listed when in actual fact they have new roles coming in every day!
Always call and speak with someone directly as this gives you the best up to date information.
Waiting around
If you’re trusting that you’ll get a call back every time you make an application, you’re very much mistaken. As recruiters, we try to contact every person that gets in touch but sometimes we need a helping hand. Give your recruiter a call when you haven’t heard anything; we’d rather have a persistent candidate than one we can’t get hold of.
Not reaching out
Using platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can prove to be a useful tool in finding a job. Although you may avoid openly discussing your job search online due to existing employment, there are still ways you can actively search for opportunities. More and more employers are now advertising roles on their own social media pages as standard practice.
Don’t just keep your search on job boards, actively search for people who could assist you! Look at their company pages. What jobs are they advertising for? Is there someone you can reach out to?
Preparing to fail
Using a job interview as ‘interview experience’ in the first instance is never a good mindset. Enter each interview with the intention of getting the job. Sure, no one wants to get their hopes up but it’s better to go in with a positive mental attitude than to put yourself off straight away.
This also goes for interview preparation. Don’t leave preparing for an interview until the night before, start looking into them as soon as you have applied for a great role. If you’ve tailored that cover letter (remember our point from before?) and listed your skills that you know they are looking for, there’s no reason why you can’t start that preparation early.
What we’ve described above is pretty simple and are easy fixes to make. If you haven’t catered your CV to a particular role, start doing so with your next application. Also, if you haven’t spoken to your recruiters for some time, give them a call to catch up. Don’t let little mistakes get in the way of finding your next opportunity!
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