How To Look For Work

Are you relying on  internet job search to look for work?  If so, you may be missing out on great career and employment opportunities.

You know your career direction and you have a "you beaut" targeted resume designed to find a job of your choice.  Hopefully you have looked at our

5 sections on letter writing and now you are itching to start your job search to find that perfect job.

A large majority of job seekers with access to a computer will go online to find a  job.  However, this is not the only way to look for work. While it can't be proven by statistics, a large percentage of our clients did not find their job via internet job boards or online employment services : Please take the time to scroll down and find out how you can increase you career opportunities.

This section looks at  internet job search verses traditional job search methods - advantages and disadvantages

You may think you know all the ways to look for work, however, the popularity of internet job search or job finding sites, commonly referred to as job boards, has led a new generation of job seekers away from looking for work using more traditional recruitment methods. As a result they are competing against many hundreds of applicants.  Employers have also changed their recruitment methods; finding the internet cost effective and fast. They often use a combination of methods to fill job vacancies.  We have identified 18 ways to find a job. These are discussed briefly on this page and in-depth at Recruitment Methods

Advantages of using internet employment services

Using the internet to look for work has many advantages, in particular for people who are employed and want to change jobs. Advantages are:-

• It is easier to search for a job in your area of expertise

• It is easier to submit job applications

• You can search and apply for jobs outside business hours - 24/7

• Your can apply for more jobs per day/week

• There are over 10,000 employment related web sites to choose from.

• You save money on photocopying and postage

• It opens up new employment opportunities outside your geographical area that you may not have considered before

• You can have job alerts sent to you by signing up with a job board such as CareerOne and Seek.

Disadvantages of internet employment services

• Less opportunity for the applicant to market themselves effectively
• It attracts more competition, losing your marketing advantage
• You may have to use an online employment form requiring you to submit irrelevant and damaging information.
• Your privacy may be compromised if you post your resume online.
• The crucial cover letter (application letter) that is your competitive advantage, may not be required or read
• Your document may not arrive in the format it was sent
• You may have to send a plain text resume - unattractive and uninteresting
• Many employers do not post their jobs on the internet
• Privacy concerns. You may inadvertently go through a third party
• Employers are still using traditional recruitment methods to fill many types of vacancies- jobs in some occupations are not placed on the internet
• Employer's will use a number of recruitment methods for different types of job vacancies, often simultaneously, which increases the competition.
• A hard copy resume can create a better presentation than a file attachment, however it must be scanner friendly.
• Many occupations in small business are not placed on the internet

A very large number of companies are doing their recruitment through their own website - mining companies are one example. Companies who do graduate recruitment nearly always use their own website. So traditional ways of looking for these opportunities are still important.  See Career and Job Opportunities.

Use the Google search box to look for work in specialised areas. For example, use key words to specify what type of job you are looking for,  ie looking for work within the mining industry. Use Mining + recruitment+ Western Australia : Engineer jobs+western australia : or Recruitment+mining+wa :  Recruitment + IT; Employment agencies+finance : graduate recruitment+finance

Need to be more specific?  Just put an addition symbol between keywords , for example, Mining+WA+plant operator+bulldozers. 

USE THESE KEYWORDS USE A PLUS SIGN TO PUT YOUR OWN STATE, OR COUNTRY. MANY RECRUITMENT FIRMS ARE NATIONAL. THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES.  COLUM IS JUST ON THIS PAGE TO SEPARATE GROUPS. DO NOT PUT IN SEARCH BOX.   

Looking for job boards such as SEEK and CareerOne that cover all jobs? Search   Seek+australia   or  CareerOne+australia. Looking for Jobs abroad? just try  internet job boards+UK;   or jobs+IK

Use keywords, not long phrases.   Only keywords picked up

Custom Search

Recruitment methods chosen by companies are directly related to the type of job vacancy, size of the company, lead time to full it and recruitment needs and expectations, are a few reasons why different recruitment methods are used. Interestingly, research shows that job seekers are more successful in looking for work through word of mouth (networking) and is still second only to recruitment through employment agencies.

In smaller companies, word of mouth comes second to cold calling and slightly more than advertising through newspapers.

While some traditional methods of recruitment are still competitive, the market is less crowded. In fact, many jobs are not being filled. One need only read the number of advertisements in the paper, and listen to anecdotal information to know that traditional methods of employment have not been overtaken by the internet job boards or job banks. (recruitment sites)

What is important is that job seekers are not tapping into a large number of potential sources of vacancies if they confine their job search to internet job finding sites / job boards. Many people have grown quite lazy as a result of the ease in which they can submit online job applications.

job seekers need to combine internet job search with traditional recruitment methods to look for work.

Your job search will follow traditional lines with 5 main activities. What has changed is the method of carrying out these activities.

The main activities are to:-

• Prepare a resume.

• Conduct research to identify potential employers and sources of  vacancies

• Prepare a job search strategy through research and an action plan

• Contact employers using several job search strategies

• Attend interviews and follow up

You will need to develop advanced job search skills to effectively prepare and implement a job search strategy.

Most importantly, remember, your resume is a marketing document. Unless it is competitive you are wasting your time, no matter what method you choose to look for work. Your resume and the way you apply for work are absolutely vital to winning a job of your choice. Whether you are currently unemployed, changing jobs or seeking promotion, you need to be up to date in the latest job search and recruitment methods. People who are within employment often lack the latest letter writing skills, for instance. Some people have not had to look for work in many years and use outdated job applications.

Understanding the recruitment process

The Internet is a powerful tool for job search. However, it is important that job seekers have a good knowledge of the recruitment and selection processes. Understanding how employers hire will help in planning a successful job search strategy.

There are many  methods of recruitment - each of these methods require a different approach and processes. 

This next section in how to look for work, is an overview of 18 methods of recruitment.  This is expanded in  great depth in Recruitment Methods, which shows you how to use each method to look for work.

Readers will be directed to the comprehensive job search support on this site, such as writing a job application letter, telephone interviewing techniques, or a more detailed explanation of the recruitment methods and selection processes. See index  Here is just a list of the recruitment methods.

Overview of methods of recruitment

Advertised positions -  Newspapers, Journals etc.  Apply to the company or through an employment/recruitment agency.

Government job - writing selection criteria -  Federal Gov, State Gov, Statutory Authorities and Gov funded agencies.

Internet job search through recruitment websites or job boards - i.e. Seek and Monster

Employment / recruitment agencies - advertised positions

Registering with a recruitment / employment agency

Registering with a job search firm

Temporary recruitment agencies - white collar

Labour hire companies - generally blue collar

Job Network (Australia)

Company websites

Specialised Employment Websites, Disabilities such 

Diversity Working, IT etc

Internal recruitment

Employee referral

Group recruitment

Cold calling - See section

Networking  - See section

Schools colleges and universities

As you can see, there are many  ways in which job seekers can look for work. Most will require job seekers to use a specific process which is the main topic of this section.