In todays economic climate competition for jobs gets tougher by the day so knowing where to look for vacancies is critical if you are to eventually find employment. However despite the doom and gloom that engulfs us there are jobs out there waiting to be snapped-up, just knowing where to find them is the vital ingredient, hopefully this post today will shed some light on that for you.

1. Employment Agencies / Headhunters/ Recruitment Agencies.
Do some research on the internet to find out if there is an employment agency that specializes in your business sector. If there is then register with them, chances are that they get the vacancies before general employment agencies. If a company is looking for IT Programmer, for example, they will approach, and will in all likelihood already have relationships, with IT Agencies. However you should still register with a general employment agency to keep your options open, register with no more than 2 to 3 companies.

Tip: find out how many recruiters work in your business-sector, an employment agency with 10 working in their IT team (for example) will generally have more vacancies than that of an agency with 3 in their IT team.

2. Job Websites
Jobs are added on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis to these websites, such as Monster, CareerBuilder etc, they are used by both employers and agencies alike and should be your first port of call when job-hunting.

3. Careers Section On Company Websites
With companies eager to cut-back costs they may forfeit the luxury of having recruitment agencies hire on their behalf and instead try to recruit directly themselves. Should this be the case then those companies will be adding jobs to the “Careers” section of their websites, so keep a sharp eye on the websites of companies that your skills are most suited, as should jobs come available they will go up there before anywhere else.

4.Newspapers and Trade Magazines
Despite the growth of online newspapers you should not overlook print media in your career search. Depending on your industry, vacancies can be found in amongst the classified advertisements along with the
business/jobs supplements that most papers provide. Trade magazines are a great way of finding contacts to help with your job search.

5. Social Networking Sites
Sites such as LinkedIn, Jobster, CraigsList and many more, provide a wealth of opportunities to connect with professionals and find open jobs so market yourself well, just don’t come across in a pushy manner.

Nowadays job applicants have to extremely proactive in order to find jobs so don’t limit yourself to sending your resume out and hoping for the best, instead take the time to find where the true open vacancies exist and focus you attention on them.

Advice For A Telephone Interview

Telephone interviews normally take place when the recruiter is trying to whittle down the amount of job applicants in order to decide whom, in his/her view,are most suitable to bring forward for face-to-face interviews. They can also take place if an applicant lives a good distance away from the hiring company. Preparation for a telephone interview should be no different than that of an in-company interview, with the exception of course that you can wear whatever you like.

If the telephone interview is pre-arranged then you need to make sure that the telephone is kept clear around the time the call is expected. Ensure to take the interview in a quiet area of your house, with enough room for you to have the job specification,your resume and a notepad at your disposal, ideally on a table in front of you. On the notepad have highlights and examples of your experience in relation to the main areas of importance judged from the job spec and refer to these as you speak. Don’t read pre-written answers out in a monotone fashion, make sure your responses come across in an enthusiastic manner.

If your interview is not pre-arranged and you get an unexpected call, at work or in an unsuitable venue for a private interview, quietly excuse yourself from the room and then explain to the recruiter that you are delighted to receive the call but as you were not expecting it would it be possible for you to call him/her back later on (provide a specific time) in the day.

Once the interview begins you should try to smile as you speak this not only displays confidence to the interviewer but also allows your interview to come across in a relaxed friendly manner which will impress the interviewer.

Five questions that you should be prepared for in a telephone interview:

• What interests you about this position?
• What duties are you responsible for in your current position?
• What skills can you add to the team?
• Where do you see yourself being in 5 years time?
• Why should we hire you?

Impressing during a phone interview will be the catalyst to getting that all-important face-to-face interview so prepare well ensuring your application is a successful one.

Employment agencies can be the key to finding your dream job but then again they have a constant flow of job applicants being interviewed on a daily basis. There are some simple measures that you can take to enhance your application, this post highlights five of them.
 

Ask that they seek your permission before forwarding your resume

If hiring managers receive the same resume from a number of sources it infuriates them, so ensure you know in advance where your resume is being sent.

Build a bond with your recruiter.

By this I do not mean swamping him/her with calls, just keep in touch regularly once every 2 weeks perhaps. Don’t be pushy or take any job frustrations out on him/her, they will be just as eager as you to find a job for you as in most cases they will earn commission from it.

Register with their website

Most employment agencies update their websites on a daily basis, people who are registered are the first to get information about these roles, so if a role comes in that you think might be suitable for you, contact your recruiter straight away to source more information about the job.

If the agency secures an interview for you then arrange to meet with them a 2nd time.

There are a number of reasons why you should do this but most important of all is to find out if other candidates had been for interview, if so find out what were the reasons why they were unsuccessful. Garnering this information will allow you be best prepared for what questions to expect from the company on the day of the interview.

Send a follow-up email

This email should thank the recruiter for his/her time, tell them that you look forward to working with them and that (and this is the key part) you particularly look forward to working together on your application for the “Recruitment Manager” role (for example) as having had more time to think following the interview, you think this is the ideal role for you and that if the client company requests any more information you will gladly supply it. This email will work to your advantage because if the recruiter has a good relationship with the hiring manager he/she may forward that mail to him/her thus letting the hiring manager become aware of your high level of interest in the job.

Employment agencies will be just as keen as you to fill that dream job, so do all that you can to ensure that it is your application that they deem to be the most suitable

Cover letters are a vitally important part of the job application process, and all too often job-hunters spend so much time worrying about their resume that they overlook their cover letter which is, in essence, another page of their resume.

Cover letters should always be tailored to the position you are applying for, they should not mimic what you have in your resume instead provide a short outline of why you want the job and what makes you the ideal candidate for the job.

You should begin your letter with a warm introduction announcing how you came across the posting and how it interests you. You should declare why you think you are a suitable applicant, and explain the reasons why you want the job. Explaining why you want the job is very important as it provides an opportunity for you to personalize your application.

Cover letters should be short, certainly never exceed one page. The best way for you to display why you are a suitable candidate for the job is to list the main requirements from the job specification and then highlight your experience in relation to them, see below for example:

The candidate must have excellent presentation skills.

I am a vastly experienced sales presenter who is regularly called upon to provide advice in Sales Monthly, the industry-leading magazine.

The candidate must have 5 years sales management experience.

I have been Team-Leader in our sales division for the last 6 years,over that period I have expanded the sales team from 11 to 26 employees and successfully led the sales team to achieve their annual sales-targets for the last 5 years.

A good cover letter should be short enough for the recruiter to easily digest, yet show enough information to make your resume become of extreme interest, so focus on your cover letter and get a head-start over other applicants.

Recruiters receive a large amount of resumes on a daily basis so to ensure that your application shines you need to provide a professional resume with the salient information easily outlined. I have seen all kinds of resumes come across my desk over the years and can usually tell by the lay-out of the resume whether the candidate is suitable for the job, so getting the resume right is essential.

You resume should have your contact information across the top, this contact information should include both your email and home address along with your phone number. Don’t forget to include your cell number, as you want to make it as easy as possible for recruiters to be able to contact you.

The next part of your resume should be headed “Summary of Qualifications” and in bullet-point format underneath the heading provide an overview of your abilities and experience. You should keep these to one or two lines maximum but try to be as descriptive as possible for example instead of saying “10 years management experience”, say “10 years management experience managing teams ranging from 10 employees to 100 employees at varying stages of my career.”

The next section of your resume should be headed “Experience” and from here you should outline your career-history. For each job you should have job title, the company name, the dates of employment, and a job description. The descriptions should be in bullet-point format again, and should highlight your achievements and contributions whilst in each position, see example below:

Recruitment Manager, Sample Company, Dec 2002-Present

• Created and implemented a recruitment campaign to increase staff numbers by 50%, this was achieved on time and within budget.
• Negotiated significant discounts with recruiters and head-hunters which saved Sample Company in excess of $60,000.
• Provided training courses to senior management on the value of staff-retention.
• Developed a training plan for new employees.
• Created a company handbook for employees.

“Education” is the next heading for your resume, you should include the name of the college, your qualification and any extra information relating to your qualification such as merits or awards. If you have any professional qualifications relevant to your own area of employment you should also include them.

Before sending out your resume ensure that it is free of grammatical errors and contains no misspelled words, don’t provide any unnecessary information (such as a private blog or a link to your social-networking page). You rely on your resume to get you an interview so spend time refining it, until you are completely happy that it provides enough positive information about your career history and achievements.

While some people can be fraught with nerves on the day of an interview, others cannot wait for their opportunity to impress and get the job. Irrespective of which category of job-hunter that you fall into, here are some tips on what you should do on the day of the interview.

1. Know your resume inside out.
Try not to have to refer to your resume for information when replying to a question. You should be focused on maintaining eye-contact with your interviewer, answering questions while looking directly at the interviewer will show confidence and professionalism, two traits sure to enhance your application.

2. Know where you are going.
You should never be late for a job interview so if you are unsure of where the company is located then take a dry-run the night before to find their location. You may need to allow for traffic differences depending on the time of your dry-run

3. Go easy on the perfume or cologne.
Bear in mind that you are not going on a date, you are going to an interview so don’t have the interviewer remembering you for how you smelled, have him/her remembering you for what you said.

4. Bring an interview pack with you.
This should include copies of your resume, examples of your work and testimonials along with the job specification.

5. The waiting room
Try to remain calm as you wait for your turn to be called in for interview. Should you be wearing headphones then take them off, relax, try to put on a confident demeanor and be polite to everyone you meet from the receptionist who greets you through to everyone else in the waiting room, after all the interviewer could be there waiting for the interview room to become free.

Your job interview offers a chance for you to showcase your ability and convey to the interviewer why you are the right person for the job so look forward to it with confidence not apprehension.

It is true that sometimes the best candidates don’t always get the best jobs, however it is equally true that candidates who give thorough, professional interviews stand a greater chance of being hired. You know by now the importance of arriving to the interview in a punctual manner and suitably attired, so today let us look at ways you can impress during the interview.
 

1. Use Examples

Have examples prepared so you can provide the interviewer with an insight into your capabilities. The power of examples is vital in any job interview so demonstrate your expertise and be confident that you have made a positive impression as you leave the interview.

2. Listen

When the recruiter is speaking listen to what he is asking and then reply, don’t interrupt assuming you know the question he will end-up asking. Listening is also important for understanding what areas the recruiter is focusing on should you be called for a 2nd interview. Finally listening displays a professional air of confidence rather than rushing words out.

3. Prove that you have researched the company.

Enthusiasm is vital in any interview but channel this enthusiasm by displaying to the recruiter that you have done research in your efforts to get the job. Thanks to the internet there is a wealth of opportunities to research businesses.You should spend time absorbing information from the website of the company interviewing you, use this information to your advantage by portraying how you are the right fit for the role.

4. Talk about your ideas for the role.

You should communicate to the interviewer your ideas on the role, and how you would impact the role. Talk about strategies you think may help the business win more customers, or cut back on costs, interviewers love to hear these suggestions.

5. Allow the interviewer to bring-up any discussion of salary first.

When the interviewer enquires about your salary expectations, rather than just saying (for example) “I want $50,000″, instead take a softer approach by saying “I want a salary that is a fair reflection of my experience and skillset so a salary in the ballpark of $50,000 is what I require.” The time for salary negotiations should only come after you have been made an offer, your main focus should be on actually getting an offer, so do not demand a certain salary figure at the first-round of interviews.

Adhering to these 5 steps will help you on the road to interview success and allow you the comfort of knowing that you have made a favorable impression on the interviewer.

I am often asked about job interview tips and I tell everyone the same thing, a job interview doesn’t begin the minute you walk in to the room for your interview, it has commenced the moment the interviewer first received your application. 

Your resume and cover letter are your initial communication tools and ones that will be scrutinized with as much attention to detail as the interviewers feedback sheet following the interview so in advance of any job application take time to ensure all elements of pre-interview communications are handled with professionalism and an eye for detail.

A critical element in searching for employment is to know what to wear to the job interview. Get it wrong and your interview could be doomed before it begins, the interviewer will be musing “here’s somebody who didn’t even bother checking out our dress-code”, on the other hand blending in with the company’s idea of acceptable attire and you will show an air of professionalism about you that will enhance your application.

Interview techniques vary from recruiter to recruiter but there are certain interview questions that crop-up more often than not such as;

• why do you want the job?
• what are your strengths and weaknesses?
• why do you wish to leave your current job?
• do you have any questions for me?

These are key questions in any interview therefore the recruiter will be underlining your responses and keeping a keen ear to what you have to say. Preparation for job interviews is not complete until you have responses for those questions and are comfortable engaging further in these areas should the interviewer wish to probe even more.

Knowing the right answers to interview questions is of extreme importance but you should not go down the route of giving formulaic responses to difficult interview questions as the recruiter will notice this immediately.

The difference between getting the job and not getting the job can hinge on the tiniest most minute detail so be prepared, be inspired and be successful.