finding a new job Archives - Page 2 of 3

How to Use Social Media in Your Job Hunt

I recently asked Oasis HR to share their thoughts on how job seekers should be making use of the various Social Media sites as part of their job hunt and I am delighted that they have shared their thoughts below.

Gone are the days where agencies and internal recruiters would have a job role to fill, post an advert and wait for responses and that be it. Nearly everyone has now heard of the term social media and a large majority are using it but are they using it effectively to benefit their career?

In this day and age people need to be more proactive and think about how they market themselves as professionals. As the number of platforms people can find information about you increases, the more important it is to create a ‘personal brand’. This is especially true for people actively seeking jobs. Below are some tips on how to optimise your personal brand on different social media platforms to be appealing to recruiters and companies. If you want to position yourself as a valuable asset for a specific industry or promote your unique skills-set, then it’s up to you do to this online (even more relevant in today’s candidate driven market).

Firstly not every platform is relevant for every industry and job role, but you need to ensure you have presence on a number of platforms to expose yourself effectively to the businesses you’re targeting. Below are the platforms that we, as recruiters, may use to headhunt talent with tips on how to optimise your profile on each. Bear in mind that at Oasis HR we predominantly operate within the mid to senior HR market, however these tips are mostly relevant no matter what job you’re looking to secure.

LinkedIn

Join groups and network with relevant industry bodies and thought-leadership communities
If you’re actively searching for a job, update you headline to state this and put a contact number. For example ‘seeking new opportunities, please contact on 077********’
Make your headline different to your job title so that you come up in more search results
Make sure profile is set to public
Get people to endorse you for relevant skills
Comment on relevant articles in your field to increase your exposure to recruiters (this also helps you position yourself as an industry expert)
Incorporate a blog into your profile
Connect to as many relevant recruiters as possible
Research prospective employers’ company pages and connect with relevant contacts when possible
Have a look at another blog we wrote on 13 tips to optimise your LinkedIn profile

Blogging

Blogging can be great tool for increasing your exposure and helping you to be seen as an industry expert. It is important to blog relevant industry articles but also communicate it in your own style to give the reader an idea of your personality. A blog can also be something you present in interviews showing your passion and knowledge of the area you are applying for.

Facebook

Follow corporate pages and comment on discussions. Also follow the careers page of companies you want to work for to gain information on the company and receive real time updates of new requisitions

Make sure your profile looks professional to the outside eye. Facebook is a tool we all use to engage more informally with our personal networks, so be conscious of your privacy settings and think twice about the type of posts and pictures you’re sharing if you don’t restrict your content to ‘friends only’

Twitter

Another tool to market yourself. If you follow the right people this will give you content to post much quicker than searching for it yourself
Re-tweet industry experts / news and tweet any of your own content to ensure you are seen as knowledgeable in your industry
Follow and engage with companies
Many companies post jobs via Twitter and also use hashtags to add a degree of ‘searchability’ to their hiring opportunities. Play around with your searches to uncover roles relevant to you

Google+

This social media platform offers a real opportunity for candidates and recruiters. Although it is not as well used as other social media sites, many recruiters are beginning to capitalise on the platform from a headhunting perspective, so again it can provide you with a further opportunity to reveal yourself to recruiters

Make sure your profile represents your personal brand and your areas of speciality
Have your contact details present
Use circles and communities to network and read around your industry

If you don’t have time for all of the above, we would highly recommend you focus on a couple of social media platforms and ensure these really represent you. The more people you follow that are relevant to your industry, the more information and insights are at your disposal to post on your own pages. But most importantly you are dramatically increasing your chances of crossing paths with a recruiter who might just have your dream job at their finger tips!

Oasis HR

A lot of businesses will tell you that they’re on an exciting journey with great projections for the future. We really are. Following our ‘back-bedroom’ origins in 2004, we’ve come a long way; globally recognised awards, international operations and an established APAC networking group.

We certainly don’t intend on slowing down any time soon. Through a blend of ambition, dedication and commitment to our industry sector, HR, Oasis HR will become the…Number one Global HR Recruitment partner of choice.

You can connect with us on Twitter at @theoasishr

The ART of Company Research

We all know it’s essential to research a company before an interview don’t we. But do we know why we are doing it? Well, we will be able to answer the “What do you know about us?” question of course, but I think it goes deeper than that. Essentially you need to be able to help the interviewer begin to picture you actually working in the organisation and the clearer you can paint this picture by aligning yourself to what is happening in the business, the more motivated the recruiter will be to hire you.

How do we do this? Well for starters we don’t fall for the oldest trick in the book, which was highlighted by that awful interview process they go through on The Apprentice. One candidate was asked by one of the Rottweilers “So what do you know about Amstrad?” He replied “Alan Sugar started it in 1968…” and proceeded to tell the Amstrad story. The camera panned away to another scene; came back and he was still talking about the colourful history. Panned away; came back and he was still going! Yes he’d done his research, but how useful was it?

My view is that you must be smart about your research. The interviewer really isn’t too interested in that you know the company was founded in 1906 on a market stall….They are hiring you for their future, not their past so let’s feed them the information that leaves them with the feeling that you will fit into that future. This means the information you research has to be current and if there is any indication of what their future plans are, then all the better.

Where Do I find This Information?

Company Website

Yes, have a brief look at the history for background info but click very quickly (dependant on company size) to the press releases, or investor relations tab where current and future-focused information is housed. Also do have a look at their current product or service range. What’s your opinion of it? Are you getting a sense that they are acquisitive or spreading around the globe? If you are fluent in a language where you can see that they are looking to develop into, this is gold dust which you can share at interview helping paint the picture.
Also have a look and see if they have published values. Always useful to know them to marry against your own, but also if appropriate asking how the values are lived in the business is a great question to ask at the end of an interview.

You may also find the company has their own blog site or a comprehensive careers page with interesting information relating to particular job types.

Company Research Sites

A number exist such as Hoovers.com but are mainly subscription based. Some useful information can be gained such as on Hoovers if you bring up the basic information it tells you who the company’s 3 main competitors are. Useful. Instead of these sites however I would now reference the multitude of information on social media sites – this is where insights are, rather than dry facts.

Social Media

The most useful in my view are:

LinkedIn – I’m sure we are all LinkedIn users, if not then please read the blogs on its benefits to candidates, but LinkedIn holds a wealth of information on not only the organisation but obviously the people within it. This opens another door to personal referral listed below, but use your contacts and Companies tab to see how you are able to gain first hand info on the company.
Facebook – In this world of employer branding, companies of all sizes are likely to have a Facebook page. This is a fantastic way to see how the organisation interacts with its customers and prospective employees. You get a very real sense (warts and all sometimes) about the company’s style, approach and attitude. If this suits you then again referring to this helps to paint the picture.
Twitter – As with Facebook you’ll see the company actively reaching out to its market. If you follow them the discussions may provide you with real insights as well as the possibility of job postings.
Glassdoor – A site that has gained real traction over the last few years where people post their experiences of companies onto the site. Take some with a pinch of salt, but if you see a trend appearing utilise the good and question the bad.
Brave New Talent – A site set up to share knowledge. Companies post small learning videos and through a free account you can again get an insight into the organisation’s thinking or approach to market.

Personal Referral

There is still no substitute for talking with someone who works there. Get referred to people who will hopefully share a balanced view of the business and may be able to refer you on further. Do plan for these conversations though – what would you really like to know? Without bragging, if the interviewer realises you already have a small network in the business, that picture is being painted.

Job Boards

I always think it is fascinating to see if the company is advertising for other jobs in the market. How do they phrase the content, what are they saying about the company’s future? Are there loads of jobs in sales for example – what does that mean? Where are most jobs located?

Competing Companies

Sounds odd maybe but if you do similar research on the competitors you may pick up vital market comparisons and initiatives that may be intelligence for the recruiting company. “I see that X are developing low emission products. What are your plans in this market?”

Researching a company is an art. The art is to paint the picture of you working in the future organisation, so search for relevant info that you can relate to and draw the interviewer’s attention to this. No research is wasted, so enjoy it and see it as a genuinely interesting fact finding mission – but know what facts you may find useful and add them to your palette. Brush up on the people and culture of the organisation and you’ll be ready to canvass yourself out there in the market place. (OK, OK, even I’m cringing with the puns now, sorry!). Good luck!!

Paul Deeprose

Paul Deeprose runs The Career Gym, helping you get your career into shape.

Please do tweet him @pauldeeprose if you want to give your whole career a workout, or need one-off personal support in career planning, interview practice or CV writing.

Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid While Seeking a Job

I am fairly certain that there’s one 10 out of 10 that none of us want to score. That top score is making all the Top 10 Mistakes that Jobseekers make based on my recent discussions. None of us set out to make mistakes when we are job searching but I am sure we all do. Mistakes such as interviews which get off to a bad start by us addressing the interviewer by the wrong name, or going completely blank when we are asked for basic information, or by appearing too eager which some say can come across as desperation.

From my discussions recently, as I have been focusing on my job search activity it seems that some job seekers make the same mistakes time and again. So below are the top 10 mistakes made by job seekers and how you can avoid making those same errors.

The Generic Resume/CV

The first mistake that a lot of job seekers seem to make is sending out resumes (or CVs as we call them in the UK) in a generic way. Whether through online websites, email or snail mail. It’s all too easy, especially with online job sites to simply click “apply” and send the same resume for every job.

Instead always look to customise your application (both CV and Cover Letter) to address the specific requirements of the role you are applying for.

Outdated Information

The second mistake is having outdated information on your CV and not including appropriate changes, new information, qualifications etc.

Instead you need to take the time to have a professional looking CV which includes keywords related to your roles and the roles you are applying for. If you can’t do it yourself or you want to know what is currently working then it is worthwhile talking to a professional CV writer. In some instances, your CV is the only shoe you will get in the door of the company. You want it to look as brightly polished as possible don’t you.

Spelling Errors

The third mistake job seekers often make is having grammar or spelling mistakes in resumes, on the cover letter or in correspondence with the company. If grammar and spelling isn’t your strong point, then do ask someone you know is good at it to proofread it for you. Even with spell checkers you may still get mistakes.

Dressed Inappropriately

The fourth mistake people make is showing up for an interview dressed inappropriately. Personally I take the default position of always wearing a suit and tie even if you know that the company has a casual approach to dress in the office. You want your image to say, “I’m a hardworking professional” who values the fact that you are interviewing me for this role.

Lame Excuses

There are going to be situations which make you late even if you have done everything you could to make sure that you were there on time. I can well remember going for an interview in the centre of Manchester, arriving early and then as I approached the offices of the organisation that was interviewing me discovering a “police incident” which meant that the offices were inaccesible! You might have though that the organisation would have tried to call me to warn me but they hadn’t. However, because I was well prepared I had the recruiting manager’s and the recruiter’s mobile ‘phone numbers stored in my ‘phone and I called both to let them know I was in the vicinity but couldn’t get through. That counted in my favour when it came to the re-arranged interview.

However, I have also interviewed people who have made the fifth mistake of offering lame excuses for being late for the interview. If you are late and haven’t been able to call to let them know, apologise and if you have a legitimate reason then of course give it. However, if it’s because you couldn’t find their offices, then I have to say that’s not a good reason for being late! Make sure you look up directions ahead of time, telephone the reception of the offices beforehand if need be and check where they are (especially if it’s in a newly developed area of the town or city) and make sure that you give yourself additional time to get there.

Taking The Opportunity to Rant!

When I was interviewing one of the things that frequently surprised me was the number of people who made the sixth mistake of taking an interview as the opportunity to rant about their previous employer. When asked about leaving your current or former job, however you might feel about them do not on a rant about your last boss or previous company. No matter how awful it was or is, you really need to stay professional.

Salary Discussions

The seventh mistake job seekers sometimes make is to start asking about salaries too early in the process. Assuming that you responded to an advertisement that gave a salary range then you should know that you are applying for a role that will pay in the region of what you are looking for. I am very aware that there seems to be a growing tendency to advertise roles without a salary range and that can be frustrating. I know that I have seen roles advertised that appear to want the candidates to be super heroes with more skills and experience than you could imagine without any mention of the salary range. It then transpires that they don’t want to pay at the level you would expect for the role. Why do companies do that? Lots of reasons but that’s for another article!

For now, let’s just focus on the fact that I would recommend that you should only start to discuss salary options after learning about the job requirements and when the organisation is looking to make you an offer, not before. You should focus on what you can do to catapult the company forward, not just on the salary payment and benefits.

Lack of Preparation

The eighth mistake many job seekers make is failing to do their homework on the company they are applying to. In my opinion this really is unforgiveable as it indicates to the interviewer that you are not that interested in the organisation. As a minimum you need to review the company’s website, social media accounts, press releases etc. and try to gain an understanding of how they operate and what their future plans are. By doing this you will then gain insight into the organisation which will put you in a better position to convey how you will add value, bring skills that they can use and hopefully fit in perfectly.

Overplaying What You Have Done

The ninth mistake that people make is lying on a job application or padding a CV. As an interviewer it becomes very obvious to you that someone has not got the experience they claim in their CV when you start to probe a little about what they as an individual actually did rather that what the team they worked within did. Let your experience speak for itself and if you don’t have experience, just be honest about why you’d like to work for the company and start out learning from them.

Not Networking

Finally, the tenth mistake that some people make and one which can stop them finding a job as fast as they would like is failing to actively network. I know that it can be all too easy to get caught up in all the activity of your current role and not have the time to network with others. However, your networking contacts can be be a great source of advice and help when you are looking for that next role. Nowadays with sites such as LinkedIn (you will find me at Paul Duxbury) it is very easy to start building a network of contacts.

So how many did you score out of 10? I hope it was zero but if you did identify some areas that you could do more about then today’s the day to start addressing those issues.

6 Steps to LinkedIn Success

When Paul asked me to write a post for his new blog, ‘Job Search Advice for 2014’ I knew I’d have to write about something current and when it comes to job search techniques, there’s nothing more current than social media.

The big player in the ‘Social Job Search’ is undoubtedly LinkedIn, so for this post I’m going to take a closer look at how you can make the most of it.

Create a Strong Profile

In the past LinkedIn profiles were thought of as merely an online representation of your CV. Nowadays the LinkedIn profile has morphed into so much more. Whilst a CV is limited to 2 pages, a LinkedIn profile gives you the opportunity to tell an employer a little bit more. To ensure that your LinkedIn profile is showing you in the best light you need to include the following:

A professionally taken headshot
An eye catching headline
A summary that oozes personality and passion
A detailed experience section
Keywords that relate to your role or industry – This will help recruiters to find you when they are scouring LinkedIn for new staff
Recommendations and endorsements from past or current colleagues

Set Your Privacy Settings

Just like the drunk at a party who tells you way too much about their personal life, your connections don’t want to hear about every little change that you make to your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to turn off activity broadcasts and change the setting to “select who can see your activity feed” to “only you.” You can always change it back when you want to tell your network something important such as actively looking for work or that you’ve just gained a new qualification.

GarnerNew Connections the Right Way

There’s an art to making new connections on LinkedIn and from experience I’ve found that a lot of people are doing it wrong. It seems that a large proportion of people are using LinkedIn’s auto connect requests and stock messages. These are to be avoided like the plague (read a little more about this here). Make the effort to write a personalised message explaining why you should connect and include the following:

A reminder of where you met or a little information about where you found out about them
Why you’d like to connect with them – Ensure that this isn’t one sided, it’s not just about what they can do for you; primarily it should be about what you can do for them!

Become a Groupie

One of the best ways to find new connections within your industry is to join industry specific groups. Being a member of interest groups will enable you to interact with people in your industry by taking part in discussions. Ensure that your answers are well thought out and insightful and you’ll be able to show that you’re a thought leader, impressing would be connections. Being a groupie gives you the chance to reach out to new connections that aren’t already contacts, allowing you to expand your network without upgrading to LinkedIn premium.

Revisit Old Connections

Whilst you may talk to some of your LinkedIn connections regularly, for others it may have been a while. Reconnecting with old connections can be a great way to reinvigorate your LinkedIn network. I challenge you to pick 10 connections that you haven’t talked to for a while and send them a message asking them how they are, checking what they are up to nowadays and letting them, know a little about what you’re doing at the moment. Importantly, they may have changed roles, got a promotion or they could even be in a management position with a need for new staff. Rekindle those old connections and breathe a little life into your LinkedIn network, you never know what it might lead to!

If You’re Actively Job Searching – Tell the World!

If you’re on the job hunt and either don’t mind your current employer finding out or are between jobs, why not tell everyone in your LinkedIn network by including it in your LinkedIn headline. Before you change your headline you’ll need to make sure that you’ve changed your privacy settings back to ‘broadcast’ temporarily so that everyone in your network knows that you’re looking for work. Hopefully some of your connections will know of opportunities coming up or they may even be in the market for new employees themselves. It’s a great way of letting recruiters know that you’ll be open to their approaches.

Leo Woodhead writes extensively about Careers and was named as one of the Top 10 Careers Advice people to follow on Twitter by Guardian Careers.

If you want to talk about your LinkedIn networking or about your career in general he says that you should feel free to send him a tweet @thecareersblog and be sure to keep an eye on his blog here for useful advice.

How To Organise Your Job Search Records

I have been talking to various people who are in the process of securing a new role, whether that be because of compulsory redundancy (like me at the time of writing) or for other reasons. One of the challenges that I hear about quite frequently is job search record keeping. Whether it’s for your own benefit or you need to maintain records for your insurance company or for the Job Centre having an organised approach is essential. I thought that I would share how I have approached it and hopefully you will be able to adapt it to suit your needs.

Today, a mid-level manager or professionals can often spend six months or more searching for a job. Needless to say it is a more complicated business than sending out CVs. The individual actions may be simple, but the job searcher faces an extraordinary volume of information and must manage multiple applications simultaneously. It is therefore critical to keep all this data organised in order to avoid getting bogged down. This is where good job search record keeping comes in. A good record keeping system allows you to stay motivated and focused on your ultimate goal, while avoiding mistakes and confusion.

The Job Search Record Keeping System

It is possible to keep job search records in many different ways. You can do it on the computer as I do, in traditional filing systems, or with a large binder. As the binder method is simple to implement and easily portable, that is what we will cover here. Nevertheless these suggestions can easily be adapted to other methods and in fact replicate what I do on the computer.

Section: Your Job Target and Career Aims

Your filing system should start off with a clear statement of your current target job. It is a good idea to have a separate section in the binder for this, marked off with a tab divider sheet.

Also include in this section any personal branding statements, recent assessments you have completed, and reference articles on your target career.

Section: Personal Marketing Documents

This section, again delineated by a tabbed divider, should hold master copies of your biography, CV/Resume, job search correspondence, references list, personal salary history, and other documents you use in your job search. Also include in this section any letters of reference which you have, educational certificates, awards, or other documents which demonstrate your qualifications.

Section: Industry and Company Research

Here you can keep research articles and other information on the companies which you would be interested in working for or that you are planning to target. If you have collected data on industry trends and the like which is relevant to these firms, include it here also.

Section: Job Listings

Though you will want to keep a more detailed log of activity elsewhere, this section should hold copies of each ad you’ve answered. With each ad, include notes on the date you responded to the ad as well as documents which you sent over.

Section: Internet Job Search Data

Internet job searches often involve juggling many different websites. Keep records here of which sites you are using, where you’ve posted your CVs, as well as the logins and passwords to the sites.

Section: Referrals and Networking

In this section, keep hard-copy printouts of your personal “networking address book” for easy reference. You can and should note down any information about the individuals in question which is worth remembering.

Section: Agencies and Recruiters

If you are like many professionals, you will have some contact with job search agencies and headhunters. Keep notes about the ones you contact here.

Section: Interview Preparation

As you prepare for interviews, you’ll accumulate notes on what to say and do, as well as questions you’d like to ask employers. Collect them in this section. You can also include notes about past interviews, so you have all your interview-related data in one place for easy later review.

Section: Salary Research

This section holds the research and data you collect in order to determine your own “fair market value” as a job candidate, such as salary surveys in your industry. The data here will be very important when it comes to salary negotiations after you have a job offer.

Conclusion

Your job search record keeping binder or folders on your computer let you have one central place to store all the data pertaining to your job search in a single place. By keeping an up-to-date and accurate records of your activities and contacts, you’ll find your job search goes faster and produces better results. You always know where your attention should be focused and what your next task should be.

The other side of all this is that you must avoid getting bogged down in excessive record keeping. It’s important to take an organised and systematic approach to your job search, but it’s even more important to get started on it. You should never let the lack of a “perfect system” stop you from beginning the search. If you find establishing your system takes more than a few days, leave it and start looking for work. Your system will establish itself as you do so, based on the actual needs of your search at the time.