OK, so you are out of work and you are not getting any interviews. How can you improve your chances of getting a new job quickly?
Well like anything in this World you've got to work at it. In fact your new job..is to find a new job! Yes, that's right, you've got to work at it 8 hours a day (at least!). So what does this "job" involve? First things first, give your CV a complete makeover, make sure that you have a really strong profile and set out some of your key achievements and skills clearly. Have a look at my earlier blog on this subject - Writing a Winning CV With your new (and hopefully much improved) CV, you can place this on a job board like www.cwjobs.co.uk. This should generate interest from recruiters. At the same time you should be actively responding to job advertisements on the the job boards. Start pro-actively calling some of the better recruitment agencies and build relationships with several recruitment consultants. Try to identify Consultants who either specialise in your field or frequently advertise jobs in your field. Many Recruitment Consultancies have teams who focus on particular sectors (ie. Legal, Retail, Telco, etc.) while others focus on specific roles. (ie. Business Analysts, Developers and so on) either way it makes sense to work with Consultants who understand what you do and will be actively canvassing employers for your kind of job. Once you identify the right Consultants, offer to go and see them. Even if you meet up for coffee for ten minutes it's worth meeting face-to-face. Recruiters will be impressed by your motivation and will be more likely to think of you when the right job comes up.
What else can you do to improve your chances? Start thinking about the companies you would like to work for. Who were your last employer's competitors? What other companies or organisations operate in the same field? Try sending your CV to these companies on a speculative basis.
Don't forget to network, pull out that little black book (or Blackberry) and get in touch with all your old contacts and make sure that they are all aware that you are available. You might also consider attending industry events. There are a surprising number of free IT Conferences that you can attend which provide excellent opportunities for networking, have a look at http://www.events-on.net/ for the latest conference news and don't forget to take your CV!
Good luck with you new job!
Using the following simple techniques will ensure that your CV comes up in searches and that your skills and experience match the recruiter's search string.
When writing your CV, think carefully about your choice of words. If you are applying for a job advertised on one of the job boards such as www.cwjobs.co.uk then look carefully at the words being used in the advertisement and utilize these same words in your CV. I'm not suggesting that you mention skills and experience that you don't have but it does make sense to use the same terminology.
Remember that if your CV is sitting on one of the job boards, or perhaps on a recruitment agency database (along with thousands of other CVs) then these are the words and terms that a recruitment consultant will probably use to search for CVs.
For example, if you are looking for a position in IT as a Project Manager then a quick scan of the on-line advertisements for Project Managers might throw up a number of words and phrases that are common to all. These terms may include: Project Manager, Project Management, Prince 2, life-cycle, budget, change control, risk register and Microsoft Project. These are the words that a recruitment consultant may use to search for Project Managers. Make sure that you include all the appropriate words and phrases and all their variations in your CV.
Using the right job title is also another important factor. Many organisations use job titles that are meaningful and relevant within the context of their own business but which would not be used very commonly in the outside world. If your CV records that you have been (for example) a "Senior Critical Situation Manager" when in fact you are looking for a position as a "Problem Manager" or "Service Manager" then be sure to use this job title in your CV, perhaps in the Profile section.
I have seen many instances of Recruitment Consultants searching for candidates on a CV database and "missing" some of the best candidates simply because they didn't have the "right" job title on their CV. Identify all of your target job titles and ensure that you use all of them in your CV. For example Analyst Programmer, Software Engineer, Software Developer and so on.
When listing your IT technical skills you should also try to use all the variations of terms that a Recruitment Consultant is likely to search on. For example if you have good Java ME skills don't forget to use "Java Micro Edition" as well. Remember that Recruitment Consultants can't be experts in every technical field and if their client's job specification indicates a requirement for "Java Micro Edition" that's probably the term they will use in their search.
Finally remember that Recruiters will probably be viewing your CV on a computer screen so make sure that you get these important words and phrases at the beginning of your CV and not hidden away at the bottom of the secord or third page.
Using these simple techniques will ensure that your CV comes up in searches and that your skills and experience match the recruiter's search string.
