With the internet at our disposal, you can find hundreds of thousands of job opportunities online. The challenge, however, is finding the one that is right for you. If you’re looking for a new opportunity, your first hurdle will be to figure out where to look for jobs.
When it comes to conducting your job search, you should explore a few options. With a broad approach to where you look for jobs, you will have a better chance of finding ones that best suit your skills and what you are looking for.
If you’re unsure about where to look for jobs, we’ve got some great options for you to try.
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1. Browse online job boards
Hopefully, looking at online job boards will already be on your radar as it’s the most popular job-seeking method and a great starting point. Employers and recruiters advertise their vacancies on these sites, although their roles probably won’t appear on every one. It’s therefore advisable to visit a few different online job sites when conducting your search.
Some of the most popular job boards where to look for jobs are:
- CV-Library – CV-Library is the UK’s leading independent job board advertising jobs across all sectors. You can register your CV with them which allows you to apply for jobs with one-click, receive relevant opportunities to your inbox and be found by recruiters and employers.
- Indeed – Indeed is the biggest job site in the world with over 250 million visitors from job seekers and employers every month.
- Reed – Reed feature vacancies from over 25,000 recruiters a year, including private and public sector employers and leading recruitment agencies.
- Totaljobs – Totaljobs is another popular UK site with a simple search function that allows you to quickly find roles that are relevant to you.
If finding the time to look for a new job is a challenge for you, then it’s worth noting that all of these job sites have free apps that you can download. This will make it easier for you to look for jobs on-the-go.
2. Go straight to company websites
When thinking about your next career move, you may already have some companies in mind that you know you would like to work for. If this is the case, you should head over to their websites and see if they have a careers page where you can register your interest and view any current opportunities.
Even if they haven’t currently got any suitable vacancies, it may be worth sending a CV and cover letter to them speculatively. This will demonstrate that you are passionate about their company and they may be open to interviewing you or saving your details for later.
3. Register with relevant recruiters
Did you know that the UK has the third-largest recruitment industry in the world? With around 40,000 recruitment companies across the UK, you don’t want to neglect them when conducting your job search. Many employers use recruiters to help them find new talent, so it’s worth trying to figure out who are the leading recruitment specialists in the industry you want to work in.
Once you’ve found some good ones, you can see what opportunities that have advertised and register your CV with them so that they can contact you about new roles often before they have been advertised elsewhere.
4. Speak to your friends and family
Despite all the new technology that has revolutionised the way we look for jobs, a surprisingly large number of new hires are still found through word of mouth. Make sure your friends and family know that you are looking for a new job and see whether they can help you in any way. They may have some useful connections that they can put you in touch with.
5. Use social media to your advantage
While social media may seem like more of a place to catch up with friends than to find a job, many companies now use it for recruitment purposes. By looking at a company’s social media presence, you should be able to find out more about their company culture and what they do. In many instances, they will also post about new job opportunities on their social pages before paying to advertise elsewhere.
If there are any companies you are keen to work for or any specialist recruiters you’d like to work with, it’s well worth following their social channels to be one of the first to hear about new vacancies.
LinkedIn is undoubtedly the best social platform for job seekers to be visible on. You can use it to search for jobs and you may be approached by recruiters about potential opportunities too. Just make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to scratch first.
6. For graduates – check out your university career site
If you’re looking for a graduate job, you may want to see what your university’s career service has to offer. They may be able to help you with your CV and graduate applications and most universities have their own job site that is exclusively for their students to use.
Where to look for jobs – Bringing it all together
Hopefully, you’re now feeling a bit more clued up on where to look for jobs. Give these options a go and see what works best for you and what you are looking for. Using a varied approach is usually a good strategy.
Can you think of any other options for where to look for jobs? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts. Good luck job seekers!
Not seeking job at the moment because I’m already employed. 🙂 I have done all these though, but none of the platforms you mentioned in 1 above resonate with me. Ive tried LinkedIn though. But I know a few kids in my family are looking out for jobs so I’ll share these platforms with them. <3
Isa A. Blogger