Career Advice - Tips and Advice for Career Job Hunting - ICErecruit

Job hunting involves much the same research, whether you are a graduate looking for your first job, or an experienced civil engineer looking a career move. Job hunting is all about finding jobs, of course – but not any old job.

Successful job hunting means:

Being clear about what you want to do
What kind of company you want to work for
What kind of opportunities you want this to job to lead to
How far you are prepared to travel
Whether and where you are prepared to move to

Your answers to these basic questions will change over time, depending on your age, commitments and career level – but you still need to answer them before your job hunting begins.

There are two main ways of finding a job – by browsing in the open job market and or by hunting in the hidden job market. You may be surprised to hear that only around 20% of jobs are ever openly advertised – most people, in fact, secure their jobs via the hidden market.

The Open Market

In the open job market, vacancies are advertised openly. Graduate vacancies are advertised on vacancy databases at universities. They are also advertised in graduate directories and publications.

Generic job websites have general vacancies, but industry websites run by professional bodies or commercial agencies (like icerecruit) will have vacancies for specific industries.

Employers will advertise vacancies on their own websites, so you can do some research to target employers that you would like to work for, and then monitor their vacancy pages.

The national broadsheets newspapers have at least one day/week dedicated to engineering vacancies. Smaller companies will advertise in the local papers.

You can also approach recruitment agencies (who may or may not advertise the job directly in one of the above mediums or on their own website).

The Hidden Market

Many employers try to minimise the expense and risk of hiring new staff by recruiting in the hidden job market. Why bother with the expense and hassle of advertising a job and then having to have a full selection procedure when they may already know, or have heard of, someone who would fit the bill perfectly? This will also spare them from being swamped by applications, particularly in the most competitive job areas.

So how do you, as job seeker, maximise your chances in the hidden market? Try these tips:

Be prepared to take any job with your chosen employer as a stepping stone into the sort of work you are aiming for. Consider short-term contracts, agency work or a period of unpaid work experience. Once in situ, you will be amongst the first to hear of any permanent vacancies and may be able to apply for those which are restricted to internal applicants. Plus you will have insider contacts and knowledge, giving you an edge over the competition for that dream job.
Network with family, friends and other contacts in the field to find out where jobs are likely to come up, and to get a better grasp of what employers are seeking.
If you can't see the job you want advertised, or you are faced with a high volume of competition for advertised posts in your chosen field, consider a speculative approach to specific employers for whom you would like to work. Make it clear if you are available at short notice, or are prepared to consider part-time work or a short term contract.
Consider approaching small, local companies as well as bigger employers in your occupational area. Small firms often don't have the budget for large press advertisements but may still need someone with your skills.

Many job hunters, in particular graduates, feel frustrated that they never see their 'ideal job' advertised, even though they have a very clear of idea of what it would be. That is usually because their ideal job has gone to someone who has been more proactive in hunting for the job on the hidden job market! There is never any harm in offering your services to your preferred employer to fill a specific role – they may even create a job for you if you can convince them of your dedication and talent.

Job hunting hints and tips

There are lots of books and websites offering job hunting advice – and we have listed some of the best ones below – but in your hour of need, don’t forget to follow icerecruit’s commonsense rules of job-hunting.

Use the web
Online recruitment is one of the great internet success stories, but when job hunting your best bet is a specialist 'vertical' job site – like icerecruit – rather than a bigger, generalist 'horizontal' jobboard (like Monster.com).
Sign up for regular job alerts
ICErecruit has a particularly good line in E-mail alerts, but you may decide to register to receive them at a personal E-mail address. One risk of job hunting online is that your inbox at your current employer fills up with job prospects with their competitors. Not the most embarrassing thing you can do with your email, but best avoided all the same. SMS alerts are also available on some sites, but read the ts and cs to make sure you aren't paying for them
Register with a recruitment consultant
You can take some of the pain out of job hunting by using a consultancy, but job hunters proceed with care. There are reputable consultancies (like Thomas Telford Recruitment) which will use your CV with discretion, where others will throw it around like confetti. When job hunting, especially if you are already in a job, the last thing you want is your CV turning up on the desk of your current employer. Remember that consultancies are recruiting to fill specific jobs – you can't rely on them to find a job for you.
Rewrite your CV
Web sites and consultancies will expect to see an uptodate CV, so revisit and refresh your CV to make the best impression
Network
Skilful networkers maximise their job hunting efforts by using their contacts, friends, peers and professional colleagues to uncover job opportunities. You may be wise to join professional bodies (like ICE or IStructE) and get involved with regional or specialist interest groups to meet new people and build your professional standing. The more reticent among us join professional bodies (like ICE) and get involved with regional or specialist interest groups to meet new people and improve their professional standing.
Keep up your subscription to magazines
– like NCE, free to all ICE members, job hunting or not; Thomas Telford Journals also carry recruitment advertisements. The national broadsheets newspapers have at least one day/week dedicated to engineering vacancies. Smaller companies will advertise in the local papers.

Job hunting resources

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