Track down your perfect job
Top Tips
- If you are keen to change career direction consider work experience or volunteering to find out more.
- Don’t be afraid to approach employers directly. Look around at the region's top employers and new projects to pinpoint where you would like to work.
Topics in this section:
Recruitment websites are one of the most effective ways to find your next job. However there are other sources that you might consider in your search for the perfect job.
'It's important to get as wide a view as possible of what's around. Lots of people don't know what role they want when they start job hunting and sometimes don't even know such a job exists. Lots of jobs with smaller organisations aren't always advertised in the obvious places,' says Rowena Forbes, communications executive with
Manchester University Careers Service.
"The obvious places to start include opportunities in new, flagship projects; recruitment consultancies; careers fairs; careers advisers; work experience and speculative applications."
Some of the big regeneration schemes that are going on all over the North West are a fantastic source of new jobs and careers covering a range of sectors including retail, catering, construction, leisure and more. You can find out more from the
North West Development Agency.
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Recruitment consultancies
Recruitment consultancies play a crucial role in the jobs market matching jobseekers with vacancies and there are plenty of them across the region. Most consultancies use recruitment websites to advertise their vacancies but it is also worth registering with them directly and uploading your CV onto their database so they can connect you with relevant vacancies.
But remember that may not be enough to lever a job. The best ones will want to meet and interview you face-to-face before sending you to see any of their clients. Make sure you sign up with consultancies that specialise in the particular industries and sectors of interest to you. Larger employers tend to have a list of preferred recruitment suppliers.
Search for the leading
recruitment consultancies in the UK.
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Careers fairs
Careers fairs are a good way of finding out about several employers at once. In some cases they can be just information gathering events, but often participating recruiters have vacancies they want to fill.
Two major sources of finding out where careers fairs are happening in the region are universities and Jobcentre Plus. Most fairs are aimed at people coming onto the jobs market.
Jobcentre Plus in runs regular job fairs across the UK. The organisation offers the following advice to jobseekers attending fairs:
- Treat the exercise as a job application. Research the organisations you want to talk to and be prepared for any questions you might be asked in turn.
- Take a copy of your latest CV and present yourself as you would at an interview – be smart, positive and interested.
- Find out what the participating employers want – buy a copy of the catalogue and read it.
Find your nearest
Jobcentre Plus.
This is a good way of finding out more about careers and employers in your chosen industry. Students and school leavers are all encouraged to organise a work placement but there is nothing to stop people who are looking to change careers from trying one out. The idea is to go into an organisation for a week or two and help out for free. In return you should get a view of how the organisation works and what jobs people do.
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Volunteering
In some sectors volunteering for a period is the only way to make the contacts and gain the experience you need to get a paid job. However, it can be also be a great way of gaining new skills and just having fun – whether or not it leads to a career. Cultural and environmental industries are well geared up for using volunteers. For example the big museum services in the North West such as
National Museums Liverpool employ lots of volunteers while the
Lake District National Park has a well thought-out volunteer programme.
There are more than 30 volunteer bureauxs across the North West that will help match you to appropriate voluntary work. For more information visit the
Volunteering North West website.
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Speculative letters
No-one knows quite how many jobs are filled without being advertised – it could be anything up to a half of all vacancies. This means that if you have a clear idea of the industry or organisations in which you would like to work, it’s always worth sending a speculative letter to the relevant manager.
To maximise the chance of your letter and CV making it onto an employer’s talent database it must:
- Make clear that you understand what the organisation does and the challenges it faces.
- Set out what area of the business you want to work in.
- Define how your skills and experience match what the organisation needs.
- Be addressed to the correct named individual.
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