Find jobs online
Here’s
how to use the Internet to your advantage while looking for jobs.
Employment for life, is old hat. Now, people look
for a job change every few years and need options to keep their boats
afloat. The Net has become the favoured tool to find new jobs. Here’s how
you can navigate through it to nail your next job.
Build your boat
As a first step, use the following questions to craft your CV: what do
you have to offer that the world is ready to pay for? How will you signal
this to employers? What jobs fit in your career path? A recruiter takes
less than 8 seconds to shortlist or reject your resume. He wants to know
what you did earlier, and how successfully. To make sure your answers are
seen instantly, use a standard CV template, which can be found online.
Don’t use fancy fonts, colours, adjectives, bombastic words or objective
statements. Do you want to upload your resume on open job platforms or only
on networking sites? Know that your employer too has access to job portals
and is probably tracking your activities. Google yourself to see what
potential employers can find out about you. To avoid sharing your personal
life with professional contacts, use a Facebook account with a nickname.
Lastly, clean up your LinkedIn account and you are ready to cast off.
Sail far and deep
The better your research and analysis, the higher the rewards. If you are
keen on a single industry, look online for research reports and news, pore
through annual reports and websites of competing firms, and details of
industry events. Do the same with its customers and vendors. Analyse the
information and guess how things will pan out in 2-3 years for various
players. You will have a perspective of where the opportunities may lie. If
you opt to remain in the same function, update yourself on the growing
industries that need professionals in your line. You will identify gaps in
your skill set which you can fill later via training or experience. You
will also learn important keywords; add them to your resume.
Cast your net
Next, reach out to individuals. You are a member of multiple groups,
which can help accelerate your job search. These include family, friends,
ex-colleagues, past employers and alumni from school, college and
professional associations. Online resources, including LinkedIn, Facebook
and alumni/ association platforms, are the easiest to help you connect with
people. Start simple and contact people you know personally. Let them know
that you are looking for opportunities, about your skills and needs, e-mail
your resume and invite them to help you connect with people they know. At
the second level, you may reach out to friends of alumni, relatives of
colleagues, etc. Before doing so, research the person online and find a
common point or ‘hook’ to connect with. Over 35% of vacancies are filled
through referrals and are not advertised on the Net. You can tap into these
jobs only if you are connected to people in the company.
Find the fish
Look at specific opportunities advertised online. Start with job
aggregators like Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com,
which collect jobs from multiple sources. Use their advanced job search to
filter out what you need. Then use Indian job portals like Naukri,
MonsterIndia, Shine and TimesJobs. Set up job alerts so that matching
vacancies are e-mailed to you. Also, go to the websites of firms, check
their career sections and work their application process. Next, go to
consultant websites, online groups and professional forums to find jobs shared
by secondary sources. Track websites of temp staffing agencies for
technical and blue-collar roles. Most advertisements posted by consultants
don’t reveal the employer name. For such blind ads, put the job details on
Google and you should have your answer.
Choose your targets
Don’t pursue hundreds of job vacancies simultaneously. Online resources
like ZoomInfo and GlassDoor help you find out more about opportunities,
including salary, organisation structure and job content. Choose your
targets, rework your resume as per the job description and apply early;
recruiters rarely bother to look beyond the first applications. Finally,
reach out in person to the recruiters and other employees who can refer
you.
Steer clear of the rocks
• Verify the firm
Exercise due diligence for each job you find on the Net. Does the
employer’s website have a working landline number? If Google offers no data
or negative reviews, chances are that the firm doesn’t exist or is
fraudulent.
• Don’t make a payment
Do you have to pay a fee or deposit to take the process forward?
Beware. Genuine employers, consultants and websites do not charge
application fees or make candidates pay for travel or other
selection-related expenses.
• Too good to be true?
Does the job promise a very high salary for education or experience?
Does it offer plum international postings based on a flimsy selection
process? It’s probably a scam.
• Guard your data
Are you asked to provide bank account details, credit card PIN, or
courier your passport? Scamsters can use variations of this theme to rip
you off. Reach out to the firm directly to confirm.
• Download with care
Avoid applications that require you to download an app on your tablet
or a special program on your computer. The same goes for unsolicited job
e-mails with attachments. A malicious download could mess up your data.
DEVASHISH
CHAKRAVARTY , Director, Executive Search, at Quetzal. ETW131028
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