Effective job hunting

A question about : Effective job hunting

Hi All,
I have decided its time to look for a new job. I was wondering if anybody had any good advice on the following...
Can anybody recommend an effective way of using the internet to search....there seem to be so many sites and so much info about. That should be a good thing but where to start??

What are peoples experiences of going through an agency? I have only done this once and was'nt impressed at all. They seemed to be more concerned with earning their commission then anything else such as taking account of my views on things. Is that typical of the agency experience or was I unlucky?

Thanks - any views and advice appreciated.

Best answers:

• A good place to start looking is here. Also make sure you update your CV - jobcentres have become much more user friendly and they will help you or can point you in the right direction.
  Hope this helps.
• In my experience it depends on the agency and also partly on your line of work. I've used one to get temps and they've usually been excellent, plus if they weren't the agency would always replace the person ASAP. When I've been job-hunting some have been honest and told me they're not the best agency for what I'm looking for. Others I felt were just in it for the commission. Anyone who wanted to push me towards call-centre work saw my back quite quickly ...
  When you do find a job to apply for, customise your cv or use their application form - whichever they ask for. There's usually a person spec and a job description - make sure you show HOW you meet the different bits of each.
  Check and recheck all your applications and if you're not confident of your spelling and grammar get a friend to check. Don't take this wrong, your post reads fine but there's one missing and one misplaced apostrophe, may not matter in your line of work but it would get you a black mark in mine. I wouldn't usually nitpick a post, only mentioning it because of the nature of your enquiry!
  Good luck!
• What type of work are you looking for? and in which area?
• Thanks for your replies:
  Savvy_Sue: No offence taken! In a job application I would be a lot more careful with punctuation. By the way are you Lynne Truss??
  MommaCC: I currently work as a Manager for a v large retailer. I would like to do a bit of a career change though. I realise that I may not be able to make a huge change in one step but I have a wide range of transferable skills that I am sure would valuable in a different field. I am strongest using my analytical skills and am good with figures so a job incorporating those would be ideal. Any ideas welcome!
• When I was a professional job hunter (ie unemployed and desperate) I found it v.useful to have a timetable/schedule and had different tasks on particular days.
  So, on a Monday I would buy papers x, y and z, read the vacancies and identify which ones I wanted to apply for. On Tuesday I would get the applications together including covering letters and post them the same day.
  On Wednesday I would contact agencies (TBH I thought they were rubbish, they really don't listen very well but as some companies only go through agencies then they are a necessary evil...apologies to recruitment consultants!!). You have to keep on their backs though. For some reason a couple of them took a dislike to me - promised me the world when I went to see them (half a day wasted including the tube fare when I was unemployed) just for them to "never" have anything suitable and never to return my phone calls - oh maddening!!! Ooops I digress...
  Thursday was another paper buying day. Friday was same as Tuesday, ie sending applications or phoning up for application forms.
  It was very useful to log everything I did ie who I phoned, interviews attended, who written to, what papers looked at etc etc.
  Try and familiarise yourself with the papers so you know to buy the correct ones on the correct days and therefore get the relevant ads. Your local library should have a selection of daily newspapers if you can wrestle them off the oaps. Ask in the library if they regularly receive trade publications which might be relevant to you - or subscribe yourself if it's not cost prohibitive.
  Regards internet - I found that this was really used by employers or agents in addition to advertising in the press or via the agent's shop, rather than it being a full alternative. The best internet sites were those of actual companies advertising their own vacancies. The rest, IMO, were just agencies.
  Read all the ads - I was in HR Management and managed to get a job as a database manager for a large charity as I managed to sell my transferable skills to great effect.
  BEST OF LUCK, and persevere!!!
• Thanks SnowyOwl for a really useful post!
  I think that going to the companies’ websites directly is a great idea. It’s interesting to hear that you made a successful career change. It's good to hear these things as it shows that it can be done and sometimes in an unexpected or unusual way.
• Hi
  When looking for my last job, I used Reed.co.uk, and found it really easy and quick to use, you choose by location, job sector etc, and send your CV direct to the recruiter with a cover letter. There always seemed to be loads of new positions everyday, even in a small town like Bath. Similarly, I go the local paper on jobs day every week, and applied direct to anything I fancied. If you dont have to rush to find a new job, then look everywhere you can. Also, I made a list of all the big companies that were local to me that might have positions in the areas I wanted, and then looked up their websites (e.g orange, Vodafone, where-ever really) as they usually have a specific recruitment site where you can apply online.
  I looked at everything I could for about 3 weeks really, and applied for some things I thought I was under-qualified for. It turns out, I got the job I wanted the most, and within a very short time frame.
  Hope that helps!
• I too would recommend reed.co.uk, jobcentreplus or worktrain website, londonofficejobs.co.uk is good for office based jobs.
  A good idea would be to try a skills checker or pathfinder - not sure if you can find one online, hopfully someone here may now. This type of program will look at you skills and interests and match up careers that maybe of interest to you, although it will also find many that are not!
  Anyother help website is https://www.connexions-direct.com/job...TOKEN=64547190 (sorry dont know how to shorten lins). Although the site is designed for school leavers it can be very helpful when producing CVs and completing application forms by giving info on various occupations.
  Good luck in your search shopbot.