Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2012; the figure of almost six million unemployed in Spain, Infojobs’ standing as the country’s most popular job site, Monster’s position on Google and the weight of Sunday newspaper job ads all reflect that time.
Sometimes it pays to stop and think, and also to remember the important things if they help shape a person’s future. We are talking about people who are actively looking for work. We know what we have to do and we are aware of the steps we need to take, but the results are not what we are after, and we find ourselves swelling the ranks of almost six million unemployed.
Let’s stop, think and remember the steps to follow when looking for a job in the 21st century, now that new technologies and social networks have become a meeting point between candidates and the companies looking for that professional match.
This sentence, published in the US media, makes us think and go back over the steps to follow as an “active job seeker”: “of seven million job openings handled during 2011, only a little under half were filled”.
Today, the six steps to look for a job are:
Sign up on job sites, both the best-known ones and the less popular ones. It doesn’t matter whether you sign up for anything from warehouse assistant to finance manager: what matters is working and having access to opportunities. You can find a wide variety of offers like these on Infojobs, probably the most popular job site in Spain and the one with the most registered candidates.
Experteer is the most specialised job site for senior-level offers, and Monster comes up as the third job site on the big internet search engine, Google. That makes it a good opportunity to register as a job seeker.
Looking for a job is a job in itself, and it means being present and up to date on every channel that might give you the chance to find work. It is not enough to sign up; it is also vital to stay active and apply for every published offer you are eligible for.
Newspaper ads. Newspapers, especially on Sundays, have always been where companies publish blind or open ads for their vacancies, even though they carry fewer ads today. It is an option you should not forget. It is the traditional way of looking for work, but it is also the method companies use to attract candidates from outside their usual area.
Business schools, job forums, and university or vocational job boards are another place to leave your CV and look for the opportunities you need. After all, every educational institution has its own job board.
Social networks are popular today and have proved to be a gateway to employers and a shop window for the candidate, especially when the information and power of these tools are used sensibly. Create your profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks so that companies can find you. And, of course, stay active on them.
Turn to headhunters or recruitment firms, popularly known as temporary employment agencies, so that they can send your CV to the companies they recruit for.
Family and friends form a traditional network of contacts that can help you find a job. If they pass on your need, and they in turn pass it on to their acquaintances, your job-search message is multiplied into dozens of people who might hear of a vacancy at a company where it could be worth your while to work.
Good luck.
Featured image: Diario de Madrid, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
