So you’re on the job search; maybe you’re looking for career progression or a complete change of career all together!

How to Start Your Job Search

Either way, beginning your job search can be a pretty daunting task!

With so much choice out there, with the current abundance of online job boards and such.

It’s sometimes difficult to know where the best place to look for your next role is! Or, more importantly, how to go about it.

So where do you begin?

A good place to start when thinking about your job search, is to figure out what it is you want to do.

Take a look at your CV to remind yourself all of your key skills, experience and interests. Perhaps even do some research on careers which incorporate your strongest skills.

It is also worth thinking about what type of work you’re looking for; temporary, permanent, full time, part time etc. Everyone has different requirements.

Once you’ve decided on what kind of roles you’re going to apply for, it’s time to begin your job search.

Recruitment Agencies

Using a recruitment agency to aid with your job search is a good starting point. As they do a lot of the hard work for you!

Once you’re registered with an agency, a lot of the time they will come to you with relevant positions of interest.

They do so based on the information you provide them.

With this in mind, it is worth noting that most agencies will cater to a variety of roles. Including temporary and part time positions. So, it’s always worth making it clear to agencies what it is you’re looking for (and not looking for!).

Now, I know you may be thinking “but how do I know which agency to contact?!”.

Who to Contact

Well there are plenty of recruitment agencies out there across the country recruiting for an array of different sectors. From commercial to industrial, to the all-out specialist agencies, that recruit for the unusual to the downright bizarre. Such as recruiting for staff to work on yachts!

There’s an agency for any job type.

Given the time taken at the start of your job search process. You should already have a pretty good idea of what it is you’re looking for.

From there you can work out what kind of agency would most benefit you.

If you’re looking for an Accounts job, an industrial agency specialising in factory positions wouldn’t be the best choice.

Whereas, a commercial agency would be better suited to your needs as they work with appropriate clients. They have the relevant knowledge and experience.

A quick search of recruitment agencies in your area will bring up information you need to make an informed decision. If they’re recruiting for a role that interests you, let them know!

Job Boards

Online job sites are pretty similar to one another in that they advertise for a variety of roles across the country. For a variety of companies and industry sectors; but don’t let this scare you!!

The key to using job sites to aid your job search is to tailor them to your needs.

When you enter the job site, you will be faced with several fields. Here you can filter your search down to only show roles that are applicable to you.

Rather than having to sort through pages of jobs that won’t be of interest to you! You can input the type of roles you’re looking for by using keywords. Such as job titles, location, the distance you’re willing to travel and your desired salary amongst other options.

You can even browse through job categories if this is works better for you. Or, if you’re just looking for a little inspiration!

Once you’ve personalised your search, you can save these pre-sets and have alerts for any suitable roles sent directly to you via email. So, you never miss an opportunity!

The key to making the most out of job sites is to have a play around with the personalised filtering options.

This will really make the job site work for you; if you’re finding that the results are too broad, then try narrowing down your search. If the results are too narrow, then try altering some of the filters.

But again, if you’re looking for expert advice and guidance, we recommend getting in touch with your local recruitment agencies. as they can help you in ways which job boards can’t; they have excellent relationships with their Clients, exclusive roles that won’t show up on job boards, and they’re the friendly voice on the other end of the phone who are happy to help!