Learning Task 7: Job-Search Strategies
Describe Effective Job-Search Strategies
Very few people are lucky enough to find their “dream career job” right away. Typically, there are a series of decisions to make, experiences and qualifications to gain, and opportunities to consider in the world of work before landing that “one perfect job.”
When you are looking for a job, the importance of the first impression you make can never be overstated—whether it is in writing, over the phone, or in person. To land the job you desire, you need to make a good and lasting impression.
In this section, you will learn about job-search strategies from self-marketing through to the interview stage.
Uncovering Job Leads
The very first step toward securing a job is to find out who is hiring. Job leads come from two basic sources:
- The visible job market. The visible job market refers to jobs that are advertised in public places, such as newspapers, Internet job banks, and signs posted in stores.
- The hidden job market. The hidden job market refers to jobs that are not advertised publicly, but through word of mouth, networking, or direct contact with employers.
The Visible Job Market
Accessing job leads through the visible job market is generally straightforward. You may find jobs posted in local newspapers, online, company websites, or other sources such as career fairs or signs posted in storefronts. Occasionally employers will post openings at training institutions or ask to make a class presentation to potential employees.
If you are searching for work through the visible job market, keep in mind that effective reading skills are important to assessing job ads. Because advertising is expensive, most employers limit the size of their ads in order to reduce costs. To keep the ads short and to the point, employers often use jargon and abbreviations, which can make ads difficult to understand. Being able to understand job search vocabulary used in an ad will help narrow your options and find a fit that is right for you.
For example, you might come across a job ad that uses the abbreviation “a/p.” If you know that “a/p” means “accounts payable,” you might decide not to apply for the job because you don’t have any bookkeeping skills. You will save yourself a lot of time and effort by applying only for those positions for which you meet the minimum qualifications.
Sometimes employers provide a link in a job ad to their own website where the position may be described in more detail. Be sure to check this out, especially if you aren’t sure about any aspect of the job ad.
It is also important to be able to glean additional information from the ad’s that are posted. To understand the poster’s use of language in ad’s will allow you to flag workplaces that may not be particularly open to hiring you based on their own biases or may be inexperienced in diverse hiring practices. Ads posted looking for “Journeymen” are appealing only to a male audience by using gendered language,