If you ask 10 job seekers how they think they are going to find a job seven out of ten would answer those job boards is the place. Most people have this stereotype that in order to find a job one needs to have a decent CV and spend several hours on job boards sending multiple applications. However more and more job seekers realize that such an approach isn't as effective as they used to believe so they are trying to find some other ways of finding a job. Today we would like to talk about how one can find a job without using job boards as the primary tool. Obviously, it doesn't exclude it from the list of tools to be used because it might help achieve your career goals anyway. But we in this article will dwell on job seeking strategies that don't include job advertisements...
A Targeted Job Search?
Have you ever thought of working not in a company that listed a job opening but in a company that you like? Very unlikely because we use to choose from the list of options a job board provides. But since we are not talking about job boards why not target your job search to the companies that could help you succeed in your career? If you know what are you looking for then go ahead and create the list of companies you would like for work for. You can even use LinkedIn for the search.
Choose an industry first and then pick a location. You can even search for some industry associations - you might have some people that you know there which can be very helpful for networking purposes. You can also use Google to find companies that you want to work for. After you have the list of the companies ready you might want to spend some time on in-depth research of those companies. We recommend checking LinkedIn connections you might have. If you have your online friends working in any of the company check their role and how you are connected to them. Some of them may provide important information about the company, how to apply, their current needs. We advise visiting the companies' websites - they might have information about employment opportunities. Read the news about the companies in Google Finance or Google News. It will help you have a bigger picture of your potential employer.
If you found someone that you know in one of the companies, try to network yourself into the company. The thing is that your chances will be much higher if you are referred by someone who is currently employed in the company. So reach out to those employees that you know, but don't ask about a referral right away. Talk about your interests and inquire about the possibility to work in the company. If you don't know that person very well and have communicated only online try to turn build a human relationship. A cup of coffee at lunch will do the job perfectly.
