If you are looking for a new job, you are probably wondering about where you should start. The good news is, there are lots of career resources. People often assume that the best approach is placing their resume with a recruitment agency and then wait for job interview offers to start rolling it. However, the reality is quite different, for Job Help, Interviews, Technical Advice, visit algrim.co.
We have gathered a list of the top tips for job success below.
1. Find the Right Agency
The number of employment agencies, both offline and online is staggering and settling on a particular one can be challenging. Employers often refuse to disclose which agencies they use since they fear being swamped by unsuitable candidates, so you need to do your research. Word of mouth can be an effective tool, but it is important to note that your experience might not necessarily be exactly like that of your colleague or friend that passes on the information.
Checking industry and sector specific magazines and journals to find agencies that specialize in your field is another approach. You should also consider visiting some famous high street agencies since they no longer offer just temporary office jobs. Obviously, the greatest range of academic and non-academic jobs alike in universities all over the world is found at www.jobs.ac.uk jobs pages.
2. Agency Fees
It is always reassuring to know that there aren’t any up front costs to you. A reputable agency ideally makes it money by invoicing the potential employers and not the applicants. While there are some honorable exceptions since it is completely reasonable for them to expect payment for improving your resume, for example.
However, there might be a hidden price tag. Typically, the employer you are eventually placed with might seek to recover some of their initial outlay by offering a lower salary. It is important to remember this when the time comes for negotiating your pay.
What about the professional institutions that have their own vacancy bulletins/boards that you can only access after paying a registration fee? The rules don’t apply to such since they are offering you extra benefits in exchange for your subscription.
3. Your Resume My Require Improvement
Recruitment agencies will sometimes want to give your resume a makeover to fit their style: a good consultant typically does this in collaboration with the applicant. Confirm the agency’s policy regarding resumes prior to spending valuable hours improving your existing resume. It is also important to find out exactly where the finished article will be sent since you obviously don’t want it to land on the desk of either your former or current employer.
4. Agencies Typically Don’t Deal with Career Changers
Agencies want experience professional capable of, at the very least hitting the ground running and ideally playing in the league above the one they have just left. The only possible exception to this rule is when you have some kind of toehold in your new sector for instance, if you are an academic with considerable experience promoting a department or college, you can make a successful transition to a dedicated marketing professional. So if you want a job like this from Quanta, then you may have to work for it.
5. “Headhunting” Might Not Necessarily Mean What You Think It Does!
In recruitment circles, “headhunting” is a term that’s regularly bandied about indiscriminately. It is not necessarily synonymous with recruitment agencies, although it could be a division of them. Today, they likely to be a separate entity operating as an executive search company. The key difference is that they will be pursuing you instead of you having to contact them.
Employers usually request them to research as well as approach the potential incumbents for a specialized or senior role. The role will be incredibly flattering and will have a lucrative package that includes salary and benefits, but you shouldn’t take the bait before making some enquiries.
6. How Many Agencies Should You Register With?
This refers to the quality and not necessarily the quantity. Placing your resume with numerous agencies doesn’t automatically increase your chances of landing the job you have always dreamed of. It is highly likely that you will be inundated with unsuitable vacancies from recruitment agencies who are simply looking to earn a commission. This is particularly true if you have not done proper research and have instead sent out your details fairly randomly.
7. You Have to Work
Following on from all the points above, if you are serious about finding a new job, you need to be proactive. Like any organization of this type, whether it is a dating agency or estate agency, some input is required from you. Simply launching your resume online will not, in itself be enough to help you find work, especially if you consider the number of other similarly qualified applicants in the job market.
Reply to phone calls and emails from all the recruitment agencies that contact you, even if it just to respond in the negative and provide them with additional clues regarding what you seek. When your plans or circumstances change, you need to let them know. If you are uncommunicative, silent, or faceless, they could easily dismiss you.
Last Updated: June 5, 2019
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