How to look for jobs online

There is an employment crisis in the UK at present.

Tales abound of multi-stage recruitment processes, candidates being ghosted, job adverts being taken down after an hour and individual vacancies attracting over 500 applicants.

A combination of recent tax rises and new legal obligations has triggered a slump in recruitment, affecting everything from summer jobs to salaried roles.

The act of job-hunting increasingly resembles a career in itself, potentially absorbing huge amounts of time.

That’s becoming the case whether you’re just starting out in your career or already of a certain age, and whether you’re hunting freelance opportunities or seeking permanent employment.

Being able to look for jobs online widens the net considerably, though it also exposes you to a market which, in many industries, is overwhelmed by candidates.

Here’s how to look for jobs online as effectively and productively as possible…

Find relevant portals

Different industries have particular websites dedicated to job-hunting. Candidates seeking non-executive roles tend to visit sites like Nurole, Odgers Berndtson and Health Jobs UK.

Establish which sites advertise relevant roles, create and fill in a profile, save the details in your web browser’s bookmarks, and either log on every week or set up new job alerts via email.

Building a profile with these sites achieves two main goals: it enables you to quickly search and apply for new jobs, while giving recruiters a detailed candidate profile to assess.

However, what you say in these profiles is very important, just as it is elsewhere on the internet…

Take care on social media

LinkedIn is a great candidate resource. Not only does it host innumerable job adverts, it also serves as a digital CV, complete with references, portfolios and industry connections.

Although it’s full of exaggeration and humble-bragging, LinkedIn tends to avoid the toxic content and bad behaviours endemic on other social media platforms – trolling, cyberbullying, etc.

Review your own contribution to social media sites critically, because employers may find these personal profiles and use past posts/likes/rants to gauge your character.

This might be detrimental to your career prospects. It’s often best to permanently delete social media profiles, or at the very least selectively edit them.

Burnish your CV

While LinkedIn serves as a comprehensive recruitment tool (many application forms now request your LinkedIn profile), a traditional CV remains invaluable.

Featuring minimal formatting (such as columns), it should be in Word or PDF format, across a maximum of two pages. Employers won’t have the time or inclination to read any further.

Place the most recent information at the top, keep paragraphs brief with bullet points wherever possible, and avoid being self-critical or negative towards past employers.

Delete references, personal statements, family details and other superfluous data in favour of concentrating on three things – past jobs, qualifications and the things you’ve achieved.

Supply bespoke covering letters

CVs are increasingly being scanned by applicant tracking software (ATS) which analyses written documents and discards those which don’t contain specific words or phrases.

A covering letter provides a valuable opportunity to expand on your CV, going into more detail and referencing industry buzzwords used in the original job advert.

While it’s okay to adapt previous letters, rework them for each new role. Why does that company or job appeal to you, and what prior experience would help you succeed in post?

Few modern online applications ever reach a HR person’s desk, with ATS automatically ruling out many candidates, so keyword incorporation is essential to ensure you’re seen.

Monitor your progress

Recruiters use databases to record candidates’ progress, and you should do the same.

Create a basic spreadsheet with filterable columns including each employer’s name, job title, application date, closing date, current status, where the position was advertised and any notes.

Over time, this allows you to identify firms who haven’t responded so you can pursue them. It also ensures you don’t apply for the same job twice – especially if it’s readvertised.

Job application spreadsheets may help to identify patterns (more interviews or positive feedback in one sector than in others), recruitment agencies to avoid in future, and so forth.