| note: have been happy with my current job for a while now. But as a contractor for a few years, I have experience with the job search process. It's not enough to just be the best. You have to be (one of) the first applicants. I wrote a simple scraper for a bunch of job-aggregators (indeed... jobserve...) that would send me a SMS and e-mail when a job matching my keywords was posted. On the subject of keywords, sometimes jobs are posted with bad spellings. I work in 'telecommunications'. But there would be jobs posted under telecoms... telecomms.. telecomunications... Sometimes you were a near perfect fit for a role, and sometimes you're a perfect fit. If you're a perfect fit, spend an extra few minutes finding the recruiters direct email and phone number. Then apply both via the website and then communicate directly with them. Make the recruiter's life as easy as possible. In any e-mail you send, attach your CV again. Make sure you finish your email with your contact details. Try to get good at understanding what an employer wants. Sometimes it's unwritten (someone hardworking.. someone loyal..) and sometimes it's written between the lines (e.g. 'experienced xyz needed' = 'we currently don't have skilled people or have too little of them'). Sometimes it's these unwritten requirements that are more or just as important as the written ones. And finally, if you're unsuccessful, do your part in contacting the recruiter to thank them for their time. |