What has 2020 been like for you? Has it created a subtle change in your working life, going from a lengthy commute to the office, to now obsessing over which coffee beans to order so you’ll have a perfectly brewed pot every morning when working from home?

Job Search

Or has this year made you take a step back and realise that you might benefit from shifting gears and finding a new role that suits your abilities much better than your current job does? If 2021 is going to be the year you make a leap and start looking for a new job, there are a million and one ways to approach the job hunt. 

Thankfully, getting advice on where to start isn’t difficult when you have expert advice at hand. That’s what I’m about to delve into, in large part thanks to the tech recruitment experts from MBN Solutions (who you can learn more about here).

Tip: Don’t cast a wide net

You may instinctively feel that the best way to get started with a job search is to search high and low for as many agencies and sites as possible and build a list from there. While it is good to get an idea of what’s out there, you don’t want to be applying for multiple jobs with multiple agencies (I’ll touch more on agencies below), or else the admin involved can become a job in itself.

Start your search with some research. If you have a specific job type or skill base, compare job listings in your area on several job sites. You’ll often find that companies go through a recruitment agency, which will spit that same job role out on all the major sites as listings.

A quick Google of the role can help you see if the same job shows up in different iterations. Recruiters will sometimes tweak a listing in such a way that it seems like a different company, but it is merely just to have more real estate on a site.

Being able to pick up on these minor changes is the difference between applying through one site carefully versus rushing applications through a handful of sites to meet a deadline. Take your time.

Tip: Don’t rely on one template

Speaking of multiple applications, while it is good to have a standard CV/resume that you can attach to any application, you’ll often find that it needs tweaking to meet requirements from company to company. I am a big believer in keeping your CV as concise and clear as possible, so use online tools like Canva to design respectable looking CVs which you can edit in seconds, rather than minutes at a time.

If you were applying for ten jobs in a day, and quick online edits took 20 seconds rather than 3 minutes, you’re saving almost half an hour a day to work on something else. It all adds up.

Tip: Try and find specialist recruiters

I will tell anyone working a specialism to look for recruiters in their niche. For example, MBN Solutions who I mentioned at the beginning of this article are a tech recruiter. That means they only help IT & tech people with the job search because they know what companies want and what candidates can offer.

Why would this matter? Well, niche recruiters offer a direct line with companies looking to fill roles and an idea of what companies prefer to see on CVs and forms. They also know where jobs under the radar exist. And even though the recruiters themselves may not have the skill set you do, they understand the market enough to point you in the right direction.

Tip: Get comfortable in front of a camera

Regardless of how quickly things try to get back to normal in 2021, you should expect to find yourself taking interviews over video calls for the foreseeable future. That means getting used to acting appropriately in front of the camera and figuring out how to get rid of those nerves.  I recommend looking for free or cheap interview simulation courses online to help build that confidence.

Even if it’s solely to improve speech and clarity over video (“umms” & “ahhs” linger much longer over video), homing in on how to conduct yourself from a tiny computer window will help your chances of standing out during an interview.

Looking to improve how you showcase yourself and your business?

There’s always room for improvement and getting advice as you have read here isn’t hard to find. Visit the resources section of the site where you’ll find recommendations on courses and sites to use,  to enable you to get a solid grounding on achieving specific business goals.