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It used to be the case that most companies advertised in print media e.g. national newspapers, local newspapers and specialist magazines. Increasingly these days the internet is the place to find a job in the UK. There are some job sites (a website listing jobs) that are specialist and some are generalists. NewspapersIf you are looking in a newspaper, you need to look for the ‘Classified’ or the ‘Appointments’ section. Local newspapers have the biggest classified sections, some of the London papers, for example, have hundreds of jobs advertised in them each week. Look under the industry section that you want to work in, for example: admin, accounting, construction, hotel & catering, sales & marketing. Each advert will specify how you should apply. Some employers want you to call them straight away, in which case you may have a quick telephone interview there and then. If this goes well, you may be asked to send your Curriculum Vitae (CV) or complete an application pack. Often this is done by email so you will need to have access to a computer. Some employers prefer to send you a pack of information first so that you can inform yourself about the job to see if you are interested. The pack may include a Job Description, a Person Specification (details of what they are looking for in the person who will get the job), general conditions of working for the organisation and possibly an application form. Very often this will be sent by email and it is more and more the case that communication about jobs is done electronically. All this means you must check your email account regularly! The job market can be very competitive... Tip: Make sure your email address is not completely unprofessional! This can create a bad impression, depending on the kind of work you are applying for. Large national newspapers have “Appointments” sections. In some cases papers have dedicated topics on one particular day of the week e.g. Education on a Tuesday. Advertising in the national press is expensive, so the jobs tend to be high-level, but this is not exclusively the case. Job sitesJob sites offer you the chance to search on specific criteria e.g. Location, Industry Sector or Key Words. You can store your profile that you can use over and over again. You do not have to pay to use the sites and often you have the chance to receive job adverts by email as soon as a new one appears on the site. You can often also post your CV onto the jobsite and invite employers to contact you.
Apply DirectlyAnother way to apply direct is to approach some companies yourself; you can do this, either by telephone, online, or in person. If you know where you want to work, contact the head office and ask to be put through to the HR (human resources), department this is the part of the company that deals with the recruitment of new staff. They may ask you to email them your CV, so do this and remember to include a covering letter addressed to either the person you spoke to or the named contact you were given. They may also direct you the “Vacancies” section of their website, which will advertise all the current vacancies and allow you to upload your CV. Applying for a job in person - walking into a company and asking - is unusual in office-based workplaces, but this may be more welcome, depending on the industry e.g. retail (shops) and catering (hotels, bars, clubs and restaurants) it is considered quite normal. Just pick an area and be prepared to have lots of people say ‘no’ to you before someone finally says ‘yes.’ Also, while you are out walking, keep a look out for posters in shop windows saying ‘Staff Wanted,’ if you see one pop in and ask for the manager. Make sure that you have plenty of printed copies of your CV, and that you are dressed smartly, it also helps if you avoid looking for a job during busy periods. For example, walking into a restaurant during the lunchtime rush, and asking the manager for a job is not a good idea! Use, what we in the UK call, a little bit of common sense! Remember, when a company has a vacancy, it is usually a problem for them... it often means colleagues are covering their work, or they are growing and everyone is very busy which is why they need someone to join them. You may have people saying “no” until you find the place where you are the answer to their prayers! See all our hints and tips in Get a Job. For jobs and services relating to this topic, see our Find a... section. By John Hillman
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 15 August 2008 ) |
To apply directly to a company (rather than going via an agency), you have a lot of options! This may seem overwhelming but you will settle on the resources that are most useful for you