Exploring different methods of job seeking in a bad downturn looking for employment outside of the conventional adverts
There’s no doubt that today’s labour market is the most difficult in living memory, and it probably won’t improve in the next few years. In the news I heard mentioned that 60 or more candidates are applying for every graduate level position, and matters aren’t a lot more cheery for other types of employment, either. A lot job seekers may think that somebody has more chance of a lottery win than getting a job via the traditional channels. Therefore people have to try out alternative methods of gaining jobs. These might extend from conventional self-employment, access to employee posts via other ways than the job adverts, or some of the new options to Work From Home presented by Internet Business.
It is estimated by pundits that only approximately 20% of all posts are in fact advertised, whether in the newspapers, via job agencies or the Online Jobs boards. And if you think about this, it is logical. The jobs market is the one single area in which the person doing the buying places an advert. If I intend to buy a car, I don’t place an ad in the paper saying “car wanted, saloon, white or black, prices in the region of ten grand”. I look at cars on offer in the auto pages of the local newspapers. Why is the labour market any different?
That’s why a high proportion of organisations employ the services of headhunters. These are specialists who look for suitable candidates for the job, who might not even be on the jobs market. Nevertheless, if jobseekers get their Curriculum Vitae placed on the Internet, they might in fact be considered as a candidate by the headhunters. Job hunters should also look up their networks, asking anyone of their acquaintance to bear them in mind for any potential openings.
Some consider the opportunity to Work From Home or use their own car in a number of roles. Some of these are fairly low paid. One person I know receives a mere £20 for placing a thousand birthday cards in their envelopes. I was once given the opportunity to work for myself as a courier. For thirty delivered parcels per day, the pay was under two tenners – out of which I would be required to find the money for petrol and tax. Unsurprisingly I passed over this opportunity.
Nevertheless, there exist many Online Jobs that do represent a gainful and profitable opening. Examples include webmaster vacancies and specialisation in improving a website’s search engine ranking. Internet Business is a boom area, and you can get involved without leaving your place of residence.
To work in this area, you do of course need to have the right skillset. Jobseekers will have to make the commitment to study, paying up-front for a course in web design or search engine optimization. The time is now long gone when somebody could throw together a web site using a ‘teach yourself’ book on HTML. There are many other systems now involved. Online Jobs are highly skilled, expert posts. That’s why workers who have acquired these skills can attain high salaries.
One unfortunate fact is that the longer time somebody stays unemployed, the more difficult it will be for them to get a job. They may forget their skills and lose motivation. I have experienced the exasperation of applying to various vacancies via the Online Jobs boards, and often not even receiving an acknowledgement, let alone an interview. Because of this it’s really important to become free from the crowd applying for that 20% of positions that get advertised, and seek out opportunities in other ways. The fact I can now Work From Home in the area of Internet Business has undoubtedly allowed me to take a new career path when I could see few prospects previously.