You may be absolutely desperate to get a job and to all intents and purposes feel that you are doing everything possible to get that seemingly elusive role.

The reality is however that you may be actually wasting your time. No – we aren’t suggesting that your job search is pointless. What we mean is that you are probably not making the best use of your time in the literal sense. It needn’t be like that though – here are some of the most common Job Search Time Wasters that you should certainly avoid.

Applying for unsuitable jobs

You may just want a job – any job. That innate sense of need can make you consider applying for everything and anything. However, what you ought to remember is that all those companies who are hiring have criteria – they outline in their job ads what the minimum requirements must be for any potential candidates. If you choose to ignore that ‘essential criteria’ and simply apply regardless, you are most probably wasting your time. HR Managers and recruiters are extremely unlikely to consider your application if you don’t match what they are looking for. Instead put your efforts into applying for jobs where you do meet the requirements.

Sending out mass CVs

Employers and recruiters can spot ‘identikit’ CVs in an instant. You may think that by sending out the same CV to hundreds of employers, it will help your job search and that is most probably not the case. Whilst submitting a speculative CV is a worthwhile thing to do, it’s much better if it’s a tailored version of a CV. Make sure that your CV is relevant for each company you send it to. It’s fine to have a generic basic CV to work from but you should always amend and adapt it before sending it anywhere.

Searching online

For many jobseekers, their job search may primarily consist of spending hours trawling job boards and sites in the hope of finding that perfect job to apply for. Whilst searching online is of course necessary, it need not be done for hours on end. Use some of the meta-search engines such as Indeed and Job Rapido which collate job ads from a whole host of other job sites. You are in essence searching on one site instead of 5 or 6. Visit job boards and set up email alerts for newly advertised jobs in your favoured market sector or location. Also, don’t only search online – there are lots of other places to look.

Applying for jobs you actually don’t want

This may seem quite a strange one. After all, who would do this, you may think? The answer is – more people than you realise! If you are not interested in a particular job or a role with a particular employer, why spend your time and effort in submitting an application or even worse, attending interview. You aren’t only wasting your own time – you are also wasting an employer or recruiter’s time. If you feel that if you were offered the role you would certainly not accept, why bother even applying in the first place? Why bother applying, agreeing to attend an interview and then not showing up? With recruitment agencies in particular, if it is felt that you have been wasting a consultant’s time, it’s likely that there will be a proverbial black mark against your name. When you actually do want a particular job, they may not go out of their way to help!

We hope that by highlighting these Job Search Time Wasters, we’ve helped some of you get a little more productive and efficient with your jobseeking.