Getting the most from an online job board…
If you are currently looking for a job, chances are that you have registered or are planning to register with an online job board. One of the main purposes behind this of course is so that an employer or recruiter can find your CV and contact you about suitable positions.
What you may find however is that you register on a job board and apart from some generic email alerts about jobs that are available “nationwide”, you never actually get contacted about any jobs that are relevant to you. And whilst it might be easy to criticise the jobs boards themselves, often we should put some of the blame for them “not working” as they should at our own door.
To help you get the most out of registering on a job board, we have put together some basic top tips….
Make your CV visible
Although this may seem like common sense, many people do not do this. It is easy to create an account and register on a jobs site without actually uploading a CV. Makes the entire exercise pretty pointless then, doesn’t it? If you want to be “found” by prospective employers, you need to make your CV searchable. Remember that the only people who can access the CV database are employers and recruiters. Obviously this can be a concern if you are currently in a job and you don’t want your current employer to know you are on the lookout, so you should perhaps be careful about what details you make visible.
Use Relevant Keywords
Most recruiters and employers look for prospective candidates on jobs boards by doing searches on specific keywords or phrases. If your CV does not contain the relevant keywords that they are looking for, then you won’t come up in any of their candidate searches. For example if you have experience of Accounts but don’t specify you have experience in using Sage, you may not be found. If you are a Web Developer and don’t detail which specific technologies you have experience in, your CV may not be found. Make sure that your “online CV” fully details all the relevant skills and experience for the type of job you are looking for. Don’t generalise, be specific.
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I agree that 70% of Solidstaff.com employees which register do not fill in the forms correctly. Solidstaff is for hotel and and catering Market. We have only had caterers todate registering which is a good thing. A job is needed in life so spend an extra hour checking your Cv over before pressing send.
Good luck and find your job of your dreams. Remember you have to do the work.
William Ireland
Solidstaff.com
Solidstaff.com
Posted by William Ireland | February 28, 2012, 8:47 amBear in mind that jobs may remain listed on some jobs boards long after they may have been filled. It can be a better use of time to apply to employers direct (whether speculatively, or through adverts on their own web sites). Also, many recruitment consultants seem to have a very specific tick-list of criteria for applicants, which can filter out perfectly good candidates – like you – on irrational grounds. Again, it is often better to approach employers direct. So, use job boards as part of your search strategy, but (as mentioned elsewhere on The Employable) do not rely on them exclusively!
Posted by LC Jackson | March 1, 2012, 1:24 pm