If you're about to start your online job search, here are some essential tips to help you improve your chance of success once you've clicked the job search link. It can be a daunting task to begin looking for a job on the internet as there are many recruitment sites out there, and you may have to explore several of them to find the ones that you want to use.
- Before you even start looking, make sure your CV is current. When you see a job online you want to apply for, chances are you'll want to be able to hit the 'Upload and Apply' button without having to sign out, rejig your CV and find that job again! This may seem like a laborious task to have to keep doing, but it means that when you do find a job that catches your fancy, you will be more than ready to go after it. Being prepared for success is one of the largest indicators of whether or not you will succeed.
- When you've found your ideal career move, if the site you are applying through asks a whole host of personal/demographic questions, don't rush through them. Some may be vital in terms of your being selected for an interview, so be as thorough and honest as you need to be. This is a good way of ensuring that you don’t accidentally rule yourself out of jobs because you don’t meet the criteria when in actual fact you do. Human error on websites has cost many people the chance at jobs that could have really been a good fit for them.
- If there is space for a cover letter/note to be included, then make sure you add something. Leaving this space blank will encourage the recruiter to think you're just sending your CV in without any serious interest in the job. Even if you don't have much time to include a full-on cover letter, include some brief text confirming how ideal you are for the role, how the skills/qualifications you have are a perfect fit, and outlining your serious interest in the position.
- Watch out for the same job advertised in many different places! Many recruiters and agencies advertise the same positions on several job sites, so be sure not to apply for the same one more than once! If anything, this can make you appear somewhat desperate. Keep track of the jobs that you have applied for, in order to make sure this doesn’t happen. An easy spreadsheet of which jobs you applied for through which website can help to avoid problems of this nature.
- And finally, make sure the email address you provide (both in your CV and when registering on online job sites) is a sensible one! Such addresses as 'hotbabe@' and 'beermonster@' won't go down too well. If need be, set up a separate email address specifically for professional and job-seeking purposes.
