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Looking for a job

Solving the issue of employment is not as easy as it seems. More and more qualified specialists appear in the labor market, competition is growing, and, as a rule, there are not enough vacancies for everyone. That is why it is so important to approach the issue of job search with special attention. Your CV you can buy here https://resumegets.com/buy-resume. Especially for job seekers who are wondering how to find a job quickly and efficiently, we have drawn up an action plan that will definitely lead you to a successful job.

Step 1. Defining a career goal

So that your job search is not chaotic, it is important to decide what exactly you want to do, that is, determine the desired position (or several).

Why can’t you just submit your resume to any vacancies that come up?

1. For each position, a separate resume is required, adapted to the chosen specialty. Not knowing clearly what position you want to work in, thereby make it difficult to write a resume for yourself and generally slow down your job search. It is much more productive to define the range of positions for which you are targeting.
2. If, while applying for a resume to any company, you express a desire to work in any position, most likely your candidacy will not be considered. It is important for an employer to clearly understand what exactly you can and want to do in his company, what benefits you can bring. Job seekers from the category “I can do anything as long as they pay” are usually not credible.
3. For every position, there are more efficient and less efficient search channels (or even completely non-working ones). If you do not decide on a position and, accordingly, do not choose suitable sources of vacancies, this, again, will significantly slow down the employment process for you.

It is also necessary to make a list of requirements for the desired job. These are the level of salary, the location of the office, hours of work, the possibility of “remote work” and so on. This will also help make your job search more efficient, without wasting time on inappropriate jobs.

In simple words – we recommend that you think carefully about what kind of work you need, what conditions will be most important for you, and what can be neglected.

If you already understand what kind of job you want, the next step is to define an action plan, namely a search strategy. Often, job seekers do not think about this, which leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the entire process.

Passive and active strategies

Your choice between these two approaches directly depends on which channels you will be looking for a job. With a passive strategy, you respond to offers from employers or their intermediaries: post your resume on various resources, create a profile on LinkedIn or contact a recruiting agency and just wait for offers.

With an active job search form, you take many active steps, namely, your search for vacancies through various channels and respond to them.

Position or company orientation

Here you will need to think about what is paramount for you: to work in a certain position (and it does not matter in what place) or to get into a specific company (and the position is not so important for you)?

Depending on your focus, your job search actions will also differ.

Focus on promotion or demotion

You can look for a job in the same familiar position as you have always been. Or, perhaps, you are aimed at career growth and want to look for vacancies for a position higher than the one where you worked before? This question also needs to be pondered. In some cases, if you have multifaceted experience and high qualifications, but for some reason, you cannot find a job, you can resort to a demotion strategy – look for positions with a smaller area of ​​responsibility.

What questions you need to answer as part of building your job search strategy

How and where to look.

We decide whether we will search passively or actively, with a focus on the position or company, whether we want to go for a promotion/demotion. Depending on this and on our specialty, we determine the sources of vacancies. This is done in order not to waste time and energy by posting a resume and looking for offers in places where there is simply no employers ideal for us and our desired position. For example, searching for vacancies on Telegram will be effective for representatives of creative professions or IT-sphere, but not for sales consultants or drivers.

What time frame to look for.

At least roughly it is worth determining the period that you plan to devote to finding a job. If you don’t, it will be difficult to track your progress and thus identify problems at every stage of the process.

Why search.

The answer to this question will help you understand how to communicate with potential employers in the future and how to make a decision in response to a job offer.

Step 3. Create a resume

A competent resume is your first acquaintance with an employer. And it depends on him whether you will be invited for an interview. The main rule: to show yourself as the most suitable candidate – informative but concise. You can draft the document yourself or contact career consultants for drafting. There is also an option to create a resume through job search sites, that is, according to their standard templates.

If you decide to compose your resume yourself, you must adhere to strict rules, follow the structure, and adhere to the recommendations from HR specialists. A good option is to use a professional resume template to make the process easier for yourself.

Please note: it is better to make a separate resume for each vacancy. Each employer has its own requirements for applicants, and you need to adapt the text of your resume exactly for them, and correctly place accents. This will be much more efficient than sending everyone one version of the document. Scientific professions sometimes require the writing of dissertations or doctoral theses, you can take your time to write or buy dissertations.

Volume – maximum 2 pages (1.5 is best). Also, the resume should be properly structured and formatted (with the help of subheadings, lists, highlighting important information) so that it is easy to read.

Resume structure

Photo

High quality, colorful, in a business style.

Accommodation

City, district, readiness for business trips/relocation.

Contact information

Current phone number, the email with a neutral name.

Desired position

One specific name of the position for which you are applying is required.

Desired salary level

This item is optional. To fill it out, you need to study the labor market and your capabilities to bring out the most adequate figure.

Key skills

5-7 of your professional skills, suitable for the desired position (except for PC and foreign language skills).

Achievements

Your main results in past jobs, awards that are also related to the position you are applying for.

Work experience

Past jobs in reverse chronological order. Here you can even indicate the activity that is not in the workbook, especially if you are a novice specialist.

Education

Higher and secondary specialized educational institutions in reverse chronological order + additional education in the form of training, courses (if they are related to the desired position).

Additional information

This is the place for skills such as PC skills, language proficiency, or other additional information that is needed but was not covered in the previous sections. For example, having a driver’s license.

What type of resume to choose

There are the following main types of resumes: chronological, functional, and hybrid. Chronological based on the description of work experience in reverse chronological order. A functional resume focuses on skills and achievement. The hybrid combines the two previous types and is most often used by job seekers. In rare cases (usually in creative professions), a creative type of resume can come in handy: presentation, infographics, videos, etc.

If you need a resume in English

A resume in English deserves special attention. You will need such a document if you are looking for a job abroad, apply for a vacancy in English, or if the need for a CV is specifically mentioned in the vacancy text. Besides, in this case, you will need a cover letter in English.

To write an English-language resume, it is not enough just to translate, since the design of the CV differs from the format we are used to.

What are its features:

• CV has a Summary block – this is a kind of “resume in resume”, concise but comprehensive information about you as a specialist;
• Another important section – “Key Competencies” – a brief description of your knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal qualities;
• The Work Experience section focuses on your achievements.

It is also worth considering that academic degrees (bachelor, master, etc.) differ abroad and in our country.

This document is often neglected by applicants, but we highly recommend writing it. A cover letter will help draw the attention of a recruiter to your candidacy, highlight your merits as a specialist. Its volume should be 0.5 pages.

What can be reflected in the cover letter:

• how did you hear about the vacancy;
• why would you like to work for this company;
• what are the main skills and achievements that will allow you to work successfully in this position;
• working contacts of people who can provide referrals;
• your contact details.

Important: you need to start your letter with an appeal. This can be either the name and patronymic of the contact person or a formal greeting (for example, “Dear Employer” or “Hello”). At the end of the letter, it is good practice to thank the employer for their attention.

Step 5. Using job search channels

Even at the stage of thinking through a strategy, you should have decided on the channels that you will use to search for vacancies. Let’s talk about them in more detail.

Job Search Sites

Specialized resources are convenient because there you can create a resume using a template, quickly send responses to employers’ proposals, subscribe to the newsletter of current vacancies. A convenient search is also available, with the help of which you can find vacancies according to certain criteria, and employers can go to your resume. In a passive job search, you can simply post your resume on a publicly available website and expect responses from employers, but this will only work for narrow-profile specialists or managers. We recommend that you still actively send out responses.

Aggregators

Resources such as Indeed or Yandex.Robot aggregate vacancies from various sources. This search option is suitable if you have not decided where to look for vacancies and want to understand which sites the most suitable options for you.

Networking

Even if you do not have special business connections, even just relatives, friends or acquaintances can please you with interesting offers. To do this, let everyone know that you are actively looking for work (for example, by making a post about it on social networks).

Please note: this search method is not guaranteed employment, but only an additional opportunity to find out about suitable open positions for you.

Today, recommendatory recruiting is actively developing – when employers involve employees of their company or third parties in the search for personnel. If one of these employees turns out to be your friend, this will be another opportunity for you.

Groups in social networks

Job search in social networks (most often it is Facebook, but Vkontakte, Instagram are also possible) is gaining more and more popularity. And many employers prefer to post vacancies there, rather than on specialized sites. You can search for offers in groups for applicants, including those that are specifically dedicated to your field of activity (for marketers, IT specialists, etc.) or related to your region.

Popular groups with vacancies on Facebook

Some employers may ask for responses to private messages in the vacancy text. Therefore, it is better to “clean” your account, make it as functional as possible.

Telegram

The modern way of finding a job is channeling in the Telegram messenger. As with social media groups, you can find jobs that are not available on job search sites.

Examples of popular channels:

Just as in the case of groups in social networks, you can find industry channels for your field of activity. For example, Marketing jobs, DESIGNER_LOOKING, etc.

Telegram, as a way to find a job, is especially suitable for specialists whose activities are closely related to the Internet.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn was created specifically to form a circle of professional contacts. And more and more often, vacancies are closed precisely through this social network, especially when it comes to top management.

The resource provides a large number of opportunities for applicants: searching for vacancies, subscribing to them, direct access to employers, recruiters, and agencies, effective networking, joining interest groups.

As with job search sites, on LinkedIn, you can either search for jobs yourself or wait for recruiters to contact you. Of course, here, too, we recommend that you act as actively as possible, but in any case, you will need a well-completed profile using keywords.

Recruitment Agencies

The help of recruitment agencies for job seekers is free, the employer acts as a client for them. You can send your resume to such agencies, and if there is a suitable vacancy for you, you will be offered it. They can also contact you through the same job search sites if you have posted your resume there.

Examples of general recruitment agencies

1. Ancor
2. Unity Business Solutions
3. ProStaff
4. Adecco
5. Cornerstone
6. ManpowerGroup
7. Brainpower
8. Antal
9. Hays
10. Kelly Services

There are also highly specialized agencies: for example, maritime recruiting agencies (“crewing”), Executive Search agencies (which recruit top-level specialists), IT recruiting agencies, and so on.

Agencies for Job Seekers

These agencies assist in finding work on a paid basis. You can order resume writing, as well as a selection of vacancies and mailing of responses to save your time and get more chances of finding the desired job.

Also, cooperation with a career counselor will be useful for finding a job. The specialist will help you develop your own job search strategy, define salary expectations, search channels, draw up a plan for further professional development, learn how to pass interviews.

Direct contact with an employer

If you are interested in working in a particular company, through the official website you can find contacts for communication or even a list of open vacancies if any. You can also reach HR companies through the same LinkedIn.

Newspapers

Now, this is far from the most popular search channel, which is in demand mainly among blue-collar jobs. In newspapers, you can publish your mini-resume and view job advertisements. In some of them, you can respond to offers, as well as on specialized job search sites.

Employment Services

This is a good option to quickly find a job if you cannot find a job on your own. You must personally contact the employment center with the documents, you will be registered, and within a few days they will pick up directions to work. If a suitable option is not found, you will be recognized as unemployed, and then you will be able to receive the corresponding benefit.

Job Fairs

These are specialized events where you can communicate with recruiters and other company representatives, pass a preliminary interview, fill out questionnaires, get advice.

Such a job search channel is relevant mainly for students and beginners.

Fairs can be private, state, industry, university. Events are also organized for specific groups of people who have difficulty finding work.

Step 6. Submit your resume and cover letter

When you finally find suitable vacancies, it’s time to apply for them. If we are talking about a job search site, then a resume is sent there with just one click of a button. The cover letter is usually attached as a file.

If you respond by email:

• format the subject line correctly. It should immediately be clear for what purpose you are writing. For example, “Resume for the position of an editor” or “Application for a manager’s position”;
• write a cover letter in the body of the email;
• attach your resume as a separate file (doc or PDF). In its title, it is advisable to indicate your surname, desired position, and the word “Resume” so that the file will not be lost in the future.

Important: a separate letter should be sent to each employer. Do not send newsletters under any circumstances.

Step 7. Preparing for the interview

If your job search strategy did not fail, then at this stage you have already received one or more invitations to interviews. And this is not yet a victory, as several applicants are likely to be interviewed.

Your task is to carefully prepare for the interview with the recruiter/employer to stand out from other candidates and prove that you are ideal for the position.

And, of course, based on the results of the interview, you will need to figure out for yourself whether you really want to work in this company.

There are different types of interviews, and you should be prepared for any of them:

• Structured. The most common type with standard questions.
• Situational (case interview). You are offered to solve hypothetical problems and situations that you might find yourself in.
• Projective. This type is similar to the situational one, but in this case, it is not you who are faced with hypothetical problems, but people in general (third parties), and you must evaluate the situation from the outside.
• Behavioral (by competency). You are asked in detail about your professional activities, about the tasks you faced in your previous jobs.
• Stressful (shock). As the name suggests, this is a stress test. The recruiter’s questions and behavior during this type of interview will be quite unusual and inconvenient, provoking you to emotions.

Depending on your specialty, you can predict which interview option awaits you, and think over what tasks the recruiter can set for you. At the same time, even if you did not expect a question, behave at ease and confidently, try to reason more, and in no case answer “I don’t know”.

Interview Preparation Action Plan

1. Find out as much as possible about the company. You need to know what it does, who its leaders are, how many years it has been on the market, what are its main projects and achievements. You can also pay attention to the reviews.
2. Analyze frequently asked questions in the interview, think over, and rehearse the answers to them (including preparing a self-presentation, that is, a story about yourself). Here are 20 examples of common interview questions.
3. Reread your resume. Be ready to confirm the information from it with examples or tell something besides.
4. Prepare guidelines if needed. Advise referees in advance that they may be called.
5. Think over your appearance. Of course, clothes should be neat and tidy, and the style depends on your field of activity and the presence of a dress code in the company. But in general, it is recommended that you choose something neutral or businesslike.
6. Don’t forget the documents. As a rule, this is a passport, a printed resume, a workbook, plus other papers if the recruiter asked to take them.
7. Check the route to the office so you won’t be late.

Most often interviews are conducted in person, one-on-one. But there are other forms: group (when other applicants participate besides you) and remote (by phone or skype). The last type of interview is used either as a preliminary stage (followed by a personal meeting if it is completed) or when you are looking for a job remotely.

The rules for preparing for an online interview, in this case, are the same as those we described above (even about dress code), but additional nuances are added:

1. The account from which you will be interviewed must have a neutral name, a “decent” photo, and a competent profile description.
2. Make sure that you have order in the background, there are no unnecessary things on the table. Also, make sure you have a quiet call and good lighting.
3. Check the quality of the connection and that your headphones and microphone are working.

During the interview, do not answer the recruiter’s questions in monosyllables, do not criticize previous employers, try to also ask the recruiter questions about your future responsibilities, and so on. Complete the test or fill out the questionnaire if asked.

How to prepare recommendations

This item deserves special attention. Recommendations are provided to the recruiter upon request at the interview. They can be oral or written, which option is better – it is necessary to clarify.

Who can recommend you? These are executives from past jobs, HR, colleagues, even former clients, and partners, or prominent representatives of the professional community. If you are a beginner specialist, recommendations can be provided by teachers, scientific advisers.

Concerning the oral format, you simply provide the name, title, and working contacts of the person who is ready to give the recommendation. This option is preferred by most recruiters and is the simplest.

A written recommendation must be made on the letterhead of the company that provides the recommendation. If you compose the text of the recommendations yourself, make sure that the facts, design, and writing style are not repeated in them.

What a recommendation letter should contain:

• where and how long does the referrer know you;
• • what characteristics according to the observations of the referee do you possess, what facts and examples prove it;
• an expression of the referee’s opinion that you will be suitable for the desired position.

The letter must be completed with the full name, the name of the position of the writer, the name of the company in which he works, and his contacts.

Step 8. Accept or reject the job offer

If an interview or a series of interviews went well, you will receive a job offer. And it’s good if this was originally a vacancy of your dreams and you can agree without hesitation. But there are also completely different situations when it is necessary to evaluate all the pros and cons of proposals and make a decision.

A job offer may come to you in the form of an email, SMS, messenger message, or phone call. As part of its offer, the employer announces the terms of cooperation to you.

To evaluate a job offer, you need to consider the following questions:

1. Are you really suitable for the job, can you cope with the responsibilities, the schedule, do you exactly meet the employer’s requests.
2. Are you satisfied with your salary?
3. Will you be able to develop in this company in the direction you need.
4. Are there any pitfalls in the job offer, are there all the agreements and details: the date of starting work, the duration of the probationary period, the amount of salary, the work schedule, etc.

After evaluating the potential job from all sides, comparing it with other offers, if any, you can make the right decision. If you want to refuse an employer, in any case, do not ignore his offer. Please formulate your refusal politely by phone or in a letter and thank you for your time.

So, in 8 steps we have passed your hypothetical path to the desired employment. If you approach your job search carefully and seriously, the result will not belong in coming.

How to look for a job abroad

In general, the scheme of job search abroad is the same as in our country. But there are some nuances worth exploring in advance. Let’s talk more about them.

For starters …

Immediately decide in which country you want to look for work and in what direction, as well as whether your diploma is accepted in a particular state and whether it contains any quotas or restrictions on attracting foreign specialists.

Nowadays all over the world IT-specialists, medical workers are in demand, positions such as guides or animators are also always popular. Unskilled work is also widely appreciated, and it is paid with dignity (for example, nanny work). But it is worth noting that in each country there are many applicants, therefore it is worth approaching employment abroad with special responsibility – to a resume, a cover letter, preparation for an interview.

Important point – you must know the language of the country in which you are going to find a job, and/or at least English.

How to deal with documents

The list of documents and the nuances of their execution depends on the laws of a particular country. But there is one thing in common: to officially start working abroad, you need a work visa.

In the United States, an employer must submit a special petition to the consulate to obtain it. In Germany, a work visa and a residence permit are combined in one document – a long-stay visa. To apply for a work visa to China, you need to fill out an application in one of the organizations authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, and the employer – in the local authorities.

In any case, before getting a visa and dealing with documents, you must find a job. If you are already accepted, the employer will advise you on what needs to be prepared and help with paperwork.

Where to look for work abroad

As with the regular job search, there are several channels you can use.

Overseas, they pay particular attention to the LinkedIn profile. It often even replaces your regular resume. Therefore, the profile must be “pumped”. Besides, employers can come to your candidacy themselves if you fill out your page with high quality.

There are other business platforms – for example, Xing for the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) or Kakao Talk for China. But we will dwell in more detail on finding a job through LinkedIn since it is the most popular.

Important: LinkedIn is prohibited in the Russian Federation, therefore, when choosing this job-search channel, you can use VPN services, a special plug-in for Google Chrome, or Opera browser with a built-in VPN.

You can search for vacancies on LinkedIn in the Jobs section through the search bar. The main language of the platform is English, so it is better to enter queries in it. Not all displayed vacancies are from direct employers; offers from labor exchanges are also loaded. If you are not interested in them, you can skip them.

To apply for a vacancy, you need to click on the Apply button and attach your resume with a cover letter. It is not necessary to add these documents, but it will greatly increase your chances of success. Keep in mind that a resume for a foreign market has characteristic differences from a similar document in Russian. If you are not sure that you can draw up a document of high quality, it is better to contact professional consultants. We have been helping job seekers with the creation of a professional resume in English for several years.

The vacancy usually contains a link to a contact person. This person can be added as a friend, which will also allow you to draw additional attention to your candidacy.

Another useful feature of LinkedIn is its extensive networking opportunities. Establishing business connections also helps to find work abroad.

You can search for useful contacts through the People section in several ways:

1. By companies. To do this, enter the name of the company and select the region. In this case, you should be interested in HR specialists, as well as those occupying positions above – potential leaders.
2. For large recruiting agencies. As in the previous case, we search by name and region. Here you need targeted HR who are engaged in the direction in which you are looking for work.
3. By keywords. These can be words related to the industry in which you work. Another option is common phrases like HR, Recruiter, HR Manager, Personal Manager, HRD, HR BP, Head of HR with an indication of the region. But it is better to use a more targeted search, as there will be a lot of search results with general keywords.
4. In groups. Search for groups with topics that interest you (for example, “Energy construction in Germany”) and add people you are interested in from there.

Most important – not just fill out a profile and wait, but take active steps, develop your network of contacts, look for vacancies. Then your job search on LinkedIn will give you the fastest and highest quality results.

How is the interview going

Having received the coveted invitation for an interview, you will have to go through it online. Often, even though they are good specialists, job seekers are not ready for the interview. As in the case of our interviews, it is important to go through frequently asked questions in advance, rehearse your speech in the language you need, and prepare a story about yourself. Since the interview will be remote, it is important to check the connection, the serviceability of the equipment.

We wish you to successfully cope with all the difficulties on your career path!