The document discusses strategies for job seeking in the current post-recession tech market. It describes how the market has changed from high growth in the 2000s to much lower growth and more competition today. It recommends a multifaceted approach, including generating job leads through ads, networks, and cold outreach; marketing yourself through profiles, CVs, and social media; and preparing effectively for interviews. Personalized outreach to recruiters and potential employers is emphasized over more passive strategies.

1. Tech Job-Seeking in the Post-Apocalyptic Economy

9. A Broad Approach Effective job/opportunity lead generation - hunting down adverts and application best practice - using your network and cold marketing to uncover “hidden” vacancies - making friends with recruiters Personal Marketing - CVs - Social Networking - “Making a noise” using jobsites and the wider web Effective Interviewing - effective preparation Splitting your efforts between these areas is vital to success

10. “ Getting in the door” – The Importance of Personal Marketing Ever hear the one about the two biologists…? Two biologists are in the field following the tracks of a radio-collared grizzly bear. All of a sudden, the bear crashes out of the brush and heads right for them. They scramble up the nearest tree, but the bear starts climbing up the tree after them. The first biologist starts taking off his heavy leather hiking boots and pulls a pair of sleek running shoes from his back-pack. The second biologist gives him a puzzled look and says, "What in the world are you doing?“ He replies, "I figure when the bear gets close to us, we'll jump down and make a run for it." The second guy says, "Are you crazy? We both know you can't outrun a full-grown grizzly bear." The first guy says, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you!“ You’re not competing with the market, you’re competing with each other! Marketing = Collateral + NOISE (distribution of collateral)

11. CVs & Profiles: Marketing your (Technical) Skills Profile = Your primary impression-making weapon: description of your skills, achievements and background. A profile is normally generic. CV = Profile in document form. Can be generic, but should be specific to a job as often as possible. Both need to be well-produced, specific to your audience and EASILY FOUND!

16. Jobsites and CV Databases CV Databases are more productive for recruiters than advertising (41% vs 25%) It’s well worth your time creating a profile/uploading generic CVs – and updating regularly They offer unique benefits to recruiters Some databases include: But go and find the ones that work for you!

17. So where are the jobs? Now we’ve discussed how to market yourselves, let’s look at part 2 of our approach: lead generation Lead Generation = identifying vacancies or potential future employers Remember the spread of sources! Approach must incorporate advert-hunting, using your (social) networks and making new friends

18. Adverts Where to find adverts: Sites include: Jobsite.co.uk Monster.co.uk Totaljobs.co.uk CWJobs.co.uk Reed.co.uk Cambridgenetwork.co.uk There are loads more: some general, some specialist: so go and have a look! Niche and emerging sites: Increasing numbers are having success using advertising on LinkedIn & Twitter Aggregators: Some prefer to use search engines which aggregate content from the job boards – these dominate organic Google listings for specific searches. You can set up e-mail alerts and RSS feeds on these to enable notifications and increase efficiency

20. Using your (Social) Networks and Cold Marketing It’s safe to assume that we are not unique in how we fill jobs Therefore, most companies will not be relying on advertising and will fill a proportion of jobs through other means (recruiters, direct approaches, their own networks) – means which you need to exploit to gain competitive advantage The next few slides will describe a technique which we think will add significant weight to your jobsearch – COLD MARKETING Cold Marketing relies upon (Social) Networking – we can’t stress enough how powerful LinkedIn (and soon Twitter) will be in your jobsearch! Only a small %age of job-seekers are doing this, so it’s a real competitive advantage

21. “ Cold” Marketing This is a really effective technique, comprised of three components: 1 – Identify potential future employers 2 – Identify relevant decision makers 3 – Make contact Most companies will be happy to hear from you directly You’ll get a strong insight into employment prospects at other companies.

22. Identifying Potential Employers There are several available tools, the best being LinkedIn. To do this on LinkedIn, just bring up an advanced search box and type in a few keywords (J2EE, C++, Product Management etc) and restrict search by location. A list of PEOPLE will come up – people with similar skills or backgrounds to you. Make a note of where each person in your results works at the moment (and where they worked previously) You now have a list of companies who employ people with similar skills to you – i.e. potential employers! Other ways of achieving this include using Google to search for CVs (speak to us and we’ll give you the magic search syntax / access to our custom search engine) or vacancies, speaking to friendly recruiters or personal contacts.

23. Identifying Decision Makers Now you have a list of potential employers, you can do one of two things. You could visit each company’s website, find out the generic careers@ or jobs@ e-mail, write an excellent mail describing your skills, experience and achievements and explaning that you’re looking for work and attach your CV. This is an excellent idea and you’ll get a silver star for doing it. You could however use the people search functionality on LinkedIn to identify your potential future manager at each of your target companies, figure out their e-mail address and then send your mail straight to the decision maker. This is an even better idea and you’ll get a gold star for doing it. (We can show you how to work out specific people’s e-mail addresses if you like….) Another (more time-consuming) approach is to pick up the telephone and call the company/decision-maker in person. This is an even better strategy, and one we can advise you on seperately.

26. Effective Interviewing A whole different subject area that we won’t discuss today Preparation is the key Working with your recruiter (if there is one) is vital to success too Get in touch for specific advice, we’ll be glad to assist.

27. A Successful Approach? Effective job/opportunity lead generation - hunting down adverts and application best practice - using your network and cold marketing to uncover “hidden” vacancies - making friends with recruiters Personal Marketing - CVs - Social Networking - “Making a noise” using jobsites and the wider web Effective Interviewing - effective preparation Create a winning profile and spread the word on-line Use Social Networks! Be findable in CV Databases Use best practice when applying to jobs – re-write CV and use covering letters! Make use of your networks and engage in Cold Approaches Make contact with good recruiters, don’t expect too much and be eager to hear from them Prepare, prepare, prepare!

28. Contacts and Info: nick.gallimore@idealpeople.net - 01908 575153 nick.tooley@idealpeople.net - 01908 562297 http://www.idealpeopleblog.com – for advice, hints and tips Questions?