What is the best way to find a job? For a start, you have to develop an effective strategy that will enable you to find a suitable job as quickly as possible and with the least amount of trouble and effort. If your strategy is not working, you need to review the way you’re looking for a particular job It is said that only 30% of job vacancies are openly advertised to the public. This leaves an amazing 70% of jobs that are left to be found in the ‘hidden job market’! The question that arises is: with the limited time you have got, where do you look for a job? Is there a best method or strategy when conducting a job-search? Experts say that one in every three job hunters become unsuccessful because they abandoned their job hunt prematurely. When asked why, many would say: ‘I never thought that this would take so long and I ran out of energy.’ As a result, it’s wise to invest what energy you do have into a job-hunting strategy where the odds are more favourable! Which strategy should you adopt for job hunting? The answer is: a varied approach.

1. Want2get on? is a unique career coaching service that offers 1:1 support for those who
want to draw upon their Christian faith and apply it in a practical way to their job situation.
www.want2geton.co.uk Tel: 07503 177126 charles@want2geton.co.uk
Top tips for successful speculative job searching
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In a previous blog I suggested that the job market is like one mother of an iceberg – most
of it being out of site under the waterline. Depending on the job sector that you want to
access, anything up to 70% of available jobs are going to be hidden ‘under water’ and
aren’t going to be advertised where most of us would normally start looking – such as in
recruitment agencies or the job pages of a national newspaper.
One of the best ways of accessing this ‘hidden’ job market – the large bit of the job market
under the waterline – is to bypass the competition and approach companies directly. A
and
note of caution, taking a speculative approach may not be so effective with larger and
organisations that have a defined structure for their application process.
Here are a few tips to hopefully make your speculative job hunt fruitful!
1. Locate your employer
• If you are looking for graduate jobs within a specific industry or profession a good
place to start is www.prospects.ac.uk. This site is a must for tracking down graduate
www.prospects.ac.uk.
employers in a specific industry or sector, eg. Charities, engineering, market research
etc.
• Local and national newspapers
ocal
• Specialist business and trade publications – also available at libraries
pecialist
• Magazines belonging to professional associations
• Online business directories such as yell.com, Kompass UK and Kellysearch
nline
• Use your local knowledge of local businesses, try walking around a business park or
trading estate to identify potential employers
• Careers fairs and recruitment events are an excellent way to select employers to
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follow. However, don’t waste your time applying speculatively if the company already
f
has a formal graduate programme
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harles

2. 2. When in Rome….
The more you discover about a particular organisation and use the same language / jargon
as they do, the more chance you will have of speaking and communicating at their wave
length. If this you are able to do this then it will give you a head start when looking for a job
with particular organisations.
First of all, once you have identified an employer, make sure that you do a thorough
company research. Try to get a real feel about what they do and look at their current
vacancies – if advertised on line. From this research you can make an educated guess
about their values, the types of roles, areas or work and skills used within the organisation.
Each company will have its own ‘culture’, so make a serious effort to understand what this
looks like from what they say on their website and the key words they use to express
themselves. Within reason, replicate these words and traits within your CV or application.
If they feel you would fit into their organisation – especially if it’s small – then it will
increase the chances of a job offer.
3. It’s all about who you know…
There can be no doubt that some people get lucky due to favours and preferential
attention given to them from those in influence. This certainly applies to searching for a
job!
Your speculative job search will be made a whole lot easier if you know someone within
the organisation to which you’re applying. Whatever you do, avoid addressing your letter
without a specific name: to HR manager or General Manager. As a minimum, call the
organisation and discover the name of the person to address you letter. In a smaller
organisation, you can write directly to the owner / director, whereas in larger organisation
you will need to find out a relevant person in HR. Make sure you get the correct spelling of
the person’s name.
Ideally, what you need to do is to discover someone you can trust within the organisation
to which you’re applying to be your insider, who could put in a positive word for you and
could place your CV at the top of the pile! Remember, work the system intelligently and
with cunning so that it goes in your favour.
Ideas for developing insiders:
• Attend local events laid on by:
o Chambers of Commerce
o Federation of Small Businesses
o Employment fairs e.g. local council, graduate fairs etc.
• Use online networking communities such as Meetup.com and Business Biscoti
• Check your own personal contacts from Facebook, Linked In, church, gym, or other
organisation membership
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3. • Is there a local pub / bar or restaurant that employees visit either a lunch or after
work? If so, try and rub shoulders with them, start a conversation and see where it
goes.
4. Keep your options open
When approaching companies speculatively it’s important to keep one eye on your long-
term goal and another eye on your immediate and current situation. Ideally, you may want
to find a permanent full-time job, however, don’t disregard part-time or contract work as it
may offer an eventual route to your long-term goal.
A good way to approach a company is necessarily to ask for a job but, rather, to ask to
meet up for a brief chat (or on the phone) so that they can give you some advice on how to
access a job in their industry. That way, they won’t necessarily feel under pressure but
could even be flattered at being asked to give advice. Once you been able to meet up you
will have hopefully been able to make a positive impression and have placed yourself
firmly on their ‘radar’ for future jobs.
You could even enquire about opportunities to complete some voluntary work – which you
could view as an extended job interview. All these options could give you a springboard to
you eventually getting to your ultimate prize if a permanent job is yet available.
5. Tailor your covering letter and CV
Make sure that the CV and the covering letter that you leave with a named person within
the organisation is either tailored to a specific job or where this is not possible then it is
tailored to the sort of job that you’re looking for, e.g. a website designer.
It’s essential that your speculative covering letter is concise and that it emphasises what
you can do for the employer rather than what you want from them. This is your chance to
let yourself ‘shine’ and highlight your qualities, including relevant skills, experience and
qualifications. A CV is the place where you give the facts about yourself, whereas the
covering letter is where you can show your enthusiasm (don’t go over the top!) for working
for their company – stating specific reasons why. Flattery, if done well, can have a positive
effect.
Don’t forget, it’s all about selling yourself and presenting yourself as a potential asset to
their organisation.
6. Make sure to follow up with a call
You can never underestimate the value of communication – make sure you take the
initiative in calling back the employer for feedback. Give them approximately a week to
review your CV and covering letter and find out a convenient time to have a chat. Even if
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4. the employer cannot offer you a job, if you suitably impress them they will hopefully keep
you on file and /or recommend you to a contact in another organisation.
A speculative approach won’t work every time, but you only need for it to work once, and
you’ve got a job!
Want2get on? is a unique career coaching service that offers 1:1 support for those who
want to draw upon their Christian faith and apply it in a practical way to their job situation.
www.want2geton.co.uk Tel: 07503 177126 charles@want2geton.co.uk
Copyright protected. All rights belong to Charles Humphreys