ADVICE TO CANDIDATES

Organising Your Job Search

Looking for a new position is a stressful process. In today's market, IT professionals seeking a new position may be surprised at the number of interviews they receive, and at how quickly the job search can progress. We have had a number of candidates comment that companies are moving more quickly than they did even two or three years ago. When you are talking to several different companies at once, it is important to keep track of your job search details.

You can empower yourself during your job search, and reduce your stress, by keeping track of the agencies you contact, your interviews, and contact people. Another way to enhance your knowledge of how well your job search is going is to take the time to communicate well with the agencies that have your C.V.

Job Search Organisation Strategies

Organising your job search may sound complicated, but it is based on one simple idea: making sure your entire job search information is kept in one place. The quickest way to organise your job search is to keep a folder dedicated to your job search and its progress. This folder can contain copies of your CV, cover letters you have sent out, ads for specific positions you have applied for, cards of recruitment agency representatives who have your CV, and cards and notes from your interviews. It is good to note which agencies and companies received your CV, when you sent it to them and for what job, on a sheet of paper, or on your computer.

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Working With Recruitment Agencies

Another part of organising your job search is working with recruitment agencies in a professional, courteous manner. Being clear, but discreet, with your different agencies helps them send you out on interviews, without wasting your time or violating corporate confidentiality. When you are working with a recruitment agency, you usually have a contact at that agency that represents you. Your contact person specialises in your recruitment area, and is the person at that agency best equipped to help you. If you want to get in touch with an agency, focus on your contact person.

If you are working with multiple recruitment agencies, keeping yourself organised can help you to avoid one of the worst breaches of job search etiquette; contacting the same employer twice, through two different recruiters, for the same position. If one agency puts you forward for a position, you should not mention the position or company to another agency, UNLESS that other agency asks if you want to be put forward for the same position. When that happens, you should inform the second agency that you are already under consideration for that position. It would make a negative impression on the interviewing company if you knowingly allowed yourself to be put forward twice.

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