If you are already have a full-time job but want to seek something new, finding the time in your schedule to search for fresh opportunities can be difficult; particularly if your evenings and weekends tend to fill up with social and extra-curricular activities.
Related: 5 Job Search Time Wasters To Avoid
To make achieving that balance a little easier, we have compiled a guide to utilizing your time throughout your job search while maintaining a healthy social and work life.
1. Make Your Commute Count
Unlike days gone by when job hunting meant scouring an endless number of job sites every evening after a hard day’s work, nowadays you can encapsulate the time you spend searching for jobs into your working day as you travel to and from work.
Since the influx of smart devices into the wider market, it has become simpler than ever before to access job sites and contact recruiters while on the go. Whether you have a smartphone or tablet, you can continue your job search while on the bus, train, tube, or tram.
As contacting recruiters is somewhat frowned upon by employers, it is usually this period before and after work that will provide you with the ideal opportunity to speak to your recruitment consultant; and yet one more reason to make that time spent commuting as fruitful as possible.
2. Use Job Apps
Well-developed apps tend to be quicker to load than desktop sites via your smart device browser, and over the last couple of years, recruitment sites have become more aware of the needs of their target audience. Recruiters recognize that many of their candidates will be accessing their jobs feed while on the go, necessitating that their site have certain capabilities including a short loading time and easy to navigate interface across devices. That is why many job sites now have apps and mobile-ready sites that make accessing jobs boards pain-free even when you’re not sat at your desktop or on a laptop.
This is crucial for recruitment sites as user expectations have evolved since the introduction of tablets and smartphones, and in a world with many accessible jobs boards and recruitment sites, a company without a multi-platform site will be quickly dismissed.
3. Craft an Adaptable CV
Yes, your CV should be tailored to each individual role you apply for, but for the sake of saving you valuable time, why not structure your CV so that only certain areas will need to be revisited per application?
Here are some tips for making your CV template top notch:
Don’t be too British; you are selling yourself after all and it’s important that any potential employer is able to assess how you regard yourself from the off. Your personal statement at the top of your CV is the perfect place to do this; making a positive impression at this point could be the difference between your CV landing on the maybe pile and the no pile, so there’s no need to be coy about any outstanding achievements.
Put your most recent job first. This gives your recruiter or prospective employer the opportunity to learn as much about what you do at the moment and an up to date list of your acquired skills.
Think hard about your day-to-day responsibilities – what are standard for your industry and what makes you a specialist? If you are applying for a job within the same industry, your potential employer is likely to know what your jobs entails. If this is the case, it will be more beneficial to mention expertise that are unique to your role within the company and anything you have brought to the team or business that was not there before.
Your CV should be no longer than two sides of A4 paper, and your layout must be clear and concise. Your future employer will spend a maximum of two minutes on each CV and a minimum of 10 seconds, so a poorly thought layout can make all the difference. This means putting your relevant experience, education, and additional skills into their own clear sections so that the reader can skim to the area that is most significant to their purposes.
Don’t forget your interests outside of the workplace; employers recognize that you don’t spend all of your time in work and that you will have other things going on in your life. For many employers this demonstrates that you are a well-rounded individual who would be an asset to their work force, so ensure that you mention hobbies such as: baking, running, countries you have traveled to, and teams you are part of (sports or otherwise).
4. Connect with Businesses on LinkedIn
If you have found a company that looks particularly interesting to you and it has roles available that suit your skills and experience, follow that business on LinkedIn. Or, if you deem it appropriate, connect with a relevant person. This will boost your chances of appearing on their radar sooner rather than later, while LinkedIn also gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about your experience and skills in a less formal environment than a CV or interview.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
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