What are the best ways to look for a job?

tompparker

Hi,

Please could you advise:

I'm curious as to the best way to go about looking for work (I'd like to work in the not for profit sector). Should I

(1) Send as many considered and carefully completed application forms with covering letters (or CVs with covering letters as appropriate) to advertised jobs as I can?

(2) Ring up and ask some questions about as many advertised jobs as I can to show interest, before sending an application form/CV with covering letter?

(3) Knock on as many employers' doors as I can, briefly introduce myself (skills, experience) and ask if they have any openings?

(4) Telephone as many employers as I can, briefly introducing myself (skills, experience) and asking if they have any openings?

(5) Something else entirely?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

brummybloke

not for profit sector? you want to work in a charity shop?

job hunting can be down to luck or skill.

go to the job centre, sit down with a career advisor and chat about what you would like to do. they will ask you what skills and qualifications you have and will be hoinest about your chances of doing what you want to do with the skills you have.

if you want to swim with dolphins and get paid for it and you cant swim and are scared of dolphins you wont get the job.

if you are more specific with what you want to do, maybe you may get some better advise, i am kind of confused about what it is you want to do ( mind you i am easily confused, im getting old).

gingerdad

My reccomandations (but not worked in the not for profit sector)

are https://www.totaljobs.com

registar your cv with agencies who recurit in your chosen sector (ie i have used freight personnel as they specailise in my industry)

contact hr department of any companies you would like to work for, as they may not always advertise in the local press, and it may be with one agency.

ignor the paper, i have found most jobs through the local press to be a waste of time and always done better through agencys.

filigree_2

tompparker wrote:

Hi,

(1) Send as many considered and carefully completed application forms with covering letters (or CVs with covering letters as appropriate) to advertised jobs as I can?

Yes, and please be sure to get it right ie don't send a CV when they asked for a form or vice versa. Lots of applicants get this wrong. If they send you further information on the job, tailor your application to demonstrate that you are suited to the job. An example would be "I am interested in this post because I have had previous voluntary work in this field".

(2) Ring up and ask some questions about as many advertised jobs as I can to show interest, before sending an application form/CV with covering letter?

Hmm, depends on the employer. If it is a very large organisation with a busy HR department then they haven't the time for long one-to-one chats. There is a fine line between "taking a lively interest" and "being a pest"!

(3) Knock on as many employers' doors as I can, briefly introduce myself (skills, experience) and ask if they have any openings?

Not all employers welcome this approach and you could waste shoe leather and postage on CVs that go in the bin. Better to phone them and ask how they like to recruit staff and follow what they say - if they say No CVs then don't send one. You could ask where they advertise positions, ie they might use a particular online site (like jobs.ac.uk) or a trade paper which you could subscribe to. Doing this would widen your knowledge of where to look.

(4) Telephone as many employers as I can, briefly introducing myself (skills, experience) and asking if they have any openings?

Same answer as no3

(5) Something else entirely?

There are agencies and websites that specialise in the not for profit sector, sadly I can't remember what they are because it's been a few years since I looked. If you Google for "charity recruitment agency" you'll get lots of hits, hopefully you can find some helpful sites there. Again, if you ask prospective employers where/how they advertise you might find some useful sites that way.

I don't know what the service is like these days but you could try the Job Centre, I believe they don't charge employers to advertise which makes them attractive to charities. Ask the staff for advice on where to find jobs that aren't advertised there - one would hope that they will try to help you!

I'm guessing you mean charities mostly, but if you are interested in local government work then try your local council website (usually councilname.gov.uk) and look at their jobs listings. For work in the academic sector try www.jobs.ac.uk.

You could try signing up with high street recruitment agencies and hope you get one that's competent, I don't like them personally but you should try everything and leave no stone unturned. I have heard that specialist agencies are better than the general ones.

Ask around everyone you know, the best job I ever had was via word of mouth.

I know it's a cliche but you could try doing some voluntary work in the meantime, you could make useful contacts and get some valuable experience in the meantime. I've known a couple of people who moved into paid jobs after a spell of volunteering.

Good Luck

Savvy_Sue

Very comprehensive response from filigree.

filigree wrote:

There are agencies and websites that specialise in the not for profit sector, sadly I can't remember what they are because it's been a few years since I looked. If you Google for "charity recruitment agency" you'll get lots of hits, hopefully you can find some helpful sites there. Again, if you ask prospective employers where/how they advertise you might find some useful sites that way.

In previous posts on this board people haven't been too impressed with online agencies, nothing beats pounding the streets of the area you want to work and going in to see each agency. They will generally tell you if they cover the NFP sector, and if they don't probably tell you where to go (as in which agency to try next!) Also if you know of a particular charity or organisation you'd like to work for, check out their website because if they have a good one they'll advertise their vacancies on it!

The NFP sector includes Housing Associations and Universities, which is where I've worked before heading back into the Charities jungle, and like the local council you'll probably find that the application process is quite regimented. While they may have temp jobs, through which you hear about permanent jobs, the process for getting a permanent job is set in stone and a speculative phone call will get you nowhere apart from finding out WHERE they advertise their jobs, apart from on their website.

I work for a small charity and we don't have high staff turnover so speculative calls get almost nowhere, apart from me asking if the person would be interested in volunteering. I'd say half our staff were volunteers before they applied for our jobs (and I bend over backwards to ensure fair play to those who apply who aren't currently volunteers!)

We advertise our jobs on several local websites, and the one which usually gets the best response is our local volunteer bureau. You may be able to find yours through NCVO or NACVS or Volunteering England (with counterparts in Scotland, Wales and NI!)

filigree wrote:

I don't know what the service is like these days but you could try the Job Centre, I believe they don't charge employers to advertise which makes them attractive to charities. Ask the staff for advice on where to find jobs that aren't advertised there - one would hope that they will try to help you!

Personally I've given up on using the Job Centre: yes it's free but that doesn't automatically make it attractive to charities! Registering the vacancy takes SOOOOO long: the advert and JD we've so carefully crafted have to be condensed until they're meaningless, because there's a word limit, and as we've never had a response via the job centre we've just given up on them.

But finally, getting a job in the NFP sector is just like getting a job in any other sector: you have to do your homework, get good applications in to relevant employers, and work hard at it!

PS: Don't do it because you think NFP is an office-politics-free zone: it's not. And while some of the people are absolutely lovely, there because they're passionate-about-the-cause, some of them are not, they're just there to earn an honest crust. There are still targets to meet, budgets to stick to, and demanding managers. But I'd still rather be NFP than making zillions for some fat cats!

mcc28_x

In my experience we do not get too many not for profit organisations advertising in the Job Centre, the main one that does is Oxfam.

If you are not registered as unemployed, unfortunately you will find that your JC will allow you to use their facilities but you are unlikely to get assistance from an adviser...

I personally would suggest a direct approach to organisations of your choice through CV and follow-up telephone call...

Good luck

Mark

tompparker

brummybloke, gingerdad, filigree, Savvy_Sue, mcc28_x - thank you all for the taking the time to give me your advice, I really appreciate it and it has given me some really good pointers about how to go about looking for a job. I will be following up on it and hope to get a job soon!

All the best,

Tom

jobbingmusician

1. Get some volunteer work under your belt - charities advertise in the Guardian on Wednesdays.

2. Get on to the board of a charity (adverts in same place) so that you start to learn about governance.

I would advise AGAINST sending unsolicited CV's.

3. CharityJOB.co.uk lists jobs and has loads of useful links........