How effective is "asking around" for work vacancies?

ACG

I once took a lad on who emailed me out of the blue.
I am actually talking to another lad who emailed me out of the blue also.

I remember my mum emailing a few companies some years back and she had 2 interviews.

None of these jobs had been advertised.

So I would say yes, asking around can definitely help.

Also, I dont know if it works but have you thought about joining linked in adding people you know and any others and making a post on there? I see people do it all the time. No idea if it helps, but it cant hurt.

shortcrust

I was waiting in the opticians the other day and a woman came in asking if they had any vacancies. They had a vacancy and the woman was taken into the back for a chat. So there you go!

Pennywise

I've had 5 jobs. 4 of those were never advertised - I got them simply by either speculatively sending my cv and covering letter or by knowing the people, one of whom was just someone I casually knew from the gym, normally just saying hello, but one day we started chatting! The vast majority of jobs are filled informally without being advertised. You need to get out there.

Doshwaster

Pennywise wrote: »

I've had 5 jobs. 4 of those were never advertised - I got them simply by either speculatively sending my cv and covering letter or by knowing the people, one of whom was just someone I casually knew from the gym, normally just saying hello, but one day we started chatting! The vast majority of jobs are filled informally without being advertised. You need to get out there.

That's because advertising jobs the old fashioned way using newspapers, trade press and recruitment agencies is slow and expensive. Put a vacancy in the Job Centre and you will mostly get time-wasters who are only applying because they have to do so many a week to keep their benefits.

It's much better to get candidates through personal recommendations or from people who are motivated enough to find you on their own.

People who are out of work for the first time in many years often find it hard to understand that the jobs market has totally changed in the last 5-10 years so you have to move with the times. We once gave a job to someone who had made some YouTube videos about our products which were better than anything we had produced ourselves.

MarkAlexander18

Deleted%20User wrote: »

Why not go and register with recruitment agencies even for manual/warehouse temp work with the possibility of work next day - you'll avoid problems in the future with references as a pretty much added bonus along with standing a proper chance of reassurance of being paid in future.

My latest job came about through f***book just searching jobs, caught at the early stage of their recuitment drive. I'll admit I thought it would be back to work Mum's and the unemployed but not quite.

I've also come by Call Centre type jobs hoping to appeal to someone who's never worked in one so maybe worth considering, breaking against the norm.

Recruitment agencies, I find, are up and down. I have tried a couple recently who emailed me to come in and register, and then I never heard back from them. I'm not sure, am I supposed to follow up regularly with agencies or should they email jobs? A couple years ago I went to an agency in town which was helpful, and they did email me with jobs available, even if the majority were not what I was qualified for. Warehouse work is something I would be interested in, but a lot of the time it's finding jobs which don't require experience in those areas.

Jlawson118

There's certainly no harm in trying, but I must admit from my own experience, most places do require you to apply online.

Around two years ago I walked around with my now ex-girlfriend whilst she was job hunting. We walked around the village I live in and also the city centre and I'd say about 25% of places took her CV and said they'd be in touch. But the majority turned her away and told her to apply online. And a lot of these places even had signs on the windows saying "Staff wanted, apply within," they'd then give her the website as to which she could apply on.

It's definitely worth a shot though! I remember she handed her CV in at a nursing home in my village and they were willing to give her a job there and then (after a CRB check anyway) but they messed her around over the check quite a lot and she realised whilst at university, she didn't want to work the night shifts they required.

I'll also advice you that round about this time is where a lot of places require Christmas temp staff. I know you'd like permanent employment but sometimes these places can keep you on!

I'm in a similar boat at the moment, apart from I'm in employment and I've applied for so many places over the last few months and haven't heard anything back! I got one back today inviting me to a video interview which has definitely been a confidence boost when I was feeling very low.

Keep on trying!

kingfisherblue

My son has recently left college with decent grades. He has been writing to/emailing numerous companies that haven't advertised (as well as those that have), on the off chance that they may take him on. He has targeted the area that he has gained his qualifications in.



As he doesn't drive yet (can't afford to learn until he has a job), I have driven round areas in our town whilst he has written down company names - later using these to research, and applying to many. Some have responded to him, offering interviews. Three have said to return once he has learned to drive (catch 22 situation - I wish that I could afford to help him). He has also zoomed in on Google maps and discovered firms that we didn't know existed, and applied to many of those too.



Next week he has an interview that has come about simply because I mentioned that he was looking for work, to a man that I know vaguely. He asked me to tell my son to call in for an application form, and this has led to the interview. It's something that he is keen to do, so I hope that he is successful.


I'm a firm believer in going the extra mile. Nobody is going to turn up on your doorstep and offer you a job, but they might offer you one of you turn up on their doorstep. Dress properly, not jeans and a hoodie - you want to make a good first impression. The comment about clean shoes and fingernails is a good one, as employers notice these things.


Good luck x

kingfisherblue

bugslet wrote: »

Good on you and please bear in mind that any rejection you may get, is not about you, they simply don't have a vacancy at that time.

As an employer, I'm always impressed if someone knocks on the door.

Don't forget to ask friends and family to let you know if where they work have any vacancies - every one of my 25 employees came here because a current worker mentioned a vacancy to a friend.

Having a distant memory of you once mentioning the type of business that you are in, Bugslet, it's something that my son has shown an interest in, but he can't drive yet! (This is my younger son, not my older son with Down's Syndrome ).

Savvy_Sue

MarkAlexander18 wrote: »

Recruitment agencies, I find, are up and down. I have tried a couple recently who emailed me to come in and register, and then I never heard back from them. I'm not sure, am I supposed to follow up regularly with agencies or should they email jobs?

Think about it, if two people register with an agency, and one of them calls in regularly and the other never, who will the agency think to call if a suitable job arrives?

bugslet

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Having a distant memory of you once mentioning the type of business that you are in, Bugslet, it's something that my son has shown an interest in, but he can't drive yet! (This is my younger son, not my older son with Down's Syndrome ).

If he wants any advice when he gets to the right stage, please feel free to drop me a PM!