CLICK & SEARCH
Whether you’re fresh out of school and looking for your first job or a seasoned employee wanting to switch up your career, it’s best to focus your energies on searching for vacancies online
GONE are the days when you’d have to drop off a CV in person if you were interested in a job – these days it’s easy to apply online. Many job seekers usually visit one or two sites – and stay there. Yet a few changes to your online searches could yield far richer results and it won’t cost too much effort.
“Like most activities during the pandemic, job searches now almost exclusively take place online,” says Samantha-Jane Gravett, associate director at recruitment agency Robert Walters Africa.
It’s not just formal job-search sites – social media platforms such as LinkedIn have become favourites among jobseekers.
“If you invest in a LinkedIn profile, for example, and keep your work experience and skills up-to-date, the jobs suggested to you are more tailored. And the more comprehensive your profile, the more opportunities will be available to you,” Gravett says.
You can also connect with people in the industry you’re interested in or follow them for updates that might be useful to you.
Sign up to newsletters of companies and industries you’re interested in, suggests Mabatho Takalo of recruitment agency Michael Page Africa.
“Also boost your professional presence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Many companies post about their current vacancies on social media too.”
YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
If you want to stand out from the crowd, your online presence should be above average, experts say.
“Publish or share any relevant articles you’ve written or read to enhance your online presence in a professional manner and build credibility in your areas of interest or expertise. Use appropriate hashtags and tag relevant people to increase exposure,” Gravett says.
And don’t wait until you’re searching for a job – start building a profile now to put yourself out there and potentially catch a future employer’s eye.
Given the challenging market conditions, candidates must have an agile mindset and accept that the efforts put in today might take longer to translate into results, Takalo adds.
“Accepting this and marching ahead with resilience, structured hard work and consistency will take you closer to your goal,” she says.
COMPANIES MOVE QUICKLY ON JOB OFFERS, SO IN SOME CASES IT REALLY IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVED’