britsnake

One thing I have done is identify a company that I am interested in working with and then check every contact that I have to see if anyone either works there or knows someone who does. I then get them to put my CV on the desk of my prospective manager and then see if I can arrange an informal chat.

The last time I was out of work, I did not apply directly for a single job, but my CV was on the desks of those who made hiring decisions, with an employee of the company telling them how great I was.

That is how I got my current job. I had a friend who is the friend of my manager. He sent in my CV. I had the informal chat, they liked me. It was only at this point they advertised the job. no contest.

The only thing is that then you have to do a good job, otherwise next time nobody will be willing to recommend you.

JonboyE

Networking 101. This should be a sticky, and in the wiki.

Pretty Flowers

I'd echo all of the sentiments on this thread.

- Being out of work is very demoralizing, and you have to keep your head up and in the game

- Don't take the crap involved with the application process personally - this is easier said than done, but remember what you're great about

- Use linked in - I still get hits on my profile from recruiters. My only problem is that I took out the contact for jobs option - Should have kept this in as now I'm linked to my boss there, and this means that when I change my status she'll know...

- Think about what your personal brand is and use that to market yourself. - Never really understood well what this means - but for me my brand attributes are clever, creative, quirky and slightly insane. This has not held me back in my current job.

Most of all, having spent about 2 and a half years out of work - waiting for PR freelancing and stuck because of the recession, the most important thing is to keep your head up, treat applications a bit like a numbers game - get as many in as you can, do your best job on each, but expect never to hear back about any of them.

Finally network, network, network. A lack of a network was my biggest problem in wanting to get back into the world of work....

Hope these help!

JB0591

I just used my UK network to great effect last Friday, got my resume on the desk of a recruiter in Ottawa. The job posting looked good, coud not have written it better myself...................just noticed the job posting has been removed! Just my luck, 3rd company to do this in as many weeks. Got my UK contact trying to find out what happened.

britishvixen21

I also hate this question and was told by a HR exec to put the question back on them as ask back "What is the salary range that you are offering for the position?"

It does work that way you can go in with a figure that is not going to undersell you or in fact put you out of the offering.

JonboyE

I think that wage/salary is an important thing to research before you get to an interview. Not having a clear sense of what you are worth to the employer, and what salary a job ought to pay, comes across as very weak in an interview.

Recruitment consultants should be able to help with this as well as conversations with others in the industry.

Alan2005

Can't you just say to the potential employer "If you have to ask you can't afford it"?

Boris-canadabound

Very frustrating. I've noticed from recent experience that an employer will fill a new post from candidates interviewed for an earlier post. This must have happened with a job I applied for recently - there were two jobs going, one that had proceeded half way through initial interviews when I had mine, and a new one they told me about, that was about to be advertised. By the time they had told me that both positions had been filled with experienced people, the newer job would not have had time to run its course, as it were.

JB0591

Another one of my UK contacts in this company works for recruitment and she wrote me a long email telling me the 8 steps before hiring externally and said at the end they better had done this or this wont get filled.

Anyway I heard back from the original contact in the company that they had to fill it internally as they did not check "the bench was empty" before posting it.

I had a HR screening call yesterday one something different and I was asked the salary question. She said I am checking it fits into our band, so I said after trying to palm the question off "well can I give you a band".....I was told there band was within mine, in that the lower end is more than my minimum and the upper was less than max.

JonboyE

This is probably just me rather than a general job hunting tip but I hate it when candidates say they want between $60k and $70k. Why on earth do they think I would offer more than $60k if they tell me they will work for that?

JB0591

Yeah I understand your point. I used a wide band to try and expose theirs. I quoted a $40k band with the minimum being what I would be happy with. So if their minimum is more than mine great :-)

Alan2005

I'd probably give a range, but something more like $60 to $70 depending on benefits, incentives etc.

Atlantic Xpat

There are different ways of getting to that $70k though. If your target income is $70k & you get offered low 60's and a bonus then that might work for you/the employer. Personally, I've never had much faith in bonusses so look for the base salary to hit the desired level. Anything on top of that is, well, a bonus.

sidecardriver

It depends what job you are going for, i wouldnt blow yourself up to big,be honest and realistic about your pay expectations.
try the STAR approach,to there testing questions .
*situation
*task
*action
*result
works well try it and good luck!

nldfc

Got to disagree with that bit slighly - we have the ability in our business to almost double our salary with the bonus structure