Applying for Jobs can be daunting, time consuming and extremely exhausting. Trust and believe that we’ve been there. Two of the thing’s we found most challenging is not knowing where to start and not having the right strategy to maximise both the quantity and quality of our job applications. This week we want to address what we would refer to as the “Foundation of the Job Search”, or in other words the starting point, which we believe to be made up of 3 key elements.
1. Where to Look?
So you open google, where do you start? Well…never fear! We’ve gone through hours of trawling through the internet so you don’t have to. Thanks to technology and the expansive capabilities of the internet there are a number of sites that curate jobs and allow you to filter based on location, salary, professional field and pre-requisite qualifications. Some of these websites include:
For graduate schemes and internships:
- Graduate recruitment bureau – One of the leading recruitment agencies for graduate jobs in the UK that can match you up with roles in companies ranging from big corporations to small startups.
- https://www.grb.uk.com/
- Student Employment Services – Specialises in internships and placements.
- https://www.studentemploymentservices.co.uk/
- Milkround – A student friendly hub for you to find internships, placements, jobs and graduate schemes across many industries.
- https://www.milkround.com/
- Adzuna graduate jobs – A powerful search engine to help you hunt through the thousands of job opportunities
- https://www.adzuna.co.uk/
- Gradcracker – A student friendly hub for you to find internships, placements, jobs and graduate schemes across STEM industries.
- https://www.gradcracker.com/
- The Diversity Dashboard – An online dashboard roles from employers who are specifically seeking to recruit individuals from underrepresented minorities.
- https://www.diversitydashboard.co.uk/
For Part-time jobs:
- Save the Student – A great resource for finding part-time student jobs. Their job search engine scours many of the sites listed below (and more!) for roles every hour. You can easily filter by keyword and location, and there are thousands of student-friendly job opportunities for you to browse.
- https://www.savethestudent.org/student-jobs/
- Studentjob – Specialises in student jobs of all shapes and varieties. There are plenty of part-time and summer jobs for you to take a look at, but also graduate jobs, placements and internships. It covers all the big cities in the UK, and they have lots of international opportunities, too.
- http://www.studentjob.co.uk/
- Syft – Although not specifically for student jobs, Syft is an up-and-coming app that helps jobseekers find flexible, temp work with reputable employers. There are no minimum shifts, and the type of work on offer is varied, making this app perfect if you’re after work without committing to a long-term contract.
- https://syftapp.com/
- e4s – As one of the biggest student job sites in the UK, employment 4 students (or ‘e4s’, for short) is absolutely bursting at the seams with opportunities. And they don’t just list part-time vacancies either – e4s has sections for gap year jobs, internships, graduate roles and opportunities for school leavers.
- https://www.e4s.co.uk/
- Flair events – Flair is a nationwide company, helping people find jobs in sport, festival, hospitality and promo work. Roles include brand ambassadors, bar staff, street marketing, front of house and wristbanding. For many roles, no previous experience is necessary
- https://www.eventstaffing.co.uk/
- Caterer.com – Caterer.com is the leading site for hospitality and catering jobs, so if you fancy yourself working in a restaurant or bar, it’s a good place to start. Jobs are divided up into hotels, restaurants, food services and pubs and bars, so you can tailor your job search to exactly what you want.
- https://www.caterer.com/
- Retail choice – If you’re specifically looking for jobs in the retail sector, then RetailChoice is your first port of call. You can filter your searches by job, location or company, to help you find the right role for you. There’s a good mix of full-time, part-time and temporary roles advertised too, so it’s a good option whether you’re looking for work at uni or after graduation.
- https://www.retailchoice.com/
For International students:
- Student circus – If you’re an international student, trying to find an employer to sponsor a Tier 2 visa that will enable you to stay in the UK after graduation can be difficult. Student circus is a niche job portal for international students looking for job opportunities in the UK.
- https://studentcircus.com/
2. Find out the pre-requisites
Many jobs have pre-requisites, particularly if you are looking for graduate roles. Make sure you do sufficient research into what they are looking for. There are four main categories of qualifications you need to consider:
- Academics: e.g. GCSE or equivalent, A level or equivalent, Undergraduate degree or equivalent, post-graduate degree or equivalent
- Soft skills: e.g. interpersonal skills, communication skills, team work, innovation, agile thinking, adaptability
- Hard skills: e.g. Computer skills, presentation skills, project management skills, analytical skills, writing skills, technical skills
- Extra qualifications: some jobs require specific additional qualifications. Be sure to check these out before applying.
3. The admin behind the applications
Applying for jobs can be very tiring, and sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to keep a track of everything – deadlines, key information and stage in application. So it’s important to have a good system in place.
Create a spreadsheet to track the following:
- Job title
- Company
- Company info e.g. 5 core values of company (this will help you write your application later)
- Open date of position
- Closing date of position
- Whether applications are checked on a rolling basis (as received) or after closing date
- Stage of Application
So what’s the key takeaway? You don’t have to explore the jungle that is the internet without a map. The tools and resources we’ve outlined above are the map! We’ve used quite a few of them before and with success. Let us know in the comments below how you find the tips. Were you able to find the job of your dreams?
As always like, share and let us know what you think! 🙂