Finding Jobs 

Speaking as a professional recruiter, you'd probably expect me to say that registering with a recruitment agency is a great thing to do.

Maybe you'd expect me to suggest that you look at one of my recruitment service web  sites?

Well, I'm not going to suggest that.

Registering with agencies and automated job sites is what the majority of job seekers do.

Effective job hunting involves a little bit of work, which is why most people fail to get the jobs they really want.

The method I am going to suggest is that you look at what you do for a living. Not the actual job title, but the duties that you perform.

When you do this, you'll free yourself from categorising yourself too narrowly.

Next, consider the company you work for, or, if you're out of work at present, the work you did in your last position, since that's what is going to be most relevant to a new employer.

I suggest that you write down a few bullet points of what you're good at, what you enjoy doing and what motivates you. I'll explain why in a moment.

Next, consider who are the local or nearest competitors to the company you previously worked for, or at least companies who might be in the same kind of business.

Write a list of these companies and find their telephone numbers.

So far, you have done exactly what a recruitment agency might do - if they are any good that is.

This is the hard part, unless you're a master telesales canvasser that is!

You need to call these companies and ask who is responsible for hiring people with your skills - you need to get the name of a departmental manager - for example, if you're looking for a role in IT, you want the IT Manager. If you're looking for sales admin, you need the office manager.

Don't ask to be put through to them, just say that you want to write to them.

When you've finished, you should have a list of at least 5 companies and the names of the people you wish to contact.

Place these in order of preference, putting your absolute favourite at the bottom of the list and the one you'd least like to work for at the top.

Starting at the top of the list, call the company again and confidently ask to be put through to your contact. When you're asked what the call is in connection with, say it's personal. It is, to you!

When you get through, introduce yourself and explain the reason for your call.

If you're calling competitors of the last business you worked for, say that at the start - for example, "Hello Mr Jones, thanks for taking the call. My name is Joe Bloggs, I'm currently working for the XYZ company as a Production Manager and wondered if you're currently looking for anybody in this capacity".

Try to introduce some of your experience into the conversation - you have a list of your main selling points in front of you to remind you!

Obviously you need to tailor that to your circumstances, but I'm sure you get the idea.

From here on in, it should be plain sailing. I'm not saying that you'll be rewarded with an interview immediately, but at least you have a foot in the door.

Ask questions if you get the chance. For example, "How many people work in your department"? "Do you know of other managers there who might be looking for people"?

Never let your prospect go without asking "who else should I be speaking with"?

The reason you start with your last choice first, is because the first ones are the practice calls.

By the time you've made a few calls, you should be able to produce a script that you can use on every call.

Approached this way, you'll find that even after experiencing a few rejections, you'll enjoy the process.

Put ticks by the positive calls and crosses by the negatives.

Don't throw the list away when you're finished. Just because somebody says that they have no vacancies, doesn't mean that they won't have positions available in a month's time, when you should call back and ask again.

Even if the call doesn't end particularly positively, ask your prospect if you can email your CV to them for consideration against anything that might come up in the near future.

When you've sent it, wait a few days and call back! It's not cheeky and it's perfectly reasonable for you to do so.

Ask the prospect what they thought of your profile. Ask if yours is the kind of experience they usually look for, or that could be useful.

The idea is to keep the communication channels open and to make sure that if a vacancy does arise, that your contact will remember you.

I understand some readers will be uncomfortable following this advice, but honestly, it works. Even in a recession.

The best jobs are the unadvertised jobs. Here's why;

• If you make the approach, there is no recruitment agency fee to pay
• If a vacancy arises, you'll be the first to know about it
• The employer could save money by not having to advertise
• You will have shown more initiative than any other candidate
• There will be no competition from other people

Try it and see for yourself. You are only doing what recruitment agencies do all day, every day. The reward for them is a fee of several thousand Pounds (or Dollars, Euro, etc).

The reward for you is a nice new job. It really is that simple.