Great! The decision is made and this year you really are going to stick with it. You’re going to get a new job. Yup! that’s right your changing your job. Definitely. 2017 is the year. For sure.
So how are you doing it?
Easy enough to make the decision, but you must take some action to drive that change. Here are 5 key things to get you started.
1 Update your CV.
I’m not just talking about sticking your latest role at the top of your CV – I mean really update it. Make sure that your personal details are correct, especially your phone number and email address (you’d be surprised how many people forget to do this). Make sure the language you use is consistent: past, present or third person. Ensure that your dates match up or gaps are explained. Have a strong opening statement with good keywords in (these are words that recruiters or automated selection software will search for and will ensure that you are in the first sift of applications). Have a strong list of responsibilities with the scope of your role, so not just “Operations Manager for the Leicester site” but “full P&L responsibility for a pick, pack, storage and transport facility operating 24/5 with 100 staff." Make sure you have a section for achievements – make this quantifiable (reduced costs by £x, reduced labour turnover by x%). Take out irrelevant information – your Saturday job doesn’t count any more. Make sure that your hobbies are something that you can talk about, if not don’t include them.
2 Make sure your LinkedIn details are current and up to date.
This is as important as your CV. You can cut and paste your CV details into LinkedIn to save some time. Edit your settings on LinkedIn to show recruiters that you are open to hearing about new roles.
3 Search on LinkedIn for recruiters
Search in your sector of work or function or work, so if you are a Demand Planner in a food business, search for both “Recruiter in supply chain” and “Recruiter in the food industry”. This should bring you a list of contacts to link to. Check out their profiles and contact details, link to them and give them a call to say you’re looking for a new job, what do they have currently that would suit you and can you forward your CV.
4 Upload your CV
Upload your CV on to the main job boards, or function/industry specific job boards. This is quick and easy to do. For general job boards use Reed, Totaljobs and Jobsite, for supply chain specialisms you could use supply chain online or Supply Management. Recruiters pay to access your details on these sites, so expect recruiters to find your details and call you about their current vacancies. A word of caution – your details here can be found by your current employer recruiter teams if they have access to these databases.
5 Set up job alerts
Check out the websites from the best employment agencies you have been in touch with, and the best job boards that match the roles you are looking for. A good employer and employment agency will have a function on their websites to register for job alerts. Enter your details and search criteria in terms of the role, location and salary you are looking for and the automated systems will send you emails with suitable job vacancies. There is a function to do this on LinkedIn too; enter your keywords in the search bar and press enter, on the left hand side you will find the function to set up your job alert.
Once done, sit back and wait for the recruiters to ring and the jobs to start rolling in. Good luck!
