total jobs On InformationTechnologyCrossing

269,836

new jobs this week On InformationTechnologyCrossing

18,410

total jobs on EmploymentCrossing network available to our members

1,476,494

job type count

On InformationTechnologyCrossing

Looking for Job Opportunities

0 Views
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
After you have been in the IT industry for some years, you may get a recruitment agent or head hunter phoning you with a new opportunity. The reality for your first position, however, is that you are likely to have to find your own opportunities. Fortunately, there are many places you can look. In the section that follows, we recommend ways to find job listings and opportunities. Keep in mind that you'll want to customize your cover letters and resumes per each job for which you apply.

Finding Vacancies

Thanks to the Internet, much of your job searching can be done from the comfort of your own PC. Even traditional paper-based media, such as newspapers and magazines, have a corresponding Web presence.The main resources for job searching are as follows:



  • Internet job sites-A huge number of Internet job sites offer job listings from companies of all sizes and from every business sector. Every site provides the capability to search through the available positions on a variety of criteria including skills, location, and job role. Appendix D includes links to some of these sites, but you can find even more sites by typing IT job sites into any Internet search engine.

  • Company Internet Web sites-Many companies now choose to advertise vacancies through their own corporate Web sites. If there is no apparent link to a careers section, use a site map or site search capability that nearly all pages offer.

  • Employment agencies-In some cases, employers would rather not advertise vacancies themselves, and instead use an employment agency. Employment agencies advertise positions on behalf of the client, in most cases providing details of the position while omitting the name of the client. You can locate employment agencies by reviewing ads in the classified section of the newspaper, or, by using the Yellow Pages of your phone directory. There are also agencies that specialize in particular technical areas of IT. Appendix A lists some agencies that specialize in certain areas.

  • Newspapers-Traditionally, vacancies appeared in a newspaper, and while this medium is perhaps not as popular as it once was, many companies still choose to advertise vacancies in this way. Companies may use newspapers for recruitment purposes if they feel that there is a good chance that the vacancy can be filled locally.

  • Personal contacts-As previously mentioned, the importance of networking with other technology professionals cannot be overestimated. In addition to these professional contacts, make sure that everyone from Great Aunt Mabel to your dentist are aware of the fact you are looking for work.

Because there are so many different resources that are available for job searchers today, you'll probably want to try to use every resource you can to ensure that you've located the best opportunities. Aside from what's actually advertised, in whatever medium, however, how else can you find opportunities? Let's look at that next.

Dealing with Recruitment Agencies

The complexities of technical recruitment coupled with the difficulty in finding suitable staff leads many companies to look for other ways of finding employees. When faced with the need to recruit new IT staff, many companies choose to get a little help by partnering with recruitment agencies.This technique helps them, but it can help you as well.

Recruitment agencies make money by charging the company that they are recruiting for. On permanent positions, the charge normally is a percentage based on the new employees salary, which effectively means that the service is free to the employee.

Note: Be very wary of any recruitment agency that requires candidates to pay a charge for registration or subsequent placement.

In most cases, the charge is payable after the new recruit has completed an initial employment period. On a contract position, the charge is likely to take the form of a percentage commission for each hour, day, or week that is worked.

There are two very good reasons why using a recruitment agency can be a great help during your job search. First, it can only be a good thing when someone is helping you look for work. Second, agents make their living by finding people jobs. It is in their best interest to acquire a position for you. When you contact a recruitment agency, make sure that you have a resume to email or fax to them.To speed up the process, you may want to drop off or email your resume in advance and then call to discuss your situation. If the agency has an opportunity that is matched to your skills, they may call you right away, but otherwise they will add you to their database so that you can be matched with future opportunities. Recruitment agents and the database systems they use are not infallible. If you see an advertisement from a recruitment agency with which you are registered that matches your skills, it is definitely worth giving the agent a call and expressing an interest. It may be that the agent feels you are not suitable, but it simply may mean that you got overlooked in the search process.

With agents, perhaps even more than employers, keeping your name in the forefront is particularly important. An employer may have five vacancies a year that it needs to fill; a recruitment agent may be working with a database of hundreds or even thousands of possible opportunities. What you need is for the agent to see a vacancy and immediately think of your name. As always don't go too far. Stalking your agent is more likely to label yourself as a nuisance rather than a great candidate.

It may seem to the untrained eye that an agent's job is easy, in reality it is anything but. The agent acts as an intermediary between two parties in a situation where there are many variables. Employers can change their requirements on a whim, and candidates can be equally fickle. The key to building a good relationship with an agent is simply to be honest, forthright, and upfront at all times. Do this and the agent will work hard for you.
If this article has helped you in some way, will you say thanks by sharing it through a share, like, a link, or an email to someone you think would appreciate the reference.



The number of jobs listed on EmploymentCrossing is great. I appreciate the efforts that are taken to ensure the accuracy and validity of all jobs.
Richard S - Baltimore, MD
  • All we do is research jobs.
  • Our team of researchers, programmers, and analysts find you jobs from over 1,000 career pages and other sources
  • Our members get more interviews and jobs than people who use "public job boards"
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.
InformationTechnologyCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
InformationTechnologyCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists in the world.
Copyright © 2024 InformationTechnologyCrossing - All rights reserved. 169