Smart Search

It’s Monday. Job-hunt day! You’re up at 8am. Ready to go by 9am. Coffee in hand you think about where to start…tick…tock...10am

Where to start?

The key to any job-searching is knowing what YOU are looking for! You need to decide where you want to work, what you want to do, and how much are you willing to be paid to do the job.

It often helps to start with an exercise, which I like to call it “Brainstorm Myself”. This exercise helps to make sure you are looking for the right kind of job. You need to be honest with yourself and know what you are good at and some achievements you have made in the past (school/church/competitions). These things will also prepare you for the interview where the interview might ask you the same type of questions!  How can you begin to look for a job when you don’t even know what you want to do or what you CAN do?

Write down answers to the following:

• Your ideal first job (top 5 but, BE REALISTIC!) -what kind of job you are looking for
• Where you would like to work (what company/individual
• What skills and characteristics do you have to do that job, so you can get a better picture of what you have to offer
• Why do you want to do that job
• Your short and long-term goals

What’s next?

Job-hunting used to be about getting the newspaper and trawling through the jobs section or classifieds. Whilst newspapers are still a good place to look for opportunities, particularly your community paper, the internet is another great place to look –at home, school, your local library or internet cafe. Online job-hunting take practice. Be prepared, some internet cafes may charge by the minute. In Cape Town, most municipal libraries offer free internet access to library card holders (it’s free to get a library card)!

What do I search for?

If you do a Google search (www.google.co.za) for “job opportunities in South Africa”, approximately 441,000,000 results come up…EEK! That’s not a good place to start! Use the answers from your brainstorm exercise above and start by typing these keywords into the search field. Use these keywords to search for jobs with specific skill requirements rather than searching for jobs in general. Find out which job portals are most popular for the type of work you are looking for. You can ask your teacher/lecturers, friends, past employers, relatives or mentor. Many companies and recruitment agents advertise opportunities for “first jobs”, “graduates”, “Matriculants”, “Part-time” or “No experience needed”. Add these keywords in your searches. You may need to use the advanced search option. There are a number of websites listed at the end of this article to help you get started. 

You should also read about the companies you would like to work for and learn about what they do; understand their vision and see if you truly want to work for them. Check out what job opportunities they are promoting on their website in the Careers or Jobs section. Do they have positions available at your level? Do they have jobs for school-leavers, graduates or offer internships or apprenticeships?

Be SPECIFIC and CREATIVE

Be creative. E.g. Sales or Retail jobs- search for retail assistant, sales consultant, customer service agent, shop assistant etc. By doing this you are searching for the same kind of job in many different ways.When you’re typing in search terms or filling in entry fields on job websites, include as much detail as you can to narrow your hunt and get closer to the job that’s right for you.

·         Include:

• The industry you want to work in –don’t worry if you’re new to the world of work
•  Job type and title
•  Location: City or area you’d like to work in. 
• Level (junior/mid/management): keep it real! Look for jobs within your experience level to maximise your chances of getting an interview
•  Full-time/ Part-time/ Contract/ Permanent: in these hard times, explore what’s out there. 

Get smart – make the Internet work for you

With so much information to sift through online, it’s important to streamline the job-hunting process. Sites like www.jobrapido.co.za and www.jobisjob.co.za collect postings from other career sites in South Africa and put them in one place so you don’t have to jump from one site to another. Sign up for job alerts for new job postings that match your search criteria, and you will be notified when new jobs are advertised, making your job search quicker and easier! 

Some websites to check out:

www.Careerjunction.co.za, www.Pnet.co.za, www.skillsportal.co.za; www.Bizcommunity.com; www.ngopulse.org; www.Gumtree.co.za; www.skillspage.com

GOOD-LUCK!