Three Ways to Find a Job (Without Using an Online Job Board)
Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2017
In the past decade or so, the landscape of a job search has changed dramatically. We’ve gone from traditional door-to-door job searches to internet searches; real-life boards with jobs printed out and posted to digital job boards with hundreds of jobs listed. And while the internet has helped the job seeker in so many ways—hello, LinkedIn—it’s also created a challenge: in the digital world, how do you stand out from all the other applicants out there?
One way of doing so is to go back to basics. There’s nothing wrong with electronic job boards, but it is really hard to stand out to employers when you use them. Knowing how to job search without using a job board is a useful skill, and so today we’re going to talk about three alternatives to use in your job search.
Target Your Dream Job
You probably have an idea of where you’d love to work. Think of some companies or organizations that intrigue you and do work you find exciting. Make a list of these places, and then start researching.
First, check their websites to see if they’re hiring. They may have job boards of their own with open positions listed, and the ideal position for you may be there. But chances of that happening are pretty tiny—more likely, there won’t be an opening for you listed.
Dig a little deeper. Find out who is in the charge of hiring or who supervises the job you want. Write down their name, and then do something really brave: cold call them.
Cold calling (or emailing) is intimidating when you’re first starting out, but can have huge benefits. Even if the person or organization can’t hire, you’ve made a connection with a stranger in your industry. Growing your network is always a good thing.
Ask for Informational Interviews
Another way of widening your job search is to get comfortable with informational interviews. Information interviews are low-key conversations with industry professionals about their job, industry, and company. They are not job interviews—instead, you’re making a connection with someone and learning about life in your industry. Your goal is not to get a job, but get information.
Start by identifying someone who works in a job you’re interested in. Research their role, their organization, and how to contact them. Plan open-ended questions to ask them. Then send them an email introducing yourself and asking for 15 to 20 minutes of their time to ask questions about the industry.
People like talking about their experiences in their career, and are very often open to meeting with students. You can learn so much from reaching out to people in the industry, and your network will continue to grow. And, even though the goal of these conversations isn’t to find a job, the person you’re speaking with may know someone who knows someone who could lead you to a great position.
Go to Networking Events
Networking events are a great way to build connections and get a head start on your job search. It may be the strongest method on this list—even if the person you’re directly interacting with isn’t hiring, they may know someone who is.
Networking events exist for almost every industry. We’ve written a guide to finding appropriate ones in Ottawa here.
These kinds of events can be somewhat intimidating if you’re not used to them. To make the most of your networking event, check out our post.
It turns out that the key to job hunting is to get comfortable with networking in all forms. With cold calling, coffee meetings, and networking events, growing your list of professional connections really has no downside. It will help establish you as a recognizable and trusted member of your industry, and bring you closer to great job opportunities.
Are you interested in taking a co-op course at Algonquin College? Are you an employer looking to hire an Algonquin co-op student? Get in touch with us! Visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.