ADRRESSING 100% OF THE PART-TIME JOB MARKET

 

Ask any successful jobhunter how they’ve explored today’s job market and chances are they’ll wax lyrical about how well over 60% of all jobs are never advertised….. and they’re right !

 

If you’re going to truly maximise your exposure to the part time job market, you need to be thinking both “visible” and “hidden” when it comes to opportunities.  Click below to uncover our top tips for managing today’s job market:

 

What’s visible ?

When searching for part time opportunities, keep an open mind.  Of course, you’ll naturally be drawn to roles that offer flexible / part time working.  If you do see a full time role that catches your attention though, consider contacting the recruiter / employer to discuss the possibility of reduced hours. Some might suggest that it’s best to apply anyway and raise the issue of hours once you’ve actually met with the employer. Another option - do you have the flexibility to take a role and look to drop your hours further down the line once you’ve established yourself in the new position ?  Decide for yourself which approach might work for you.

• Advertisements - know your industry / sector – make sure you’re looking in all the right places, on all the right days, whether that’s local or national press, trade / specialist mags or your local job centre.
• Recruiters – at best, these people are great ambassadors for you, selling you better than you’ll ever do it yourself, with a network you could only dream about.  So, work at building some strong relationships here.  Again, seek out those players with a speciality in your field and do whatever it takes to get to meet face-to-face. Also, keep an eye out for those recruiters who regularly have part time vacancies.  Traditionally, the Public / Voluntary sector, Hospitality and Retail all have a fair slice of the part time opportunity action.
• The Internet – love  it or hate it, you can’t ignore it  when it comes to planning your job search.  Do handle with care though and avoid the “I’ll just look at one more jobsite before I do the ironing” syndrome.  Take a focussed approach to using the web, be select with your job sites and who you paste your CV with. Remember, going direct to a company’s website and checking out current opportunities can often reveal real possibilities.  So be smart with your research.  There are a grwoing number of internet sites which specialise in part time working and  work life balance, as well as some of the major generic websites which offer search facilities for flexible and part time working.

 

Uncovering the hidden market

Far more intriguing, creative and generally just much more fun to work in, the Hidden market offers scope for all sorts of conversations and discoveries.  So be prepared for the unexpected !

 

• Networking – a dirty word perhaps for some, so just think about this as gathering potentially valuable information via as many people as you can think of.  A good starting point is to make a list of everyone you know in the whole world, their relationship to you and what they currently do.  Then, imagine having a conversation with one person from the list – what would you say about your current situation and what you were looking for ?
• Remember, networking is all about utilising resources around you to support your search, where one conversation leads you to some new thinking or a fresh contact.
• Be aware of what you might assume about who may or may not be useful in your network … you never know who might know someone….who might know someone etc.
• Always prepare for your networking conversations, no matter how informal or how well you know the individual…. You’re guaranteed to get more from the discussion if you do.
• Joining new networks is another way of building on who you could have conversations with.  Do a search on the web for jobshare networks or women’s networks (that’s if you are one !).  You might be surprised what you uncover locally as well.
• Making a direct / speculative approach –  the trick here is first to identify who ideally you’d like to work for and then, get researching.  Make sure you consider who’s the best person to receive your CV ( not necessarily the HR department) and do whatever you can to find a contact name.  Using your networking skills to generate a good lead is a powerful tool.  Lastly, remember that a strong covering letter sets the scene for your CV, so keep it short, specific and relevant.

 

So, if you’re going to maximise your exposure to today’s dynamic job market, make sure you pay attention to each of the 5 key routes mentioned here and remember, no one ever stumbled across anything sitting down ! .