From crafting the perfect CV to nailing the first interview – job hunting can be a minefield to navigate.
But the process may actually be easier than you think, if you apply the right method.
Two of Britain’s top recruitment agents – twin brothers, Dan and Tim Barfoot, aged 45, from Wiltshire – have shared their tricks of the trade.
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How do you land the dream job? Step one is the easiest part: listen.
“One thing we always see a lack of is a willingness to listen,” said Dan.
“You’ve got to be able to take on feedback and listen to what the recruiters are saying.
“It’s got to be a two-way street.
“The relationship between us and the candidate is make-or-break.”
Once you’ve got a good relationship set up with a recruiter, the next step is to review the documents you’ll be sending to companies.
Dan, who has run CMD Recruitment alongside his brother for 20 years, added: “People don’t change their CV to make it match the role [they’re applying for] better if they have the skills.
“You need to write a cover letter if you’re missing skills, as this can sometimes help support your application.
“Failing to prepare for the interview; as my favourite saying goes: ‘Fail to prepare = prepare to fail.’
“I’m a firm believer that if you’re confident, easy to talk to and can telling a cracking joke, as well as willing to put in the work, then anything can be achieved.”
Elsewhere, a British woman recently went viral after sharing a specific way to hack a “hidden job market”.
When Ashleigh Spiliopoulou, from London, started to feel an itch to leave her last job, she looked into PR careers and found a company that suited her requirements.
They had no active job listings – so the 25-year-old took matters into her own hands and designed her CV to look just like the company’s website and reached out to the founder.
“So I used the ‘edit anything’ extension on Google Chrome and Canva, and I basically turned their website into my CV,” said Ashleigh.
“Then I downloaded that as a PDF and then I sent an email to the founder.
“My subject line was my name and then it was dash ‘proposal to hustle’.”
Ashleigh eventually met with the founder of Emerge London, who was impressed by her ingenuity and gave her a job as a Senior PR account executive.
She added: “So many companies are considering hiring, but they’ve got so much on and they haven’t had time to put the job advert out, but they are actually open to it.
“I lived for so long being afraid of failure, but what I’ve realised is that if you don’t ask, you really won’t get.”
The video has over 122,000 likes, as well as 900 comments.
Kiera said: “If you don’t ask, the answer’s always no.”
James commented: “Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities!”
Gioia added: “The biggest hurdle imo is actually finding a company that you’re that passionate about.”
Jessie wrote: “The hidden job market!!! Love this story.”
Alex said: “This is what creativity can do for you. Well done.”
Kirsty commented: “Well done great taking of initiative.”
Roxanne wrote: “I wish this for myself.”
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