Networking in today’s business world is vital if you want to get ahead in your chosen career. This may be a necessary evil for some as it does not come naturally to us all. It is about getting out there, building relationships and being on the radar in your industry sector. Good networking skills can help you get your dream job or move up the career ladder faster than you expected.

It may not be fair, but in life getting ahead is often about knowing the right people, building a good relationship with them and of course maintaining it over the long term. A portfolio of good contacts may not be immediately beneficial to you but if you have put in the work and built on those relationships, then eventually they may be in a position to help you meet the right people to get that dream job.

Join a Group

Get started by joining a networking group. There are different kinds, such as casual ones through which you can attend networking events and online networks which have become more and more prevalent in recent years – LinkedIn is a good example. For very industry-specific networking, which can often be very niche, for example the world of offshore wind jobs and recruitment, you should try knowledge networks of professional bodies and specific contact networks that meet solely for the purpose of building professional relationships. You should build up networks with a variety of people, including former and current colleagues, professional bodies, old teachers, lecturers and classmates. Don’t forget your friends and family – you never know who they might have contact with.

Successful networking does not happen overnight. You need time to build a relationship and become someone they might instantly think of as the right person should an appropriate job come up. This takes patience, practice (particularly if you are shy or introverted) and preferably the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship. You cannot expect a favour from someone you have just met. They will need to feel confident in recommending you to a friend or colleague.

Maintain your Contacts

Once you have landed that dream job, don’t just drop your contacts. First of all, that’s rude and very transparent that you were using someone. You need to maintain your networking relationships, as they could be mutually beneficial to you again in the future. Don’t forget to thank someone who has helped you, arrange occasional meetings to touch base or forward them some useful information or leads you might have access to.

Sometimes it can be difficult to stay in touch with everyone in your network as people lead busy lives and move around a lot more than they used to. Don’t forget to let people know if you have relocated or moved jobs. This is where online networking can be very useful but don’t forget the value of a phone call or face-to-face meeting. People tend to respond better with real as opposed to virtual contact and this will help you remain in their memory too.

This guest post was written by Francesca, a freelance writer based in the UK, who enjoys sharing her knowledge on a variety of subjects, from careers and business to health and fitness. She currently writes on behalf of En-spiral. Make sure you Tweet @Franki_blogs or @CareerAlley to share your thoughts on this piece.

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“Help Wanted! Sophisticated smartphone resume writing tool needed to help job searcher create or update resumes from anywhere. Low rated apps need not apply“. 

A friend of mine has been out of work for several months due to his company failing. Although he’s been diligently looking for work, he’s not had much luck. His background is fairly diverse, so there are a number of different functional roles he could fill. One of his problems is that his resume is not particularly focused on any one job type and he has decided he must have several resumes (each of which will focus on a particular field). This is a fairly big task, further compounded by “spur of the moment” calls from recruiters, looking for a resume which is targeted to a specific role. So how does one tweak a resume while “on the run”? There are some apps out there (see below) to (somewhat) help.

This article will cover 5 job search Resume/Cover letter and help apps.

• Pocket Resume – The app is available  for the iPhone/iPad, Blackberry  and Android for $2.99 (price at the time this article was written).  Allows resume creation (leveraging LinkedIn profile), export to pdf/RTF, emailing your resume from your smartphone and uploading to Dropbox.

• Giga-CV – This app appears to be only available on the iPhone/iPad and is also priced at $2.99. The app has similar sections (personal details, positions, objectives, education, work experience, skills, etc.) as Pocket Resume for creating a resume. There is a tab where you can review, email, print or trash your resume. You can also create and email cover letters along with your resume. I did not see an import function or external storage (like DropBox).

• kyCVwy – Résumé, CV & Cover Letter in PDF – Yes, a very long title for an app. Available for the iPhone/iPad and (coincidentally, $2.99),  also allows you to create and update your resume/CV and cover letter. You can exchange via Bluetooth. Looks like you can save in pdf and view in iBooks. Not clear if you can email your resume or save to DropBox (but I suspect not).

• My Jobs Pro: Job Search Organizer – This smartphone job search organizer is $2.99 for iPhone/iPad. There is also a web version (you need to register for the web version). This app allows you to search for jobs via Indeed.com, data sync, details of  job search (jobs, employers, recruitment agencies, etc.) and more.

• Resume App – I’m sure you’ve guessed that this app is $2.99 for the iPhone/iPad version.  Enter your personal and job specific info (does not look like there is an import function), view or email in pdf, create a generic cover letter. Seems fairly basic, with more functionality promised in future versions.

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2. Job Search – There Must be an App for That – Part 2 of 5
3. Job Search – There Must be an App for That – Part 1 of 5

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” – Winston Churchill

Guest post contributed by Alison Mackenzie, on behalf of HCA Lawyers. Alison is a business lawyer and freelance writer.

Chewing gum during a job interview is not a good idea. Neither is interrupting your interviewer mid-question to answer a cell phone. Even worse is making a vulgar hand gesture at the hiring manager. As unbelievable as these horrors might seem, they’ve actually happened. A survey conducted by Harris Interactive compiled blunder stories from the thousands of job interviews across the country.

Can you see yourself starring in one of these epic disasters? Relax. Running through the handful of worst case scenarios outlined here can help ease pre-interview jitters and put you in the right mindset to avoid the worst of them. For instance, chewing gum during an interview might have been pure carelessness, but could just have easily been an innocent oversight, too. Bad breath is an obvious turn off, and popping gum into your mouth seems like a natural solution. But as the interview time approaches, it can be easy to forget about it.

The same thing goes for an untimely phone call. In those intense moments of anticipation before show time you might overlook the simplest of preparations, such as turning off the cell phone. To avoid this, plan for a moment of reflection before you step foot into the building. Run through a checklist, whether it’s mental or written, to ensure you’ve taken care of all the simple, goofy things that can blossom into big mistakes later.

The person who flipped a middle finger at the manager actually did so while driving to the interview and didn’t know then who he was doing it to. Certainly, there isn’t a good excuse for it. The lesson to learn from this one is that you have to be calm and professional before, during and after the interview. You can’t let bad traffic, a snotty receptionist, or a screaming child sour your mood. Shake off the distractions!

Just as bad is acting bored or being tired during an interview. A big yawn is not going to impress. You need to be energized and attentive, which means getting a good night’s sleep beforehand. Don’t shortcut this step by relying on an energy drink to perk you up. You’ll be at your best if you’re naturally alert.

One of the most frequently stated pieces of advice to job seekers is to dress appropriately, and yet hiring managers still see mini-skirts and nose rings. Regardless of the job, dressing professionally shows you are treating the interview seriously and that you’re mature. Just because you’re applying for a life guard position doesn’t mean you should show up looking like a surfer dude.

There have been many times when a job seeker was caught unprepared with a long application to fill out at the interview location. Come equipped with all the information you could possibly need concerning employment history, your previous addresses, dates of military service, etc.

In the same vein, make sure you know your own resume inside and out. It’s incredibly embarrassing to be asked specifics about a project you boasted about on the resume and respond with a blank look. Even if someone helped you write the resume, you definitely should be the expert.

Concentrate on truly communicating with the interviewer. It starts off with a handshake and friendly greeting. There have been cases of the interviewee barely saying a word and other cases of the interviewee dominating the conversation. Slow down, relax and be yourself.

Even if you had a horrible time with your previous employers, don’t badmouth them to the interviewer. You’ll just leave the impression of being disgruntled and unprofessional.

When an interviewer asks the inevitable “tell me about yourself” question, some nervous people have rattled on about their family. The question is meant for your professional life, not personal.

Honesty is mandatory. Why would you say you’re available to start right away when you actually would need a week to report to a new job? The employer is definitely going to figure out you were lying real fast.

You should have questions! This means doing research about the company and position ahead of time. An interviewer can spot a shallow, unprepared question easily.

Don’t be on time. Instead, be early for your appointment. You never know what obstacles will slow you down. The extra time will also give you a chance to mentally calm and prepare yourself. But if you’re late, be sure you don’t claim that promptness is one of your greatest strengths, as some have done.

Don’t jump the gun by talking too soon about pay and benefits. That’s typically something reserved for after you get a job offer. Even if you are asked about your acceptable salary, keep it low key.

Finally, following up is important. Send a thank you letter that shows your continued interest in the position and highlights the positives from the interview. It’s amazing how many people neglect this important step. When you do it, it’s almost a guarantee to impress the interviewer and keep you fresh in his or her mind.

Despite all the preparation in the world, you could still fall flat on your face. You’re only human, after all. It’s not something to beat yourself up over, provided you don’t make the same mistakes over and over. Everyone has a bad day, a bit of bad luck, or unforeseen circumstances that can throw just about anyone off. Don’t dwell on mistakes. Use them as learning experiences that will help you do better next time.

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2. 5 Reasons Why You Need More Than a Good Resume to Stand Out from the Crowd
3. Interviews – Know When to Fold ‘Em

“You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.” – Jim Rohn

Resume writing is truly an art and one should know how to project oneself in front of the employer and that too with relevant details and according to the job requirements. There are different resume formats and one should know the importance of each one of them and analyze their own requirement for using them. The formats are functional, reverse chronological, and combination.

The contents of the resume remain the same in all the formats, just the sequence changes and thus the things to be highlighted. Along with this, the trick lies in the way the content is formatted, that is to say making the content bold, putting it in bulleted points, etc. The format for writing the work history section is given below:

• Name of the company
• Tenure which you have served (joining date and last date)
• Designation
• Work profile
• Responsibilities
• Achievements
• Outstanding performance (if any)

These are the typical particulars of the resume work history section. Depending on how much importance you wish to give to a certain point, highlight using both bulleted list and paragraphs too.

Formatting the Work History Section in Resume

The following is an example of a web content writer’s profile and her work history. Note the sequence and the way it is formatted.

Experience: 1

Organization: Beehive Software Solutions

Tenure : Sep. 2010 – Sep. 2011

Designation: Content Writer

Profile: Creating relevant, well researched, grammatically flawless content on various topics covering from medical, legal to gardening and pet care; suitable for optimizing web pages.

Responsibilities:

• Search for the latest keywords for different search engines
• Come up with good and catchy titles for writing daily
• Work on the formats for writing articles

Achievements:

• Was responsible for helping my SEO (search engine optimizers) team members, 11 of them, to meet their targets by giving them good content.

• Bringing in 20,000 visitors per month, and one third of them are unique visitors

• Consistent in achieving targets

This sample is written by a candidate applying for another job with an intention of getting a good hike in the salary. If the case had been contrary, i.e. when the candidate is overqualified and wishes to downplay the work history, then the achievements section can be avoided. But remember, this should be done only if you think you are overqualified for the job and really need the job.

For more information on writing an impressive resume you can use following reference link (Resume Writing).

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I was looking at the LinkedIn “find jobs” tab (found under “Jobs” at the top of your LinkedIn page), did a quick search and found a job opportunity that looked like it would be a perfect fit for me. As I read through the job description I got more and more excited about the opportunity. I decided that I must apply for this job. I quickly scrolled down to the bottom of the page where there was a large “Apply on Company Website” button. I was about to click this when I say the following – “On Fire! 285 people have clicked” Yikes! Maybe if I was one of the first 25 people to apply I might have a chance, but number 286, not very likely to be worth my time.

The Internet is a great enabling tool for job search and that is exactly what sometimes makes it a poor tool. The shear volume of applications that are potentially received for each opportunity creates a decreasing “value of time spent” as the number of applications (for a particular opportunity) increases. Yeah, we all feel good when we click the “apply” button having completed the application because we feel like we’ve done something positive in our search, but you have to balance the time spent on certain tools with the potential value derived.

So what’s the point? Online search engines (including their mobile app cousins which is the topic of today’s article) have limited value based on the very short shelf life of any one opportunity. Online search is truly a great example of “time is of the essence”. Using a mobile job search app may just give you the “early warning” you need to be one of the first to apply for an opportunity.

So many job search apps, so little time.  For clarity, I’ve given my brief narrow definition of a “job search app” for the purposes of this article (see below). I’ve focused on just a few of those apps that have both desktop full browser versions and mobile versions (and are FREE).

Job Search Apps - So (my) quick definition of a job search app ==> An application that runs on a smartphone (iOS, Android or other) that allows the user to search for job opportunities that match specific criteria. Not every app is on every platform, but many are on both iOS and Android.

• Simply Hired – From one of the top job search sites, this app is available in both a iPhone version and an Android version. Search for jobs using a location or app use your current location, save jobs, email jobs, view job descriptions, search history and apply to jobs from the app. The app does not seem to integrate with your Simplyhired account (that would be nice!). If you email the job to yourself you can use the Simplyhired browser version to apply as well.

• Monster – Another name we all (should) know, although some other sites have become more popular, Monster also has iPhone/Android apps. Monster, however, allows you to sign-in as you do on your desktop, leveraging saved searches, creating a new search or viewing recent searches.  You can save the job, email the job or apply leveraging resumes and cover letters from your main account (or create a new cover letter). A powerful app with lots of functionality.

• Indeed – Sticking with the best known job search sites, Indeed has both and iPhone and Android app. Like Monster’s app, you can sign-in, view your current resume, save jobs, email the job and view the job. Once you view the job, you can apply (typically from the company’s site).

• Beyond – The browser version of this site sometimes has annoying ads that are confusing (see Career Builder below), but you can link to the browser account via the app (although the initial sign-in on the app is confusing). You can set email alerts and pick your industry from the app. You can apply directly from the app, see search history, save jobs and also see articles/videos on job search. And yes, there is an iPhone app and an Android app.

• Career Builder – (iPhone/Android) – This app asks if you want to synchronize your stuff from your existing CareerBuilder account or create a new account.  You can search jobs, see recommended jobs, create favorites, see or add resumes plus a few other options. Once you find and view a job, you can apply through the CareerBuilder app.

Good luck in your search.


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1. Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 1
2. Wish Upon a Job – Executing on Your Job Search Plan – Part II
3. Job Search – There Must be an App for That – Part 3 of 5

Interviewers and human resource managers often go through hundreds of applicants, many of which express the same characteristics. However, instead of glazing over resumes and interviews, look for something unique that will bring high performers into the workplace. In short, look for emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is the individual’s ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of themselves and others. A vital characteristic, studies have shown that employers are more likely to promote workers with high emotional intelligence over those with high IQ. More so than ever, it has become a measure of the employee’s potential for success.

4 Characteristics of High Performers

Emotional intelligence at work is an important quality for prospective candidates, and ultimately all employees. The following characteristics, attributed to a high degree of emotional intelligence, are reasons why you should look for high performing individuals:

1. Self Awareness

Self awareness is the ability to perceive one’s own emotions and stay aware of their emotional state. A vital characteristic for employees and managers alike, this quality allows them to recognize feelings and emotions as arises in various situations. Employees are able to objectively look at their actions and determine whether it is reasonable or not. When individuals are able to understand their own emotional state, they are better able to compose themselves and act accordingly.

2. Self Management

Simply perceiving emotions are not enough – a successful individual is also able to self manage those emotions and control them. The quality ensures that emotions will not take control of the individual and get out of hand. This ability to regulate and adapt to change circumstances is vital for the workplace, where tensions and tempers can run high. If the employee is unable to keep their cool, this will have a negative effect on their reputation and perception among peers.

3. Social Skills

Success in the workplace is largely determined by the individual’s ability to manage relationships and understand social networks around them. The ability to connect with others allows the employee to engage in better teamwork, collaboration and communication. Social skills also extend to the ability to understand relationships and engage in conflict resolution. As a result, individuals with a high degree of social awareness are more likely to emerge as leaders and managers in their field.

4. Impulse Control
   Finally, another characteristic of individuals with emotional intelligence is the ability to control their impulses. Impulse control is a form of emotional regulation – it allows the individual to wait in order to obtain something that he or she wants. By resisting instant gratification, they are able to reap greater rewards in the future. Good impulse control is an indicator of a high performer; an individual who understands the rewards of success.

If you’ve entered late in the game, don’t worry – emotional intelligence, unlike IQ or personality, is not a stagnant quality. Individuals can improve this quality through emotional intelligence training and courses designed to help them get better. With enough practice, both new and veteran employees can develop their emotional intelligence, actively influencing their own ability to become a high performer.

Sara Fletcher is interested in learning how to test emotional intelligence and understanding how it relates to our daily performance. She has written on a variety of topics, ranging from small business, sports, and career advice.

This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines.

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These are the vague, confusing interview questions that get thrown at you when you are trying to get the best management consulting, strategy consulting or investment banking jobs. They make you realize how much easier it was to answer those tough-sounding technical questions you were asked during your first few job interviews. At least you knew whether you were right or wrong and after the interview you’d know how well you fared. With situational interviews, most candidates have a big question mark about their performance and how it would be perceived by their interviewers.

What are situational interview questions?

These are questions designed to make you think, analyze a given situation and arrive upon the best-possible decision. Thus it is meant to probe into your behavioral / thought process. These questions allow the interviewer to find out certain aspects of your personality, decision-making and working style in general. The questions could be in the area of inter-personal skills, analytical ability, capacity to work under pressure, multi-tasking skills or cover many other aspects.

Why do companies ask situational interview questions?

Your resume contains a listing of all the important projects handled, various roles played by you, your milestones that you’d like your future employer to know. It’s good if you can pick up tips on how to write a good resume as you may also be asked questions related to your resume. Now, at this stage, your recruiter is not just interested in knowing your achievements but also wants to find out how well you can work towards overcoming challenges and meeting your targets. They can also extrapolate these inputs to get a feel for how you would perform when you are faced with challenges you’ve never come across before.

Sample situational interview questions

Here are some examples of situational interview questions.

- Have you faced a situation wherein you had a conflict with a difficult colleague? How did you handle the situation?

- Have you ever been self-motivated to accomplish your goals?

- How do you take criticism? Think of a situation when you were criticized. What was your reaction?

- Describe a situation where you were unable to deliver. How did you manage and what did you learn?

- Have you faced a situation where your decision or opinion was different from the majority as you were not convinced about it? What did you do in that situation?

- Give us an example of a situation where you had to take a difficult decision based on very little data.

- Do you think you had a work-life balance in your previous job? If yes, how did you achieve it?

- Have you been faced with having to think beyond the conventional approach while solving a problem or taking decisions?

- Have you ever handled multiple projects or tasks, each of them equally important, having stringent deadlines?

- Can you think of a time when you went beyond your area of technical expertise and proved your skills on the non-technical side?

How to answer situational interview questions?

For each question that you encounter, don’t feel tempted to get started with an immediate response. Instead take some time to ask yourself these additional questions:

- What is the interviewer really trying to get out of this question?

- What kind of skills would I need to mention to assure the recruiter that I have what it takes to be a perfect fit in the new role?

- How can I answer this question with real-life events, rather than sounding vague or diplomatic?

Once you’re done with your thinking, answer systematically so that the interviewer gets convinced that in addition to the other skills, you also have clarity of thought and good communication skills.

Sameer Kamat is the founder of MBA Crystal Ball, an MBA admissions consulting venture specializing in GMAT preparation & MBA essays. He is a published author and shares tips on how to write a book on his personal blog.

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A friend of mine went on an interview for a senior level position with very large financial institution. The hiring manager turned out to be a real jerk. He cursed the entire time, thought my friend’s experience was spotty at best, never asked any questions and spent the bulk of the interview telling my friend how great he (the hiring manager) was. He kind of reminded my friend of a volcano (spewing smoke and rocks) and, like my trip to Arenal, my friend said he would not want to be around when a real eruption occurred.

Fortunately for my friend, there were obvious warning signs and even if he got a job offer he would not take it. But many times, the warning signs of a potentially bad job situation are not evident during the interview process. Generally speaking, everyone is on their best behavior during the interview process and very often we are not aware of a bad situation until it is too late (like the first week on the job). So what are the warning signs of a bad situation? They are not always evident but there are some things you can look for.

• View the Environment – As you walk through the office on your way to your interview, take a look at the people and the working conditions. Do people generally look unhappy? Are there 5 people to a cubicle? Look for the warning signs.
• Warning signs: How to spot a bad company culture during the interview – Lots of good pointers in this article posted on Workopolis.com.

• How did the Interview Go? – Of course we always want to make the best impression so that we can get the job, but you also need to take notice of things said (and not said) during the interview process. Is the hiring manager obnoxious (like my friend experienced)? It is not just about you getting a job, it is about you getting the right job in the right company.
• Watch for Interview Warning Signs – Great examples of things that come up during the interview process that should be warning signs.

• Ask the Right Questions – We all study potential interview questions (we don’t want to get those wrong). But what about questions you should be asking the hiring manager? Questions that will help you spot the job from hell.
• How to Smell a Bad Boss in Just One Interview

• Background Checks Work Both Ways – No doubt your potential employer will do all sorts of background checks on you before they offer you a job. What about you doing a background check on the company and your hiring manager.
• 10 Warning Signs of a Toxic Boss at the Interview

Other Interesting reads:

• 43 weird things said in job interviews
• My new job is not the promised job. What do I do?”

Good luck in your search.


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1. Interviews – Know When to Fold ‘Em
2. Limited Shelf life – Is Your Job About to Expire?
3. 5 Reasons Why You Need More Than a Good Resume to Stand Out from the Crowd

1. Explore the Diversity of Career Choices

Any job title found in the private sector, including public administration jobs, is mirrored in the government sector. Besides public administration careers, the government also employs other traditional and non-traditional careers, including the following: Accountants, administrative personnel, human resource specialists, IT positions, engineers, management, scientists, and homeland security.

Top employment search engines, search aggregators and bulletin boards mirror job titles and buzzwords found on government career sites, such as the federal vacancies site USAJobs.gov.

2. Maximize Use of Employment Website Features

• Conduct government job searches using not only job title(s), but keyword(s). For example, “public administration” on USAJobs.gov will produce different search results than a particular job title. Results include a variety of agencies, departments and job titles that employ someone with this background.
• Review, analyze and archive public administration vacancy announcements for entry level jobs, mid-career jobs and upper tier positions. Announcements can be used for career management research and strategy. Announcements identify required knowledge, skills, and abilities for career progress, along with commensurate salary information. Announcements provide performance evaluation suggestions, such as key performance objectives and ideas for performance accomplishments.
• Incorporate vacancy announcement analyses into targeted employment communications. Revise applications, resumes, and cover letters using public administration keywords. Use knowledge and terms for interviews, objectives, accomplishments, and as a workload guide.
• Market finely tuned communication tools such as resumes and cover letters on Monster.com to increase recruiter hits. Often, human resource offices have automated resume sorting to screen resumes by keywords. Automated systems will more easily deliver candidate resumes to recruiters when resumes mirror the website terminology for that career field.

3. Link Into Career Ladder Keys

When using cross-functional keyword searches such as “public administration” on employment sites such as USAJobs.gov, a variety of job titles will appear, including “Public Affairs” titles. Review duties that can be performed across fields. This applied knowledge can position public administration employees for vertical or horizontal moves within or beyond a particular job title.

4. Explore Career Growth Plans via Opm.Gov

Career track information can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website (Opm.gov). When job skills searches identify job titles and careers, Opm.gov can provide everything an employee ever wants to know about a field, including the criteria used to demonstrate job skills or proficiency, and what it takes to move up to the next job level.

5. Set Strategic Public Administration Career Growth Plans

Both USAjobs.gov and Opm.gov can clue employees into keys about entry level, middle career, and senior position knowledge, abilities, and skills requirements. These requirements can lay the foundation and inform employees about training, education, experience, and skills that they need to achieve to advance. This same career growth information can be used when developing training goals, annual performance objectives, and annual performance accomplishments.

The government is the largest employer in the U.S. for countless reasons. These 5 Tips for Building a Career in Government can be applied to develop a successful public administration career through the years.

Marilyn Tate is a writer and city worker earning her online masters in public administration.

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1. Wish Upon a Job – Building Your Job Search Part I
2. Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 2
3. Job Search – 7 Career Links Hot off the Presses!

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

If you’re looking for IT sales jobs, computer jobs, web developer jobs, or IT support jobs, it’s best to use a specialist recruitment agency, as this will give you a head start.

Finding a new job is time consuming and if you’re already employed but looking for a better job, you just don’t have the time to search for jobs, make calls and distribute your CV.

As it can take up to six months or more to find the ideal job, it’s a good idea let a professional recruitment agency handle this for you.

Your chances of finding a job increase dramatically if you use a specialist recruitment agency, as they have a greater number of jobs on their books. This is not the case for a general recruitment agency, who may only have one or two jobs in your particular area of expertise.

Specialist agencies also have very close ties within the industry. By concentrating on one particular sector, they’re able to devote more time and effort to developing and building relationships with employers to discover exactly what they’re looking for.

Specialist recruitment agencies will even make contact with companies that you have identified as being of interest and check to see whether any suitable positions are available. So it’s a good idea to make a list of companies you’d like to work for.

An agency has the time, skills, resources and industry knowledge to help you search for the perfect match, and they’re often aware of job positions not publicly advertised.

They’ll also share with you useful advice on your future career path and help to make your CV stand out from the crowd. If there are no existing vacancies, they’ll often, on your behalf, check to see if a client wouldn’t be willing to create a vacancy, presuming the right person is available.

Another big plus is that they will help you prepare for interviews, giving you inside knowledge about the job, the company and its culture. You’ll have added confidence knowing you’re fully prepared and briefed for your interview.

A specialist agency saves you a great deal of time and effort by ensuring that a potential employer is genuinely interested in you and that the role and package meets with your approval.

They also help negotiate your start date and make sure that you and your employer are on the same page about what to expect from each other. Apart from setting up interviews, they also provide constructive post-interview feedback and, as the employer pays the recruitment agency fees, you benefit from a completely free service.

Adam Marsh writes articles relating to careers and job hunting on behalf of Adria Solutions, in Cheshire

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