When we’re jobhunting, recruitment websites can take some of the hard work out of finding the perfect role

If we’ve made the decision to look for work – or better-paid work – recruitment websites could really help us narrow the search.

Rather than a scattergun approach to searching, these websites can link us up with the employers who would value our skills.

And they can often help with things like careers advice and interview tips too.

We can think of them as the go-between for employers and jobseekers like us.

Sometimes the jobs they have on their books aren’t advertised in other places, which can give us a real advantage.

How do they work?

The websites work closely with employers and share details of jobs with the jobseekers who are registered with them.

If we register, they’ll keep our details and CV. It means they’ll be able to link us up with suitable jobs as they come up. Then if the recruiter is interested, they’ll invite us for an interview.

Some websites that we might want to consider are Reed (they have a special section if we’ve been out of work for a while), TotalJobs and Indeed.

What else do we need to know?

Recruitment websites can certainly save us a lot of time. Sometimes though, they can link us up with roles that aren’t a great fit. If we’re unsure, or feel we’re being pushed in the wrong direction, it’s fine to speak up.

And it’s still important to search for work in other ways if we want to be sure we’re not missing anything.

Contacting a company we’d love to work for – even if they’re not advertising – is a great idea. It’s called a ‘speculative’ application, and it shows the employer that we’re motivated.

Social media can also help in our hunt. We can either post on local pages that we’re looking for work, or scroll through opportunities on LinkedIn. (If we’ve never used LinkedIn before, it’s a social media platform with a focus on work and jobhunting.)

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