Reply to: Job Search Site Tips

[nomadd]

Either that and firebomb the agents with your cv...

That bit I always do.

...regularly then phone them up.

That bit I never do.

[BolshieBastard]

That doesn't necessarily make it a waste of time.

Whenever I see any gig in my niche field, I make sure my CV is registered with that agency. If the role is one I could almost do, I try to contact the agent and say "I saw role X and I am looking for similar roles, please bear me in mind if similar gigs come up."

I work on a theory that only so many agencies get most of the roles for each niche field. I want to make sure they have my CV in their database.

I also work on a theory that if an agent is filling a role for a contract Widget Wrinkler, it is worth telling that agent I am a Widget Wrangler just in case. They might also have a Widget Wrangler role, or get one soon.


But for the generic PM roles I go for, I no longer try to 'phone up. It seems to be, a you say, a futile waste of time that could be spent doing something else constructive.

Yep, agree that's the only way to do it. Either that and firebomb the agents with your cv regularly then phone them up.

When the market is bouyant and there are plenty of jobs then job site could lead to a new role.

[RichardCranium]

Waste of ******* time.

By the time the ad is placed, you have virtually no chance of being submitted.

The ad is purely to get new cv's in from ever desparate contractors.

That doesn't necessarily make it a waste of time.

Whenever I see any gig in my niche field, I make sure my CV is registered with that agency. If the role is one I could almost do, I try to contact the agent and say "I saw role X and I am looking for similar roles, please bear me in mind if similar gigs come up."

I work on a theory that only so many agencies get most of the roles for each niche field. I want to make sure they have my CV in their database.

I also work on a theory that if an agent is filling a role for a contract Widget Wrinkler, it is worth telling that agent I am a Widget Wrangler just in case. They might also have a Widget Wrangler role, or get one soon.


But for the generic PM roles I go for, I no longer try to 'phone up. It seems to be, a you say, a futile waste of time that could be spent doing something else constructive.

[BolshieBastard]

Waste of ******* time.

I know for a certainty, that, especially in the current market conditions, agents have already contacted and selected the 3 or 4 candidates they will submit to a client before the ad is placed on job sites.

By the time the ad is placed, you have virtually no chance of being submitted even though the agent may say they will submit you. The ad is purely to get new cv's in from ever desparate contractors.

[pzz76077]

To be honest, I just type in the keywords I need, pick Latest and then go for it. Why restrict yourself on area for those few extra jobs that might show.

If you are looking every day or two and filtering by keywords then there really arent so many jobs on there that warrant doing a filter by location.

I do that and simply dont read the ads that say Yorkshire etc (I live in London)

I just use the £100+ ph tag on the l/h side and pick one of the 20 or so roles that come up. Then go for the interview and get £200 ph by cutting the agency out- I thought that everyone else did the same??

PZZ

[RichardCranium]

He means it's sh*t so just suck it and see.

WHS

[northernladuk]

Geospatial querying is a notoriously difficult and fascinating area of study; a lot of university students are working on just that.

Quite how Jobserve have implemented theirs I am not entirely sure. Most would convert a location to a centroid using a Ordnance Survey or Royal Mail data set. But some of the searches I have tried around my home using the location and range criteria do not work correctly. I live in a small town just a few miles from the nearest city centre, yet roles in my doorstop come up in the 25-50 miles range of that city on Jobserve. The next nearest town is down as being in another county 100 miles away despite that town name being unique.

So do not trust Jobserve's range & location criteria to be accurate.

Furthermore, Jobserve's 'range' is - counter-intuitively - a fairly unhelpful criteria on a geospatial search. A gig 40 miles away by motorway is nearby; 10 miles away across a city might be inaccessible. For example, many people travel 50 miles into London but hardly anyone crosses the Thames.

I would suggest you try a variety of geographical terms and see for yourself what comes up and decide what terms work for you.

He means it's sh*t so just suck it and see.

[RichardCranium]

Any tips on how to construct a search on say, JobServe? Is say, Manchester, Contract + 25 Miles enough. Or is it worth searching for North West, Contract, +25 Miles, and throw Lancashire etc in the mix?

Geospatial querying is a notoriously difficult and fascinating area of study; a lot of university students are working on just that.

Quite how Jobserve have implemented theirs I am not entirely sure. Most would convert a location to a centroid using a Ordnance Survey or Royal Mail data set. But some of the searches I have tried around my home using the location and range criteria do not work correctly. I live in a small town just a few miles from the nearest city centre, yet roles in my doorstop come up in the 25-50 miles range of that city on Jobserve. The next nearest town is down as being in another county 100 miles away despite that town name being unique.

So do not trust Jobserve's range & location criteria to be accurate.

Furthermore, Jobserve's 'range' is - counter-intuitively - a fairly unhelpful criteria on a geospatial search. A gig 40 miles away by motorway is nearby; 10 miles away across a city might be inaccessible. For example, many people travel 50 miles into London but hardly anyone crosses the Thames.

I would suggest you try a variety of geographical terms and see for yourself what comes up and decide what terms work for you.

[Drewster]

I didnt realise your contracting experience only started when you first joined this forum!!

Condemned from you own mouth - Newbie!!

To be honest - life pretty much ends here........

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

Good lad!
26 posts and being condescending to Newbies....

You'll fit in well!!!!

Have you had a Party yet??

LOL, mate I would have been condescending at my first post. I didnt realise your contracting experience only started when you first joined this forum!!

but to show theres no hard feelings .......

[Drewster]

We were all newbs once!!!

Good lad!
26 posts and being condescending to Newbies....

You'll fit in well!!!!

Have you had a Party yet??

[NeverBeenNorthOfTheM25]

..and we are being nice, Pogs.

I even removed a sarky comment from my newb reply...

<innocent look>

We were all newbs once!!!

[cojak]

..and we are being nice, Pogs.

I even removed a sarky comment from my newb reply...

<innocent look>

[cojak]

OMG being ticked off by a gerbil now

[northernladuk]

Play nice - you're not in general now

OMG being ticked off by a gerbil now