Job search or job hunt is both exciting and daunting. You’re excited about what will be your life ahead, what will be your daily routine and who will be your colleagues. It’s daunting since you’ll be uncertain how long your job hunt will last. Are my emergency funds enough to cover those months without full-time work? Did my applications succeed?  When will I call?  You’ll ask these questions whether you’re a new graduate, a career shifter or changing jobs.

JOIN A JOB AGGREGATOR/LISTING SITE

Job aggregators, boards and listing sites compile and list job vacancies. They provide search and sorting tools to narrow down jobs tailored to your qualifications. Joining job search sites is free and it’s fast as you’ll need a free email account, photo and a few details of your resume. Building resumes depends on the website format - some allow uploading a softcopy (doc.x, pdf) some only provide online forms where you populate fields with name, and resume details and others provide both formats. Here’s a minimalist, and free to use sign up job portal - Ohjobs.ph. 

The major advantage of a job aggregator site is that the company human resources department also uses a job aggregator to save time and reach more candidates. 

SEND UNSOLICITED APPLICATIONS

Another method is to research company names via a search engine (Google, Yandex, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go, Bing). You can find business directories such as Yellowpages. Look for each company’s careers contact page, telephone and email address. Unsolicited applications let you tap companies that you don’t know are hiring. The drawbacks of this method are - it can be time-consuming, your resume will stay unread in someone’s HR personnel email and they have no vacancies or job profiles matched to your qualifications.

VISIT JOB FAIRS

Job fairs are events similar to trade expos where recruiters, employers, and schools advertise their vacancies. Each company and recruiters have their booth where HR personnel receive resumes from walk-in applicants. Organizers held job fairs at shopping malls or public squares such as near barangay or municipal hall. 

To succeed in a job fair,  you must:

• Prepare enough copies of resumes
• Wake up early 
• Dress smart and comfortable clothing
• Follow up your applications 

Job fairs are an easy way to zero in job opportunities in one event without wasting time or trying trials and errors to companies with no vacancies. And added bonus - job fairs are great for socializing and meeting other job seekers who are potential networks.

The disadvantages of a job fair are - the distance to the place of the event and some vacancies may or might not be applicable to your qualifications. 

COLD CALLING

Cold calling is an unsolicited calling to the company’s telephone number found in internet directories or websites. Then, you’ll ask for job vacancies or pitch your skills and experiences. You may send resumes/CVs to their email before calling their landline number. 

The pros of this method - it can add a boost to your job search efforts,  give you more chances of striking luck, and hone your telephone conversational skills.

Cold calling to companies can be tough if you haven't used a telephone conversation. Calling needs mobile load and that can eat a slice of your daily budget as most or all companies use landlines for their contact.

JOIN INTERNSHIPS

Internships are either paid or unpaid on the job training when the company lets a student experience working in a production or office site. Numerous applicants get their full-time job after serving for a number of hours, weeks and months. Getting absorbed in the workforce depends on the number of vacancies and job performance. 

TRY WALK-IN APPLICATIONS

When you walk-in, you are physically visiting a company office and handing-out your resumes to the HR department and the receptionist. Before visiting each company, do have:

• Prepare resumes (10 to 20 pieces)
• Carry a water bottle, portable food 
• Wear business or smart casual clothing

Walkins are good for boosting your chances of being spotted by a recruiter/HR especially if their company has vacancies matching your qualifications and it’s a good way to increase your resume from being noticed over other applicants. 

While this serves as another method of job search, walk-ins can be time-consuming and tiring especially if you are visiting random offices and handing resumes in high rise towers in Ortigas, Makati, BGC Taguig, and Cebu CBD. You may also stumble upon offices that are not currently hiring. On top of that, you’ll spend on transport, snacks and lunches and endure heat especially if you job hunt during the summer season. Such offices may or might have vacancies or if there’s any it couldn’t be the match of your job profile.

FIND JOBS THROUGH A NETWORK

You might have already landed a job through leads from your fiance, ex-office mates, customers, friends, friends of your parents or friends of your siblings, relatives and any random stranger you may meet. They may say “magpasa ka raw ng resume sa friend ni tito mo, may bakante doon”. You may send a resume to your uncle’s friend, there’s a vacancy there.

If your social network is large, you can easily contact your friends and their colleagues for opportunities. If not, you may

• Start making friends or asking their business cards, phone numbers or email and then maintaining contact to avoid having you being forgotten. 
• Join trade expos, workshops, seminars and organisations of your interest and profession.

GO TO HEADHUNTERS AND RECRUITERS

Head hunters or recruiters are companies or organizations that specialize in recruiting and finding talents or people for their client companies. They are also called Human Resources companies. Their HR personnel use psychological, abstract and technical tests to gauge your mental and skill’s ability. Finally, you’ll be asked to appear for interviews from first to the last interviewer.  You might easily find jobs through staffers as they have good contacts but take note that it can be time-consuming to undergo with their recruitment process compared to applying directly to companies.
 

FIND JOBS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a powerful job search tool for finding companies - it’s a ubiquitous source of jobs - in any place where there is an internet.  More often, employers post their vacancies through social media and they post it with details of qualifications, and office address. You can also find through social media apps and websites.

The cons of using social media are that there are numerous fake job ads or bogus company pages that post fake job offers. If you’re not careful and investigative, you could lose time and money to scammers. For anti job scam tips, visit 7 signs of job scams (and how to outwit them).

POST THROUGH CLASSIFIEDS

Classified sites refer to websites that show localized general and broad categorized ads. It’s a form of advertising that makes up contents such as various services offered, jobs wanted, electronics for sale, used items for sale, and even marriage wanted. People and local businesses advertise their goods and services.