There are thousands of jobs waiting to be filled online. Many applicants browse through the job portals haphazardly and hope to find a suitable job advertisement at some point. However, according to career coach Dr. Bernd Slaghuis has much better chances when looking for a job online.
There are around 1,300 job portals in Germany – but when looking for a job online, many people randomly choose one or two large portals and only search there. This is a good start, but not necessarily productive. In a XING article, career coach Dr. Bernd Slaghuis offers a guiding principle for looking for a job online: “Don’t look for what you find, but find what you are looking for.” You shouldn’t just search randomly, but rather proceed in a structured manner. How does it work?
Which search terms and on which portals is it worth searching for a job?
You should start by finding the right job board. Of the approximately 1,300 job portals in Germany, in addition to the large portals such as XING, Indeed or StepStone, many have a specific focus: some are regional, others industry-specific, others only for managers, and so on. It is important to proceed systematically from the start so as not to waste time unnecessarily on portals where the dream job is certainly not advertised. However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one portal, but rather search in several places.
Step two is to find the right search terms on the suitable portals found. To do this, you first have to think carefully about what you are actually looking for and what requirements you place on the job. Job portals often have filter options that filter out jobs that don’t match your expectations. According to Slaghuis, it is important to consider what a suitable job description would look like and test search terms accordingly. It is important to keep in mind that many jobs are described rather cryptically and the keyword for the actual activity in the job is not always actually mentioned in the description. You should definitely vary your search terms and not limit yourself too much to individual positions, specific departments or individual areas of responsibility.
Filter options and alternative application channels
The next step is to think about the employer: For example, if you don’t want to work in a large corporation, says Slaghuis, you should filter out companies over a certain size in the settings. By the way, many employers don’t just upload a job advertisement: recruiters are often actively looking for new employees on job portals and browsing through the profiles of potential applicants. If you design your application profile to match your job expectations, you have a good chance of being found here. Information about previous professional experience is particularly helpful. Anyone who also publishes their own skills and other additional information in their profile has even better chances.
Because not all open positions are advertised on job portals, Slaghuis also recommends looking at potential employers’ websites and looking for job advertisements there. And if you don’t find an ad there either, an unsolicited application is still worth a try.
Other alternative application channels include job fairs and friends. According to the expert, it is important to proceed systematically and to activate the professional network in a targeted manner. It is also promising to simply walk through the world with your eyes open – you can often find interesting offers or at least ideas for your further job search on posters or notices while you are out and about.
Test the search strategy again and again – and do something different every day
If you are now registered on various – deliberately chosen – portals, have set the search criteria according to your own requirements and filled out your own profile in detail, it is important to regularly check your search strategy: Does it still fit your own ideas? Do the advertisements you find match the positions you are looking for? Are you really looking on the right portals? According to Slaghuis, one should not be afraid to continually adapt the search for systematic considerations. It is important not to sell yourself short out of frustration – because many employers often do not even consider overqualified applicants. In order to maintain motivation and stay productive, you should set up a strategy even after creating your own profile and setting your search criteria. Slaghuis’ recommendation: Do something different every day. He suggests, for example, dividing the different portals into the days of the week and looking for new ads on a different portal every day of the week. This keeps the search varied.
By the way: Instructions for an effective job search on the Internet are not only available on XING – the large portals in particular have their own recommendations on how to organize the job search most effectively using the filter options provided there. It can therefore be worthwhile to carefully read the tips and tricks tailored to the respective portal.
Editorial team finanzen.net