What are the best resources for finding work in today's climate?
I've been a professional in the IT sector for the past 25 years, and during that time I've gone through several different methods of finding my next gig. Back when I started out, the internet was still a relatively new thing, so I got my first few positions by answering ads in the local newspaper (remember those?)
Two years ago, I decided to try my hand at writing novels, and while that has been quite fulfilling personally, it hasn't yet started to pay any bills so I've had to keep my IT skills sharp and hold down a standard job to pay the bills.
Now though, I find that I'm looking a lot harder at the companies and people I work for, and I'd like to be able to shop around a bit more for a position at a place that is more in line with me as a person.
To that end, I'm wondering what methods are more commonplace now for finding employment, as opposed to my standard, which is pretty much indeed and the occasional linkedin find. Which methods have you had the most success with?
If you have a professional network, that is by far the best method to find a good job that you might like. Otherwise, recruiters, LinkedIn, and indeed are pretty much it.
Networking by a country mile.
Up until recently, I worked for a staffing company as a data analyst, and had some really entertaining insight into the chaos behind the modern hiring process, including what ATS's are doing, how matching algorithms work (or don't), and how strong candidates are floated to the top. Tl;dr: Basically it's a huge shitshow and luck is a massive part of the process. And now that we're seeing 1200+ candidates applying for roles on LinkedIn, it's even moreso.
So yeah, networking. Over the past few months, I've applied to about 20 positions I was pretty well qualified for, using what I know about hiring practices and how skillmatching data works behind the scenes, and of those, I received a total of zero interviews. Of the positions where I had an inside referral, I've gotten interviews for 3 out of 4.
The career websites are pretty much useless. I recently signed up on Indeed and instantly started getting spam emails and phone calls. Seems like it's just another data collection company. I really wish the Internet had more than one business model.
If you want to vet a company, one thing you can do is find former employees on LinkedIn and send them a polite message. Most people are happy to tell you what they think about their time there.
The IT places I've worked at all advertised almost exclusively through LinkedIn, to the point where it hurt them (e.g., they needed the kind of staff that typically won't have a LinkedIn profile, yet refused to hire through our local Indeed equivalent). Off topic, but I went through the process as a team lead looking for a new team member, and what it got me was a mediocre new hire and a very low opinion of our recruiters.
By far the most hires seem to happen through networking/references/word of mouth though. It's all about making sure that people know that you're skilled, reliable, and available.