Practical Tips for Job Searching

Job searching can feel like a job in itself – particularly if it's been a while since you last looked for a new role.

The job market, recruitment technology and the ways employers find and assess candidates are constantly evolving. Knowing where to look, how to approach your search and what employers are really looking for can make the whole process feel much more manageable.

In this friendly, practical webinar, the Ten2Two team helps demystify today's job market and shares straightforward advice to help you approach your search with greater confidence and focus.

What we cover

• What the job market looks like and what that means for job seekers
• The different routes to finding opportunities
• What employers and recruiters are really looking for
• How to approach your job search like a project
• Common job-search challenges and how to overcome them
• How AI is changing recruitment – and how candidates and employers are using it
• Practical ways to use AI to support your job search without losing your own voice

AI and your job search

AI is becoming an increasingly common part of recruitment – on both sides of the process.

We look at how candidates can use AI to help improve a CV, tailor applications, identify skills gaps and draft cover letters, as well as some of the ways employers are using AI to screen applications, match skills and experience and streamline recruitment processes.

Our advice? Use AI as an assistant, not an author. It can be a brilliant tool, but your experience, personality and individual voice still matter. Always review, personalise and sense-check anything AI helps you create.

Whether you're actively job hunting, returning to work after a break, considering a career change or simply starting to explore what's out there, this session is a great place to start.

Grab a cuppa, get comfortable and watch the webinar when it suits you.

Watch our webinar ‘Practical Tips for Job Searching’ here - and check out our job search FAQs below.

Practical Tips for Job Searching – FAQs

The recruitment agency experience

Q.  I have registered with a few agencies and only one ever replied to me even though I followed up a few times and feel really frustrated. Any tips?

A.  Unfortunately, we hear this quite a lot. At Ten2Two always aim to keep our candidates informed but for other routes this doesn’t seem a priority. A key thing is to check your junk and ‘other’ email folders as sometimes you’ll find messages there that have gone astray. If this isn’t the case, try not to take it personally, it is probable that the role has been filled, postponed or cancelled, which happens a lot. Try to stay positive and be patient.

Career breaks and applying for roles outside your sector

Q1.  If I were to do my CV now after a career break it would obviously show all my previous experience in a certain field. If I want a career change, how can I do this when my CV just shows one thing?

Q2.  What is the best way to write a CV so that you can apply for a job that isn’t necessarily in your job sector? For example, I work in design, all my jobs have been in design but since having children and going freelance I’m quite interested in doing a different role. I’m not sure how to gear my CV towards that?

A. To answer both these questions: when looking for a change of career, it’s best to draw out your key skills from your previous jobs. Bring those to the forefront of your CV and show how they are relevant for the job you’re applying for. Make it explicit in your cover letter and CV that you recognise this is a career change, so the recruiters look more closely at your transferable skills.

Help with your CV

Q.  Can agencies help with putting your CV together if you have been out of the market for a long time or would they expect you to be able to do this? Is there anywhere else to get help if this is not a solution?

A.  We are happy to take a look at CVs and give feedback, and would usually do this when you are applying for a particular position. If your CV needs a lot of thought and work (maybe after a break or because you want to change career), we’d recommend using a professional for this. There are a number of services available but our recommendations for a personal service is Jaqui Winston. Have a look at our CV FAQs blog here too - and our excellent free webinar on How to create a winning CV. 

Investigating company culture as part of a job search

Q.  Company culture is really important to me. How can one find out about the culture of a company BEFORE taking on the job?

A.  This is an important topic. There are a few things you can do. If you have a choice of online or in-person interview, go for an in-person; you’ll pick up a lot from being on the premises. At the interview, ask questions about the company culture, their values, how they would describe themselves and ask the interviewers what they enjoy about working there. Ask if you can spend a morning at the place of work to get to see the environment and the team you’ll be working with up close and personal.

Returning to the workplace

Q1.  Any particular suggestions for someone returning to work after a career break?

Q2.  Do you have any tips for a stay-at-home mum returning to work after 8 years? I’ve applied for basic data entry part time jobs totally unrelated to my previous experience and not getting anywhere.

A.  This is a broad subject and one that will be the topic of a future webinar. There a few things to start with: 1) Update your CV, 2) update or create your LinkedIn profile, 3) let your network know you’re seeking work and 4) update your skills if you feel you’re out of touch, i.e. join industry online groups, chat with ex-colleagues about what’s going on, take on some training to get you back into the swing of things (there are often free online courses you could take advantage of). If you’re applying for jobs that are unrelated, make it clear on your CV and cover letter why you feel you are a good fit for the role and highlight your transferable skills.

Jobs advertised without salaries

Q.  I tend to not apply for jobs without salaries. What is your stand as an agency?

A.  There are often good reasons for a salary not to be advertised, so don’t let it put you off. By all means, contact the agency or employer and ask directly. If they can’t be specific, then tell them the range you are seeking to check if it is in-line with their expectations.

Negotiating a salary

Q1.  How do you negotiate a better salary than what is advertised?

Q2.  Hybrid – how do you negotiate using your lunch hour to collect your child from school & log back in from home every day.

Q3.  If a company clearly states that it’s a 5-day role in the office, is it worth trying to negotiate some home working?

A.  If you’re using a recruitment agency, it would be worth bringing these points up early on in the process as the recruitment consultant will more than likely have an idea of what the client will or won’t negotiate on. Some employers will be open to negotiating and others won’t.

Specific tips regarding salary – do your research into the market rate for the role you are applying for. We often see much more experienced candidates going for a role that is a more junior level than their previous position, so check if you are negotiating to take the salary up to your previous more senior level or if you feel this is based on market rate for that particular role.

Specific tips in relation to collecting children. With regard to the option to pick up children and then continue working, again, bear in mind children in the background may be a distraction and if your work involves concentration and is client facing, it may not be appropriate to have children with you when working.

Video job applications

Q.  Applied for a role that required a video application. Any tips?

A.  Approach a video application as you would a traditional application. Follow their instructions carefully, ensure you are in a quiet environment (check your background is suitable), prepare and practice your words. Make sure you include information that they are asking for eg if they are asking what makes you suitable for the role, consider the top skills they are looking for in the job description and address these with examples. We have a very useful webinar on Presenting Yourself Online which is full of practical tips – and also some related Presenting Yourself Online FAQs – well worth a read.

Moving from public sector

Q.  I have only worked in education and am strongly considering leaving and moving to corporate, but feel overwhelmed about the first steps as don't know what to look for to match my skills with all the jobs available to me ...

A.  This is a common concern and may need you to invest some time (and some budget) into formal career guidance to make sure you choose a direction that’s right for you. You don’t want to invest in training or risk a move unless you’re sure it’s the right one! There are many skilled professionals who do this, and the key is to find someone you feel is the right match for you. One of our recommendations would be Sema Rubins at Ruby Sky Coaching.

Career advice

Q.  Would recruitment agencies be able to offer advice on suitable careers if you were unsure of the right pathway?

A.  We can offer top level advice on the career direction your previous experience might lend itself to but do not offer end-to-end career coaching. This is a process that understands you, your motivations, your skills and what you would most enjoy doing. It can take a few meetings and ongoing input. Again, one of our recommendations would be Sema Rubins at Ruby Sky Coaching.

Behaviour-based recruitment

Q.  I recently applied for a job with a large company that didn't use CVs but just used Behaviours during the recruitment process (first online then basic questions about my experience and behaviour-based questions in interview). Do you know of many companies using this type of process?

A.  This is becoming more common as employers are trying new ways to find the right match for them. Most still use a CV as the starting point but then build in other ways to test a candidate’s competencies.

Job titles

Q.  Should you change your old job titles in your CV to match how they are currently termed?

A.  This depends, and the key is to think about the audience reading your CV. If it makes your CV easier to understand and by changing the title, you’re not changing the nature of the work you did, then using more up to date titles is recommended.

Ageism, redundancies and job searching

Q1.  Is there ageism within many companies? I'm approaching pension age and have lots of energy and enthusiasm, probably more than I did earlier in my career. I'm not planning to retire any time soon!

Q2.  I am 60 years old and have worked in finance for over 15 years, but I am concerned about getting a new job which is permanent and Hybrid based. I have been through 6 redundancies and wonder would an employer still consider me as a suitable employee despite my age in the current market?

A.  Your age shouldn’t be a consideration and, in fact, will only be accurately known once you start a job and need to provide your ‘right to work’ proof (passport or driver’s license). Many employers today are recognising that deep experience is valuable and often older workers can be more loyal. The key thing is to make sure you’re up to date with the technological changes in your industry – ie, are you able to use online software such as Xero. If not, take the time to update yourself and go ahead and apply for any jobs that match your skill set.

On redundancies - you’d be surprised how common redundancy is now on people’s CV’s. It has lost the stigma it used to have a few decades ago and with the financial crisis in 2008, recession, Brexit and then the pandemic, it is very common for CVs to have one or more redundancies. When discussing it, don’t be embarrassed and stick to the facts. Perhaps it was because the company was downsizing due to economic factors or perhaps relocating or restructuring. Whatever the reason, stick to the positives of what you learnt having gone through the process.

Following up after a job application

Q1.  How do I follow-up after applying for a job on LinkedIn if there is no contact in the job ad?

Q2.  Is it possible to do a follow-up after applying on a company career website?

A.  All roles will have either the recruitment agency name or the company name. Many will have a direct contact for someone for any questions. If you are applying for a role on LinkedIn, there is usually information linked from the advert about the company. If there isn’t a named person, do some desk research to find a phone number or email of someone in the company (HR is a good start). You may need to contact the main number and ask, don’t be shy!

Using Open to Work feature on LinkedIn

Q.  What are your thoughts on using the 'Open to Work' feature in LinkedIn?

A.  This is a useful new feature on LinkedIn when looking for work. As always, there are pros and cons. We would say it is useful for recruiters to know your status and may increase your chances of being headhunted. However, be aware that, depending on your LinkedIn settings, your network will receive a notification anytime you change one of your settings, so you don’t want to be turning this on and off frequently! There is a way to have this setting only turned on for recruiters which is a safer way to ensure your current employer isn’t alerted to you seeking a new role (although LinkedIn doesn’t guarantee this). There’s a useful article here highlighting some considerations.

Your LinkedIn profile

Q.  Is it essential to have a LinkedIn profile?

A.  Using LinkedIn for job searching is a topic in its own right. However, here are a few initial thoughts. Don’t worry, it isn’t essential to have a LinkedIn profile, it depends on the sector and type of role you are looking for. If you are looking for a back-office support role, perhaps an administrative one, finance based such as payroll or credit control, or generally internally facing, it is unlikely a client will use LinkedIn to seek you out. If you work in Sales for example, it would be very important to have a profile.

How to use LinkedIn for job hunting

Q.  Can you give us some info/tips on using LinkedIn for job hunting please?

A.  If you are using LinkedIn for job searching, the main tip is don’t become completely focused on LinkedIn alone. It should be just one tool you use. If you can, put your Open to Work symbol on (see previous question), and make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date. Be active in your own profile by commenting and liking on other people’s posts. Use LinkedIn to research companies you like, and make contact with them, engage with their posts, in addition to applying for roles.

We hope this is helpful!

Good luck!