The Visible Job Market

The first place to start looking for a job is the visible job market - the jobs that are advertised.

• The Internet
• Journals and Magazines
• Job Centres
• Employment Agencies
• Careers Centres
• Employers Premises

Advertising in newspapers and journals is still one of the most popular ways of recruiting people. 'Scanning the ads' is, therefore, an important part of job hunting. It is where most of us start out on our search for a new job.

Many jobs are advertised in local and National Newspapers, many in free papers, and others in job hunting papers. Any quick glance along large newsagent's shelves will reveal the local job hunting papers. Some of these are printed on a regional basis, with vacancies within commuting distance, whereas others are national.

Local papers vary substantially in the quality of the recruitment advertising they carry but, on the whole, they are essential reading from the job hunters' point of view. Local papers frequently have 'jobs nights' or nights on which they feature jobs in certain fields (e.g. managerial and administrative appointments). If you are looking for a job out of your area, you can arrange for a copy of the local evening newspaper to be sent to you on subscription. Simply phone the subscriptions department and at the same time ask them if the newspaper has a special night for jobs (so you know which edition to order).

The national press often carries vacancies for a particular occupational area; e.g. the Guardian has Educational Vacancies on Tuesdays, with other professions and occupational areas on other days of the week. This is equally applicable to other papers. Many of the tabloids have web sites, and some carry vacancies online.

Public libraries will keep most local and many national papers - which is worth bearing in mind as it can be costly to buy them all. Check the specific days when they carry job adverts, as many will only include vacancies on a specific day of the week.

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The Internet

If you're reading this, you will already know that the Internet is a great resource for jobs. Employment and recruitment agencies use it a great deal, with their own dedicated websites carrying vacancies both nationally and internationally. Individual companies will also often use their website to advertise vacancies, so it's a good idea to check these out if you're looking to work for a specific employer.

Most sites are well marketed through search engines, so a search there is a must. Do a little reading on how to make the best use of each engine, how to combine words effectively, it will save time if you make specific searches for, say, graduate recruiters or specialist occupation agencies, rather than trawling through hundreds of thousands of general search results!

Once you've found relevant sites, you will find vacancies, with online directions on how to apply or obtain further information. In some cases, an added feature will be a C...

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