Using Employment Agencies

Employment agencies aren’t just for finding temporary positions. Many of them have a wide variety of permanent positions available, and even temp positions can turn into long-term employment. In fact, some companies hire almost all of their long-term employees through temp agencies, because they get a chance to try out employees without having to worry about the commitment of offering them a permanent position immediately.

If you’re having trouble finding employment through standard means, you should certainly put in applications with some of your local temp agencies. You may even be able to find employment agencies that specialize in headhunting in your chosen field. These companies would certainly be able to put you in touch with some important people!

Don’t treat interviews with employment agencies as any less important than you would if you were interviewing directly with the company you most want to work for. You never know when the interviewer at the agency might be able to put you into a position in that company, and even if they can’t now, that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to in the future.

You should put just as much effort and seriousness into an agency interview as you would any other interview. The impressions the agency interviewer gets from you may be passed on to companies who could hire you, so it’s vital to make a good impression.

Above all else, always remember that a temporary position is not always a bad thing that you should turn down. If you are offered a temp position in an excellent company, you might want to think about taking it. Not only will you get some valuable industry experience, but you could end up being hired on a permanent basis based on your performance. You would also have a better chance of being hired at that company later if they had a permanent position open up than if you had never worked there at all, so treat temp jobs just as seriously as you would a permanent position. If nothing else, you might be able to get a great industry reference from your time there!

Job Search Referrals

When you apply to a company for work and they don’t have any positions available for which you are qualified, you may be able to get them to refer you to other companies that may have positions available. When you apply for the job, if you are told there are no positions available or that the job you applied for was given to someone else, you can politely ask the individual if they know of any other companies that may have similar positions available.

Additionally, don’t overlook friends and family as potential sources of referrals. Someone you may know just might know someone who works in your chosen field. You may never know unless you ask, so if you’re having trouble finding a job, ask around. Your aunt, cousin, or old college roommate may not work in the field you do, but they may know someone who does. It never hurts to ask around.

Don’t forget about employment agencies. They don’t just hire for temporary positions! Some employment agencies may even specialize in recruiting for your chosen field, or they may specialize in finding long-term employment. So don’t overlook these companies as potential sources of jobs.

Finally, it never hurts to become friends with people in your industry. Attend trade shows and hang out where they congregate. The more people you meet and become friends with in your chosen field, the better your chances will be to find a position when you’re looking. If you have friends at most of the top companies in your field, you will always known when positions come available so you can be first in line to apply.

And you never know when one of these people will be promoted into a position where they could actually have some say in the hiring process. That guy you met who works in a mail room today might be promoted into human resources next month!