finding a job

[yikesanddang]

Sorry in advance for posting on 'back to work' but the general 'work' threads seem to have so little traffic.

I want to ask how people go about finding a job. Specifically either after uni or after school/travelling etc rather than specifically after a period of not working.

I ask because in my day it was through paper adverts and word of mouth and also just rocking up to a company you like the look of and asking. But now it appears to be all online through job search sites. It seems so anonymous and impersonal. Is it really a matter of just trawling through and applying to thousands of positions? It also seems that big firms have positions on their websites in the career sections. But am I missing something?

Young people who have not gone the uni route, how did you/they find work? I see people in their late 20s/early 30s who seem to have decent jobs in IT or sales or other general rolls. How did they get the job? Surely all the website ads wanted degrees in relevant subjects.

Please help this gen x understand!!

I don’t see how an online ad is any less personal than a newspaper ad! It’s the same thing just a different delivery.

Different sectors will have their norm. Some use recruiters, some recruit directly themselves, there’s still the word of mouth and just rocking up to a company you’d like to work for. Public sector does it all online now, Civil Service via Civil Service Jobs.

Nothing has changed since I got my first job after uni (advertised in a newspaper and filled in a paper form) except the introduction of the internet so now it’s an ad on a website and a webform to fill in.

The job market has got more competitive and employers get many, many more applications for a job than 10 or 20 years ago. I only applied for one job when I graduated and I got it, but I think the average graduate now can expect to apply for several before they are successful at getting an interview even.