One area I find isn’t talked about enough is how difficult it is to find your next role. There are many challenges that make it difficult but one which isn’t talked about enough is getting insight into companies. There are hundreds if not thousands of companies hiring either in your city or remotely at any given time. From large corporations to startups and everything in between and most of them you have never even heard of. How can you find the ones that line up to what you’re searching for with so much noise? Through this article I’lll discuss the challenges, obstacles and solutions as to why finding a new role is a full-time job.
The Noise
Companies are struggling with being visible at the moment and are trying new things to make themselves stand out. It’s why many talent acquisition teams now have marketing budgets just so that you know they exist. They have ads running and talent acquisition teams consistently posting on social media. With all that it creates a lot of noise and the ones who are best have the most money to spend. Just because they market doesn’t mean they are the best fit for you. It’s almost too hard to even follow unless you are constantly monitoring the space which is time consuming.
Then come job postings as every company will likely have them on the major sites like Linked In and Indeed. They are often generic and take a level of search skill in order to find the ones that actually relate to you. Job descriptions are outdated and usually have a laundry list of things required for the role and maybe a vague list of benefits which doesn’t give you a clear picture. They take time to navigate and sometimes leave you wondering if you are even the right fit.
Finally, most are partnered with recruitment agencies that are also mass sending job descriptions or pitches on why this role might be a fit for you. I know how often technology professionals are contacted each week and I’m aware Avansai is part of that noise. Where I think it can become overwhelming to most is that many recruitment agencies offer nothing more than a job description in terms of insight and as you know most aren’t even relevant to you. It’s more noise that just takes time to filter through and is why finding a new role is a full-time job for most.
What do they offer?
Even with all these different positions what you really want to know is what are they offering? What kind of culture is it? What kind of projects are they working on? What are their benefits like? Why should I go work for them?
Most of these answers can’t be found in a job description so instead you first check out their career and Linked In pages to get more information. They help but are often more general insights and vague wording than anything else. It’s great but to check out but to navigate each site can be even more work.
You then likely move on to sites like Glassdoor or Levels.FYI in order to get the real scoop as to what they offer. What are their employees saying about them and what kind of salary can I expect? These can be hit or miss at times but can offer some valuable insights although once again require more time and energy.
Do you invest the time?
This is a decision many people make when it comes to finding a new role. Do you invest your time and energy to navigate all these sites and roles to find what fits you? If you’re actively looking I think you have to but if you’re working already and just looking for something better it can be pretty challenging to find the time. This is all before you actually apply and then need to go through multiple rounds of interviews and more.
What’s the solution?
The first thing is finding a good recruitment partner as they can help cut through the noise and give you real insight into the opportunities that exist. The best ones have insights beyond the description and company websites and can help align you to the right roles. They can help open you up to companies you’ve never heard of as well, which takes the load off of you in finding your next role. However, not all companies are partnered with recruiters and not all the best recruiters have access to all the different roles and companies that might be the best fit for you.
Company Radar
With this in mind we decided to develop a new tool to make your life easier when searching for something new. Our company radar has 2 options, monthly which provides you 5 companies to explore each month for more passive seekers. The other option is on-demand and takes a look at your preferences and skill set and brings you insight to 5 companies you may not have heard about. In our format we want to make the information easily accessible so we provide a breakdown of the company, their culture, tech stack and benefits all in one place. These aren’t just companies that we work with but a variety from across Canada and of different sizes.
To be clear these aren’t specific job openings but instead companies that you might find interesting. You can check out their site to see if they have any roles that align to you and apply directly using our Profile snapshot. The goal is to make the market a little easier to navigate and hopefully introduce you to companies you might never have heard about.
At Avansai our goal is to make the experience of recruitment better for everyone involved. So we looked at why finding a new role is a full-time job and tried to build tools to reduce that time and effort. We will continue to build tools to make finding your dream job that much easier.
