How to get a job in London
Guest post by Tash Larkin
London is a huge and popular city. As such, the competition for finding the best jobs can be tough! But you shouldn’t let this put you off looking. After all, there’s a whole host of exciting opportunities available to professionals in the capital.
So if you’re looking to find a job in London, don’t be disheartened. There are a number of steps you can take to help boost your chances of finding your dream role. We’ll outline these in more detail below.
Consider your industry
Firstly, and this is very important, you need to consider whether London is the best place for your industry. Home to a huge number of companies and many in the creative space, London is full of opportunity.
That said some industries thrive more in other key cities across the UK. As such, you need to decide whether you’re going to find the role you want in London and how hard it’s going to be to do this.
Look everywhere
London is a large and diverse city, with so many opportunities. Therefore, as you go about your day, always keep your eyes open and look everywhere.
You never know where you might see a job advert or a vacancy sign. It may seem old school now that we’re used to everything being online, but some businesses still choose to put a physical notice up when they’re hiring.
Prepare your CV
If you hope to stand out from the competition in this busy city, you need to write a winning CV. Be sure to put time and effort into getting this right, as this is the first important step to getting noticed and landing yourself an interview.
Make sure you choose a clear and concise layout and only include the relevant information. You should also make the most of keywords, as these will help recruiters to quickly identify whether you’re a good fit for the role.
If you choose to go out in the city and actively look for jobs, be sure to take a few copies of your CV with you. That way, if you spot an opportunity, or someone is able to point you in the right direction, you’ll have it to hand.
Use your network
It’s always good to keep networking, whether that’s online or through industry events. It’s important that you do this throughout your entire career.
When you first begin your job search, consider who you already know and make the most of these connections.
Do you know anyone that already lives and works in London? If so, ask them if they know of any opportunities going in your industry. They may be able to recommend you at their own company or alert you to any positions they know of.
Make the most of social media
Social media is a great tool for finding jobs. For example, if you’re looking for an IT role, you can use hashtags and engage with tech companies online to look out for relevant job opportunities.
This applies to every industry. You can use social media such as Twitter and in particular, LinkedIn, to search for and apply to jobs.
What’s more, you can use these to your advantage, setting your location so that if a recruiter finds you, they’ll know you’re based in the London area.
You could even take it one step further, and include a line on your profile that says ‘seeking employment in London’ – that is of course, if you’re not hiding your job search from a current employer!
Sign up to online job boards
There are a number of generalist job boards out there that can help massively when you’re looking work.
Other than hosting thousands of vacancies, job boards allow you to search these by location and job title. Therefore, you can narrow down your search to get only the most relevant results. Select the industry you work in and set the location to London – it’s that simple!
Consider your commute
Whether you already live in London, or you’re planning to move there, you need to consider your location. As previously stated, London is a big place! Therefore, you need to consider which areas are going to be best for you to look for work in.
For example, if you’re not willing to travel to the other side of the city for work every day, it’s best to narrow down the area in which you want to live and work in. This will help you find a role that’s closer to home.
Are you ready to find work in London?
So if you’re looking for an exciting job in London, these simple steps could be the key to success! Always keep your eyes open, you never know when an opportunity might present itself and make sure you have a great CV ready for when your dream role does come up.
It’s also a good idea to make the most of the tools available to you such as job boards, social media and your own network.
About Tash
Natashia Larkin is PR & Communications Assistant for the fastest-growing job board, CV-Library. For more expert advice on job searches, careers and the workplace, visit their Career Advice pages.
