How to properly search for a job, what warning signs to look out for, and where to find freelance orders—Anna Zelenaya, a professional in the field of "HR Management," told the Skillbox team about this and more.
Since 2015, Anna has been involved in employee recruitment and team building, and since 2021, she has been working as a leading employment specialist at the Career Development Center. Therefore, the expert has a wealth of knowledge and advice—enough for 7 posts at once. But first things first. Let's start with the job search.
Anna, what resources can I use to look for a job?
There are many options. First, aggregator sites. These are resources that collect information from various job sites and post it on their site. Examples of aggregators: belmeta.com, minsk.gorodrabot.by.
Secondly, you can explore Telegram channels dedicated to job searches. For example, jprof.by jobs. You can find thematic groups: to do this, simply enter a query like "business analyst job" in the messenger search.
Thirdly, you can use communities—professional networks of people. You can become part of a community on the social network LinkedIn—it's a useful tool actively used by recruiters and HR specialists. There, they post vacancies and study user profiles. For specialists, a presence on the platform will expand their networking.
And what should people looking for a job abroad use?
The same platforms. On LinkedIn, when searching for vacancies, you can set a geolocation filter, for example, the European Union. This platform is suitable for representatives of various professions.
A designer can find a client on platforms such as Behance or Dribbble. Artists, designers, and photographers publish their work on these platforms. The more popular the case, the more potential clients visit the author's profile and study their work. Behance also has a separate section with vacancies.
IT specialists can find offers on platforms such as Stack Overflow, Habr Career, GitHub.
Which job openings are best avoided?
I can point out several "warning bells." The first is when the description states that experience is optional, but at the same time the list of requirements is clearly for a mid-level specialist, not a beginner. The second warning bell is an incomplete job profile, which only indicates the position, contact information, and "experience not important."
You should also be wary when a vacancy is constantly posted. Of course, there are positions that can be filled for a year. But it also happens that a company simply hires a person, "grinds them down," throws them out, and hires someone else.
Is it worth applying to a vacancy if the candidate meets the requirements not 100%, but, for example, 80%?
If the candidate meets the requirements 80%, it's worth it. If they meet them 20%, of course not. When a person applies for a job opening, they are automatically entered into the HR specialist's database. This person's resume may be revisited later: for example, if the selected candidate fails the probationary period.
Furthermore, the employer may overlook a lack of knowledge or experience if the candidate has impressed them with their personal competencies.
Where can I find freelance work?
There are several options. The first is on job resources. For example, on rabota.by you can indicate that the candidate is considering part-time employment or project work.
The second option is freelance exchanges, for example: freelancer.bel, itfreelance.by, kwork.ru, freelance.ru. Registration will be an indicator that the exchange can be trusted. If they ask you to go through several registration steps, this is a guarantee that you will not be scammed. These sites have administrators/moderators who regulate the relationship between the client and the contractor.
You can also find jobs in thematic groups on social media and in Telegram channels.
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Now you know where and how to look for vacancies. This is just the first step; next comes a resume, cover letter, and interview. We will tell you more about each of these stages in the following posts, so stay tuned!
- If you don’t know yet who you want to become, take the proftest.
- To learn more about career counseling, go to the website of the Career Development Center.
You can read useful tips on finding a job at here.