The news is full of the big IT companies making redundancies, so we thought it would be a good idea to dedicate this episode to Job Hunting.
My guest is Matt Drinkwater who has been recruiting Quality & Testing professionals for over 17 years. He also set up one of the early face-to-face networking events, Birmingham Testers Meetup and now runs the excellent QE Babble on LinkedIn. Join us for hints, tips, and advice on all things Job Hunting.
Matt on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdrinkwater/
QE Babble
https://www.linkedin.com/company/qebabble/
QE Babble on MeetUp
Matt's Advice
* Setup job alerts on Monster, CV Library, CW Jobs, and Reed
* Register your CV on those platforms
* Sign up to Wellfound
* Sign up to job alerts on this platform (LinkedIn)
* Connect with other QE recruiters (there are quite a few of us!)
* https://www.ministryoftesting.com/jobs (another brilliant job board and tonnes of good stuff for Testers)
Other ideas to stand out;
* Focus on applying for jobs that your skills are most suited to. In a crowded market, your response/acceptance rate will go down significantly if you apply across a broad range of jobs
* Often people update their CV when they finish their last job but rarely look back at the rest of it, or even update their professional summary. Each time you're looking for work, re-read the whole document and update it to reflect your key strengths
* Define what you are best at within your role and be specific. Put this detail front and centre on your CV. Shout about it on LinkedIn in posts, comments and articles. Change your page to reflect your key strengths, not just job title and responsibilities
* Follow up every job application with a direct and personal message to the Head of QA for the company
* Consider all old contacts and colleagues, find out where they are now, and enquire about jobs at those companies
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This is the podcast of The Scottish Testing Group.
This series of conversations is intended to be a safe space where subjects can be explored in a curious and open-minded way, always remaining friends, no matter how controversial it may get. This will be an amicable and convivial learning experience for all parties, especially the listener.
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