You’ve just moved to London, you’ve found a place to live, you may have even found a few friends. The next thing you need is find a job. It’s hard. Especially as the London jobs market is fast and crowded. Follow this guide to get a job in London, fast.

Your brand and your CV (Resume)

Yes, you are a brand! You are a product which employers will choose to use or not. For a brand manager looking to create a new product, the starting point, before anything else, will most certainly be market research. For you, there should be no exception if you want to get a London job quickly. Search other peoples CV’s, covering letters and job applications. There are many templates, examples and samples of actual CV’s available online. Indeed, pay particular attention to the CV’s and covering letters of individuals who work, or are looking to work, in similar fields to which you are interested in. This way, you’ll know exactly what recruiters are looking for and how to create what they want. More importantly, you’ll see what the the other people – your competition – are doing, allowing you to make your application stand out. Just as a brand manager would do before starting to sell a new product.

Next, using your research, create your own template CV in word or as a PDF read how to create a CV. This should contain all your basic information. Each time you apply for a job this CV will need changing to fit each role. This will be easier than creating a new CV each time. The same goes for your covering letter – create a template to start with and edit for each new job you wish to apply for. Read have to make a covering letter here

Next, create a file on your PC or MAC – here you should keep all of your covering letters and CV’s handy and organised. Remember to label and save each new CV and cover letter. If you dont have a computer, keep a folder with all of the hard copies. Most probably, you’ll apply for a number of similar jobs – this will save you time, cutting and pasting from existing documents, if the jobs are similar, rather than creating new documents from scratch each time. If you are required to fill in application forms, online or otherwise, create a form (or word document) from which you can copy the information quickly and easily – this beats rethinking and rewriting.

Often, employers or recruiters will conduct phone interviews. Create a script sheet of all of the vital information – a good way to do this would be to print a smaller copy of your CV and make notes on it – it using the information in your cover letter as a guide. Try shortening this to a snappy, 30 second pitch – for chance encounters and for when networking. Finally, pop all the supporting information such as certificates, letters of reference et al, in a smart folder for interviews. This shows the prospective employer you are organised. It’s the ground work which usually takes the longest when looking for work but, if you approach it in as organised manner, you can quickly draw from the applications you have already made.

Look for jobs online

Regardless of what sector your ideal job is actually in, it is most likely to be listed online. So, get on the web and start uploading your CV to as many online job sites as you can. One huge advantage is recruiters can search through the database and view your CV, without you having to send to the employers directly. It is possible, using this tool, you may not have to do any searching yourself. But, if you want to find a job in London fast, you need to do as much as you can..

An important thing to remember is, with thousands of online CV’s uploaded each day, your CV will eventually slip to the bottom of the pile, as it were. Therefore, if you want to stay at the top of the list, essentially, you’ll have to make a new application every day. Sound a bit full on? Especially, if you’ve already signed up to loads of jobsites, you’ll know the online form filling can take a long time. That alone could waste hours from your job hunt each day. Well, here’s a crafty trick to make sure your CV stays on top, without wasting time: all you need to do every day, is click edit CV, then click ok. Some sites have a privacy option, in that case, click private then click back to public. Either way, your CV will go back to the top of the pile.

Most jobsites will send you job searches and updates, based on the options you pick when you register. Remember to choose as many options or career types as you can – some site will limit the amount of categories you can select. So, if just want a job, any job, fast, and there is a limit on how many job types or specific industries you can pick, why not create multiple accounts using different emails. Remember, tailor each CV and account specifically. For example, one account is dedicated to bar and service industry work, while another is set aside for admin and PA roles.

Network

If you know the specific career or industry you wish to work in, it is definitely useful to check out any trade shows, job fairs, networking functions and social events. Remember, take some business cards. If you don’t have any business cards, there are many free or super-cheap offers online. Once at the function, you’ll need to play the room – confidence is key. Don’t be afraid to ask if there are any positions available. It would also be advisable to take a few copies of your CV, just in case someone asks to see it. The aim is to is to network, and make friends with, as many managers as you can. These are the power players who hire and fire. If you make an impact, if a position becomes available, you will be the first person they contact. Remember, you are special and you could make a huge impact to any role or company. Why not give your previous employer a call? They may have contacts in London they can recommend you to. It’s worth a go, surely.

Ask everyone, everywhere – where do you work? Are there any positions available? Could I have the email/number of the recruiter? Potentially, every new person you meet, there could also be a job opportunity.

Be prepared to do anything

Many people say it is much easier to get a job when you already have one. If you concentrate on just getting a job, any job, the time your job search will take will be drastically reduced. Searching for a specific field or job title in London may take longer, so you may need to broaden your search. If you truly do not mind about what you do, you could get a job today. That is true. Take anything you can, especially if you have just arrived in London and have an unstable future ahead. If it’s just a small cash injection you need, why not consider casual work, temping or part time work? There are plenty of companies and agencies who look for temporary or casual workers for events and marketing etc. A great place to look for this type of work is Gumtree but beware phishing and money laundering scams. For casual work, it’s worth contacting employment agencies (see below), as they will have plenty of these types of positions available.

Recruitment agencies/consultants

Employment agencies tend to specialise in particular areas. If you have specific career in mind or are looking for a professional role, it is worth researching agencies and consultants who specialise in your field. If you have no Idea, it is worth researching agencies in general. Here’s a directory of London employment agencies Often, employment agencies are the quickest way to find work, especially if you are willing to do anything. The amount of time from contact to contract can be a matter of days – it is the agency that employs you rather than the company.

Go Freelance

Just arrived in London, job hunting a nightmare? Why not use your existing skills to allow you to work for yourself? Becoming freelance/self employed allows you total flexibility and the freedom to fit the work around looking for something more permanent or even a part-time job. Do you have any skills which can make you money? It could be anything from writing, web design, computer assistance or repairs, graphic design, film making/editing, translating, babysitting, ironing, cleaning and so on.
First, you need to register yourself self employed for tax purposes all you need to know is here
The next step is to advertise your services – creating websites, placing adverts in relevant newspapers/magazines posts on sites such as Gumtree are great ways to gain expose for your services. There are also a number of specific sites for freelancers, such as People Per Hour

Use Google

The chances are, you’ve typed in a job search into Google, to see what comes up, am I right? You probably got thousands, if not millions, of results. Google is not a job search engine but you can make it work like one, using simple tricks. For example, if you are looking for ‘office administration’ roles, you’ll type that term into Google and you’ll have to wade through millions of results. Adding the term ‘London’ will produce more relevant results but really, you’ll get results based on literally anything concerning ‘office administration’ in London – you’ll even get people’s social networking pages (if they have their job and location listed). To narrow it down you need to do two things:

“Office Administration” London –use quotation marks around the term ‘office administration.’
Go to advanced search, – it’s in blue, on the right, underneath the search button. Look for ‘Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more’ – also highlighted in blue. Click it and you’ll see a drop down box. Click ‘past week’.

As you are looking employment, you only want the most recent posts. You could also change the date to ‘past 24 hours’. Try it for yourself to see how much it narrows your search. Of course, as previously mentioned, Google is not a job search engine, so you will still get some irrelevant posts, but much less.

Go out looking

Granted, during your job search, you’ll spend quite a lot of time online and on the phone but, depending on the type of job you are looking for, nothing beats actually getting out there. It makes sense – especially if you looking for retail or bar jobs. Similarly, there’s nothing stopping you from picking up the phone and calling employers directly either.

Use social networks

Everything can be done online now, even networking. Yeah, we all know social networking can be a great way to stay in contact with friends and share photos. But did you know you can use them as job hunting tools too? Here are a few tricks to help you use social networking to find a job in London, fast:

Sign up for and create yourself a profile on LinkedIn This, potentially, works in the same way as conventional, face-to-face networking – all of the key recruiters and managers you need to impress, within your industry, will be there. You can also use your existing contacts – any employers, clients or colleagues, to recommend you, which is, basically, a reference. They can also link you to other key individuals. Furthermore, by joining relevant groups and discussions, you will further your chances of finding a job fast.

Many recruiters, managers and key industry players will also have twitter accounts – follow as many as you can. You’ll find out about vacant positions and gain industry specific information that will help you with your job search or interviews. Also, you can use twitter as a job search engine. For example, type ‘London Bar Jobs’ and it will list relevant positions.