Monthly Archives: May 2013

How to write a job offer 2

This entry was posted in Advice for recruiters, Articles and tagged , , , on by plabram.

It’s commonly said that a recruiting soft spot is writing job offers. All very well and good, but you might find yourself asking where exactly you’re going wrong if the adverts you put together are more hard sell than sell-out.

Luckily for you, JobisJob has the answer. Of the two-sentence key snippets of job description featured on our site, we’ve analysed the most commonly-used vocabulary of the top hundred – those which provoked the greatest amount of users to click on “view more”. These are the conclusions we’ve drawn from the results.

The language of successful job descriptions


These are the forty most frequently-used words of top job adverts. Please note that anything referring to a specific type of job or destination has been removed:

most common words used in job offers

We’ve identified five key features of these results:

Applicants described in exacting terms:

It seems that jobseekers like a challenge. Job offers which include words and phrases such as “experienced”…”with experience”…”able”…”professional” are far more likely to have a higher hit rate. In less successful job offers, the word “experience” also came up, but this was often in the context of “no experience necessary”.

Detailed description of working conditions:

More than anything, the most interesting thing about the terms used to describe the location, hours and duties of the work in hand is the fact that there’s lots of them. This suggests that, even within just a two-sentence snippet, candidates responded best to a detailed description of what was on offer.

Calls to action:

Successful job adverts contained a relatively high percentage of phrases such as “apply now”, “currently recruiting” and “immediate start”, which suggest job seekers respond best to offers which contain some kind of time pressure and can offer opportunities here and now. So if your job offer falls into this category, don’t forget to point it out.

A sense of a team:

People are social animals, and it’s worth bearing in mind that (although these were not as frequent as words describing hours or location), successful job adverts have a couple of words which give some kind of impression of a team scattered around.

Striking descriptions of the company/job:

Successful job adverts don’t just sell standard jobs in Joe Bloggs Co. down the street. They offer national opportunities at leading firms. In particular, an interesting trend seems to be that jobseekers prefer to apply for a position that has some kind of country-wide recognition than posts with a local feel. In less successful job offers, terms such as “UK” and “national” were used with far less frequency. In short, if you can make any kind of claim to being a part of something big or exciting, you should do so.

And finally, it seems the best-written job adverts mind their manners, with “please” being a commonly-used magic word in the top one hundred offers.

Does this match your experience? If not, what conclusions would you draw from this information? Don’t hesitate to write in and let us know what you’re thinking.

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Hiring trends for graduates in the UK (white paper)

This entry was posted in Employment trends, White papers and tagged , , , , , on by plabram.

Looking for graduate work in the UK this summer? The following study, taken from some 50 million job offers in the JobisJob databases, examines the best cities for graduate job offers. And here’s a surprise – London doesn’t come first. You can also download the study for free if you wish.

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How to become: (Big) Data Scientist jobs

This entry was posted in Articles, How to become on by plabram.
Matrix-like graphic representing growth in data engineering job offers

Jobs for data engineers have jumped by 1200% in the last three years.

Which is the best job for chatting up strangers in bars? You might be surprised. According to the Harvard Business Review, the “Sexiest job of the 21st century” is in fact that of the Data Scientist.

Given that in addition average new weekly job offer for “data engineers” have increased by some 1200% between 2009 and 2012, we decided it was time to confer the honour of a place in the JobisJob “How to become” series on this rapidly-growing profession.

How to become a data scientist


Introduction to jobs in data science:

So what are data science jobs all about? The story goes like this. At given point, internet use became widespread, and user statistics and content came pouring out of the machine like sawdust. After some time, however, the notion grew that this by-product provided valuable information about consumer behaviour. In came the data scientists, hired to translate a Matrix-like mishmash of numbers into the type of narrative that the rest of us mere mortals can relate to.

Practical steps to becoming a Data Scientist:

So how does one become a Data Scientist? Well first of all, I’m informed, if you’re relatively new to the field, you’re really better off looking at becoming a Data Engineer, as to become a fully-fledged Data Scientist will require at the least a PhD.

The journey starts with earning your stripes by getting a degree in IT. And then, I’m told, the rest is largely down to you. “Data engineering is still very new”, adds JobisJob CTO Gian Marco, “so it’s still rare to find specialist qualifications. What you can do is teach yourself by using sites such as Cloudera University, where you’ll find certified online courses in key big data principles such as the MapReduce paradigm and Apache Hadoop software.”

The future of jobs in data engineering:

Where is data engineering going? Knowledge, as they say, is power, and power means money. As JobisJob’s resident Big Data specialist Marc Gonzalez points out, “Amazon’s sales jumped by nearly $3 billion after they introduced the very simple idea of recommending products that you might like based on what people who have the same interests have bought”. Knowing how people interact with the world they have created is the perfect way for businesses to be in touch with consumer needs, perhaps before the consumers themselves even realise themselves what those are. “You should start a business to fill a gap in the market. And if we could identify exactly where those gaps in the market are…”. Big data, in short, means big money.

Equally, at a Governmental level, opportunities for big data scientists are only just beginning to be uncovered, as is showed by the two technicians’ lively construction of a future in which every kind of electronic algorithm, from traffic light timings to medical apps used on smartphones, are beneficiaries of a wealth of knowledge about the quirks of humanity.

Why is data science sexy?

So apart from offering a multitude of career possibilities, what’s the best thing about being a data scientist? Gonzalez highlights the profession’s creative side. “When they first explained to me, five years ago before data science really took off, that you could take a machine and a bunch of numbers, and use that to fabricate real-life knowledge, I was sold on the spot”, he says.

He also extols the overwhelming potential of data science to increase human self-consciousness. “From Mayan predictions to Tarot cards, people have always tried to predict the future. The difference was that before there was no real scientific basis for doing so”.

In the human race’s never-ending quest to uncode destiny, then, it seems the computer is a far better tool than the crystal ball.

Latest big data jobs


If you liked this, you might be interested in some of the other articles in the How to become series.

Data science in use – interactive map documenting terrorist attacks in the US since 1970.

Ten top tips for LinkedIn’s tenth birthday

This entry was posted in Articles, CV writing, Social media and tagged , , , , , , on by plabram.

Ten out of ten, perfect ten, power of ten… LinkedIn has just celebrated its tenth birthday, and whatever your feelings towards the professional network, there is no denying that it has changed the face of recruiting and job-hunting forever.

To mark the occasion, the JobisJob experts have compiled our top ten tips for getting the most out of your LinkedIn profile in your job hunt.

LinkedIn profile tips


1. Customise the URL of your profile page
Head to “Settings > Edit your Public Profile”, and you’ll find a box in the RHS marked “Your public profile URL”. Instead of the general mishmash of numbers and letters you’ll find, change this to something sensible, such as your name (you could even put the odd keyword related to your profession in there). This will make it far easier for any professional contacts looking for you to track you down, and looks much better on a business card.

linkedin profile tricks

2. Do not overdo the skills and expertise
This will spread your endorsements more thinly and give the impression that you’re a “jack of all trades”. And besides, do future employers really need to know that you can run the 100 m quite fast? Keep to skills that are relevant and can be proven – about 10 is recommended.

3. Share industry-related information and comment in your status updates
This shows you are a committed professional. It’s said that those who post once a week are nearly ten times more likely to be contacted by recruiters.

4. Build your contacts by joining groups
Here’s a sneaky trick. LinkedIn doesn’t normally let you send invitations to connect to people you don’t know. You can get round this rule, however, by joining a group that your desired target professional contact is also a member of.

LinkedIn pfofile tricks

5. Choose your headline wisely
Next to your name and profile picture is 120 characters of prime LinkedIn real estate. This is the first thing people will see about you, so choose what you say wisely. Try to get inside recruiters’ minds, and include keywords people will be looking for to ensure you show up in search results.

6. Check out other people’s LinkedIn profiles
Taking a cheeky look at the LinkedIn profiles of people who are in the same profession as you (or even the next step up the ladder) is a great trick for sizing up the competition and working out how to beat it.

7. Fill in info about courses you’ve studied
Filling this information in will make it easy for people from your alumni networks to find you. Like that weird kid who from history class who is now head of that important company you want to work for, for example.

8. Analyse your skills
LinkedIn’s profile trend tracking tool allows you to research whether or not the skills you currently list on your profile are in growth or slump, and suggests similar skills you might like to think about listing. Simply type your skill into the “Search Skills and Expertise” box to see what the biggest area of expertise is (“Size”), and which is growing fastest (“Relative Growth”)

More LinkedIn profile tricks...

9. Accepting invites
Although you don’t want to get snowed under with LinkedIn spam or hitch your wagon to any suspicious types, the more invites you accept and more connections you make on LinkedIn, the larger your extended network of opportunities will be. As a result, it’s generally considered good advice to leave the door open. And you can always revert to step ten if things don’t work out…

10. Removing connections
To “unfriend” someone on LinkedIn, go to “Contacts > Connections > Remove Connections” (see below). If this seems a bit extreme, you can always just press the mute button on the status updates of overly-garrulous connections by clicking on “hide” in your initial feed.

Profile tricks

 linkedintips5

  • To find jobs in your LinkedIn network, try using the “My Network” tool on JobisJob.
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How not to follow recruiting rules

This entry was posted in Advice for recruiters, Articles and tagged , , , , , , , on by plabram.

Recruiters – are you bored of standard hiring procedures? Do you find yourself doodling in the margins of CVs? Do you ever wish your interviewees would do something really outrageous, just to make life more interesting?

We’ve tracked down three examples of companies who, without doubt, win a JobisJob gold award for Innovative Recruiting Strategies. But does this kind of practice actually work when it comes to sourcing top talent? Answers in the comments box, please…

Three innovative recruiting techniques


Heineken’s “The Candidate”:

Bored of asking all the same questions and getting all the same answers, Heineken videoed a set of radical interview techniques which included taking employees by the hand, an interviewer who pretended to pass out and a fake fire drill.


“My Marriott Hotel” – innovative HR at Marriott Hotels:

Fancy getting a taste of what it’s like to work in the hospitality industry? Marriott Hotels’ hiring procedure revolves around a highly addictive Facebook game. “My Marriott Hotel” allows users to put themselves in the shoes of a kitchen supervisor, where they are required to cook, manage supplies and serve dishes. The “Do It For Real” button at the top takes you to Marriott’s career’s page.

HR at Marriott Hotels


Hiring pirates, not cowboys, at Ogilvy:

Ahoy there! PR and communications company Ogilvy resorted to lily-livered tactics in order to find their next web designer. They uploaded a call-to-action to apply for their next job opportunity onto various pirate media sites, and named it after a famous design package. Scallywag “Talented Steve” has now been hired to work for Ogilvy, where he can use all the software he likes for free.