Understand how online job hunting works

A glance over the thousands of vacancies on salestarget.co.uk shows the fantastic range of sales jobs available. They cover all industries and job levels from first-line telephone sales staff to senior sales director positions.

Whatever the job, most recruiters are looking for the same skills and attitudes when they hire sales professionals. They want people who are hungry for success and get a buzz from closing the deal. But they also want employees who are commercially aware, have the confidence to build relationships from scratch and who can articulate a value proposition. When it comes to recruiting managers they want individuals who can inspire a team to exceed targets, and develop new and existing markets.

Job hunting is effectively a sales operation you are selling yourself. So this is the time when your skills need to be honed to perfection. However the speed with which online recruitment is changing means that even the most experienced job hunters could be taken unawares. Here we have detailed the practices and processes you can expect to come up against when you look online for jobs.

Finding your job
A few of the bigger brands can rely on their fame to attract jobseekers to their corporate careers site. But the vast majority of e-recruitment is via job boards such as salestarget.co.uk which offers a range of jobseeker services. You can make yourself available to recruiters by building a personal profile and registering your CV. You can sign up for Jobs by Email to receive alerts of the latest jobs that match your profile. Or you can search for jobs by industry, location, salary and keyword. Serious jobseekers will use all these services.

Upload your CV
Once you have hit the apply now button you will probably be taken to an application page which will invite you to register a CV if you havent done so already. Have one ready. If necessary tailor it to the specific job for which you are applying. If you are applying through salestarget.co.uk you will also have the option to complete a covering message. Its another selling opportunity so make the most of it.

Fill in the application form
You might be asked to complete a short personal profile form in addition to uploading your CV. Online forms enable the business to store your data on their system in a way that is easy for recruiters to retrieve. Alternatively some businesses have developed their own online application forms which they prefer candidates to fill in. In some cases the apply now button will direct you straight to it.

Killer questions
To cut back on the number of inappropriate applications, e-recruiters are asking jobseekers to complete what are called killer questions before allowing them to complete their online application

It works in jobseekers favour too as it discourages them from wasting time on applications that cannot possibly succeed. While you are only expected to give yes or no answers at this point, the recruiter will expect further proof later in the process.

There are usually only three or four questions. Some will apply to every vacancy the business wants to fill but others will be specific to sales. Killer questions you might be asked to complete include:

• Have you worked in field/telephone sales before?
• Do you have experience managing a team?
• Which of the following industries have you worked in?
• Do you have a current driving licence?
• Are you eligible to work in the UK?
• Do you have any unspent convictions?

Thank you for your application
An online application will almost always initiate a swift response so that you know your application has been received safely. Youll probably receive an automated e-mail thanking you and setting out what will happen next. If you do not receive an automatic response with 48 hours, follow up your application with a phone call.

Invitation to complete online tests
Personality and ability testing has increased hugely as a result of online recruitment and its no longer used only for recruiting managers and graduates. For example, organisations recruiting several sales people at once or recruiting high turnover jobs such as telephone sales, have also introduced short personality questionnaires. Only candidates who perform well will be invited to interview.

Invitation to interview
Recruitment, like all sales, is a relationships business and no one has yet managed to automate the final stage of selection the interview. However, its much more sophisticated than it used to be and may well involve assessment exercises such as personality testing, role play or presentations.

Job offer
Good e-recruiters will keep in touch with you throughout the process, e-mailing you with feedback at each stage. The job offer may also come via e-mail, however, recruiters tend to combine this with more traditional communication methods such as a phone call and a letter through the post. Expect to reply in kind.