by: Tomer Harel
The recent economic slowdown has caused many job seekers in the UK and all over the world to live out their greatest nightmare – being unemployed. Companies are hitching up their trousers in a concerted effort to battle the economy by scaling down new projects, limiting expansion altogether, and downsizing. Lots of downsizing. These companies are not looking for new employees – in fact they’re firing the ones they already have.
So, does this mean that you can’t find a job in the UK? Actually, it doesn’t. Make no mistake, it is more difficult to find those jobs during the recession, and the poor, downtrodden job seeker needs to bust some moves to sparkle in a horde of other job seekers. The true laws that govern the market are that qualified candidates with smarts and drive are always needed, somewhere. Compensation may not be as high as it was before the recession, but there are well paying jobs out there. In fact, there are many jobs.
No matter how much a company downsizes, how much money they try to save by shutting down R&D, halting expensive Marketing plans, and chucking out PR altogether, there is one department that must soldier on and carry everyone else on their shoulders – the Sales team. One thing that makes it possible for a company to avoid going under during a recession is concentrating their efforts on the sales of the products already in existence. The edge that product oriented companies have is the products already out there in the market, and since the entire Western World, the UK included, is trying to revive the economy by providing consumer incentives, selling these products is beyond important.
This is where great salespeople come in. Whether the sales are done over the phone, personally, or on the corporate level, companies need people with great people skills and that sales sixth sense to close their deals for them. Sales jobs are abundant, and perhaps unlike any other business field, the market for jobs continues to grow, and contains something for everyone – home based, office based, traveling, or tele-sales. The job seeker can be a fresh graduate looking for his first job or a stay at home mum trying to earn a few extra quid each month.
So how does the job hunter sniff out these jobs? There are more than a few possibilities for those who have that sales bug. Searching web portals that list UK jobs, such as ukjobsnet.co.uk or Jobsite UK is always a good idea. It is possible to search by category and search for sales jobs, and there are hundreds out there. Browsing print ads for jobs in the job seekers local paper is also a must. Some companies haven’t quite caught on to the whole Internet thing, and some gems can still be found in newspapers. Working with a recruiting agency as as Top Employers can be extremely productive as far as time and effort go. They often specialize in a particular field, such as Sales and Marketing, or Graduate jobs.
Recruitment agencies that offer UK based Sales Jobs usually have thousands of clients searching for great salespeople to join their team. And if the job seeker is a new graduate, there are graduate level sales jobs out there as well. Being fresh out of University is not necessarily a draw-back in the Sales field. Companies often prefer to train their employees in their own sales methods. Some companies prefer that their sales people have no previous experience in a different method of sales, and would rather hire a new graduate and train him from scratch.
Do not despair; The recession has not caused sales jobs to go extinct like the dinosaurs. With a little effort, it is still possible to find that great sales job anywhere in the UK, even if you’re just a graduate. After all, being able to sell during a recession is something that can be honed during this difficult time, and is the mark of a true sales person.
Worried about finding a sales job during the recession? Looking for a start with a graduate sales job? Visit Top Employers, specializing in Graduate Jobs all over the UK.