How to Get a Job: 5 Tips to Navigate a Tough Tech Market

The tech job market is notoriously competitive, and with recent economic challenges, it’s tougher than ever to secure a position, especially for juniors. However, with the right approach, you can increase your chances of landing the job you want. The usual advice is to tailor your CV for every application, have your CV reviewed and to be flexible on what you consider applying for.

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This isn’t that article.

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These are 5 tips or strategies you can employ to help you navigate the current tech landscape and stand out to potential employers.

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1. Your Network Is Your Net Worth

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In today’s job market, who you know can be just as important as what you know. Building and nurturing your professional network is crucial. Reach out to friends and family, I know it may be embarrassing to tell them you need a new job but you’ll be very surprised at who can help, online or offline. Attending industry events, participating in online communities, and engage with platforms like LinkedIn. Reach out to former colleagues, mentors, and even acquaintances—they might have insights or connections that can lead to your next opportunity. Remember, referrals and recommendations often carry more weight than cold applications.

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2. Don’t Just Apply to Live Roles

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It’s easy to get frustrated seeing the 100s of other applications that have already applied for the role before putting your hat in the ring. It’s daunting, it really is, but the fact of the matter is that in a tight talent market you’ll have far more chance than you realise as only somewhere between 5-10% of applicants will be relevant. Coupled with the fact that job adverts are often poorly written, reused, out of date or exhaustive/not entirely representative of the role on offer, it can feel like banging your head against a brick wall.

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This is assuming that we can only really apply to live roles, advertised on the usual platforms or on company websites but how many businesses that have fully fleshed out hiring processes, established recruitment and HR teams and firing on all cylinders?

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There are 1000s of businesses who are swamped in the day to day, stuck firefighting as they are down team members or where large projects are being signed off and headcount is being discussed.

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The hidden job market—positions that aren’t posted publicly—can offer some of the best opportunities. Reach out to companies you’re interested in, even if they don’t have open roles listed. Express your interest and explain how you can add value. Sometimes, companies create positions for candidates who impress them, or they may have roles that haven’t yet been advertised.

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3. Research, Research, Research

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So how do we tap into this hidden job market?

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We’ll if you are in a niche market this is a bit easier but first it starts with introspection, what am I good at? What experience do I have to offer? Not how many years of this or that but let’s say you’ve worked in IT and applications support, specifically supporting payments processing for over 10 years now? Wow! There are 1000s of payment processing companies operating in the UK who would kill for your industry experience in your job role, you might just have to use a bit of brain power to figure out who they are. Maybe you come across them in your day to day, maybe they are a supplier, a vendor, a competitor or maybe it’s a slightly adjacent industry

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I’d start by building a spreadsheet tracking your applications, starting with job boards, google your skillset to give you a start point, track your applications and start building an idea of who your target market or audience is, so you can start to understand who might be interested in what you have to offer (and why) – it may sound like a lot of wasted effort to get one job but guess what, if you ever find yourself in a similar position in future, you’ve already given yourself a massive head start (and if you’d like to put your paranoia to good use you can always update this periodically)

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4. Job Titles Aren’t the Be-All and End-All

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Don’t get hung up on job titles. In tech, roles and responsibilities often vary widely even under the same title, and the perfect role for you might have a title you wouldn’t expect.

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I was recently chatting with a friend about their job search and they felt like they had exhausted applying for roles with their chosen/current job title and while it was appropriate it quickly became apparently there were many industries that were keen to find this experience who didn’t use the same naming conventions.

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Focus on the job description, the team, and the company culture rather than the title itself. Be open to lateral moves or roles that might not sound like a perfect fit on paper but offer the chance to learn new skills or work in a growing area. Flexibility in your career path can lead to unexpected and rewarding opportunities.

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5. Think Outside the Box: How Do You Reach a Hiring Manager?

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So we’ve identified what type of businesses we’d like to work in, if they aren’t advertising for new hires, how do we apply to work with them?

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Securing a job in a competitive market often requires creativity. Don’t just rely on traditional application methods—think about how you can reach hiring managers directly and who those people might be. Typically I see comments online like “boomer advice is to just walk in and ask for job” and typically the response is “it doesn’t work like that anymore” and while how we go about finding new roles is changing, we can’t just walk in to apply for a remote role. Both comments are a somewhat true. Don’t get too hung up on applying for something actively advertised, instead start reaching out directly to hiring managers by sending a LinkedIn message, creating a portfolio website (where appropriate), or sending your CV and/or cover letter to their info@ email address. Hiring managers are often looking for proactive, innovative candidates who go the extra mile to stand out. I once applied for a role (more like suggested I was interested in working with a business) just after university by sending a customer enquiry. Little did I know these went directly to the heads of the business and forwarded to the right people – they called me and offered me an interview which eventually led to a job and a career.

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Navigating a tough tech job market requires more than just sending out applications—it’s about being strategic, persistent, and creative. By leveraging your network, exploring hidden opportunities, doing thorough research, being flexible in your approach, and thinking outside the box, you can improve your chances of landing your next role.

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Stay proactive, stay adaptable, and keep pushing forward, there is a role out there for everyone.

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For more tips or advice on how to navigate your challenges in tech recruitment reach out to me directly or give me a call on 01527 407140 or you can find out a bit more about us here: https://www.sourceco.co.uk/it-recruitment/

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If you are looking for a new role, or just want some advice, get in touch, or send us a message and we’ll be happy to help.

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About the author

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Sam is a technical recruiter and head of the IT division at SourceCo Recruitment with extensive experience in managing end to end recruitment solutions for contract and permanent positions, who can help you get tech roles or find tech staff.

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