A Self-Help Guide to Job Searching

For Whom Is This Book?

This book is for those who have been dismissed or made redundant, for those who have moved to another country or switched to a new working format, for those who have decided to change their profession, industry, or embark on the path of self-realisation. It is for anyone who has chosen – or has been forced – to change something in their professional life.

Here Begin the Dreams

I have two professional dreams.

The first is to teach those who are changing jobs what exactly needs to be done for an effective search. This is the very purpose of this guide.

The second dream concerns the culture of interviewing. I would like to help both beginner and even experienced recruiters raise the quality of selection – to turn an interview into a real conversation rather than a rigid evaluation exercise.

I am convinced that everyone is capable of mastering the approaches to job searching. Of course, there are complex cases – a radical career shift, age-related challenges, or a complete absence of relevant experience. In such instances, individual help may well be required.

But in most cases, you can manage everything yourself. This guide, together with a set of checklists, will help you take a fresh look at yourself as a candidate.

Who Am I?

I have been in recruitment since 2002. I began back in the days when CVs were sent by fax and stored in enormous folders on office shelves. Now it is 2025, and chatbots for screening applications are commonplace, while in high-volume recruitment, artificial intelligence not only sorts CVs but even calls candidates.

Over these years I have worked both on the agency side (large international networks and smaller firms) and in HR departments of major companies in a range of industries – consultancy, audit, retail, investment funds, oil production, and the automotive business.

I myself have been made redundant, I have had to dismiss my own employees as well as staff from other departments, I have raced both upwards and downwards on the career ladder, and even tried running my own business with a partner.

This experience allows me to view the process of job searching from all possible angles.

The end goal of every participant in recruitment is the same – to fill a vacancy quickly and effectively – but the interim tasks differ. An agency recruiter works at the crossroads: to help a company find the right candidate, and to help a good candidate “sell themselves” on the job market. The role of an in-house HR professional is narrower: their aim is not to “save the world” or assist candidates in finding their calling, but to close a vacancy in the business they serve.

Of course, I have also been on the candidate’s side. I found my very first job and profession almost by accident. My parents had heard of a new phenomenon at the time – recruitment agencies (in 2002, a concept still unfamiliar to many) – and I sent my CV to a few recommended agencies.

That CV was a perfect example of how not to write one: a bare note stating I was a graduate of Bauman Technical University and that during my studies I had worked part-time teaching speed reading.

By some miracle, my CV was picked out from a stack of folders for a role as a technical recruiter (not even an assistant!). To this day it remains a mystery – perhaps my technical degree helped, or perhaps the woman whose job I was to take was urgently seeking her own replacement.

My very first interview was unforgettable – it was with a service engineer at Tetra Pak. I began the interview together with a colleague who was my mentor, but within minutes she received a phone call and left me alone. Somehow I managed the conversation. Amazingly, the candidate was hired – and my very first interview ended with my very first successful placement.

Equally unforgettable were the interviews I conducted with Heads of Security – a role I often recruited for. To be honest, it was never I who led those meetings: they were the ones interviewing me.

Favourite Candidate Stories

Some of my most cherished memories are of candidates who made radical life changes.

One was a young airline steward who, due to health reasons, was grounded. He felt lost and depressed. Together we spent much time reflecting on his goals, skills, and interests. Eventually I managed to “sell” his CV to a logistics company, arguing that he had deep knowledge of air freight and the industry from the inside.

Another case was a Head of Security role I was filling for a cosmetics company. I presented a candidate with a classic background – a former officer who had recently retired. He was offered a position, but not the one we expected. Instead of becoming Head of Security, the company hired him as a Key Account Manager for cosmetics. He was stunned – as was I – since cosmetics had never interested him. Yet he embraced the unexpected opportunity, found joy in the new profession, and thrived for years to come.

Another story comes from my in-house HR work for a large company. A colleague casually met me, perhaps at a training session, and over coffee shared his wish to move to the central office in Moscow and compete for a managerial vacancy. His chances were practically nil – neither his personality (“the chemistry”, as we say) nor his skills matched. Yet he did not take offence, which many colleagues would. Instead, we explored further and discovered his passion for motorbikes. From this we found him a different role within the company, one much more suited to his interests. He later moved on to the company’s headquarters abroad and was very happy in his new role.

There are many such stories. Each is unique and valuable in its own way. Sometimes a simple conversation with a recruiter can spark a new path, one that shapes years to come.

The Candidate’s Path: The Beginning

You must begin with your goal. Ask yourself honestly: what exactly do you want from your work?

What sort of offer would you immediately accept without hesitation? What does your “dream offer” look like? Surprisingly few candidates can answer this straight away.

Try to phrase it in a few words: which offer would give you that sense of joyful anticipation and readiness to dive into the work?

That is our first starting point – the vector, the direction of travel.

The second point is the reverse. Picture yourself at one hundred years old, looking back on your professional journey. What would make you think: It was all worthwhile. I did everything I wanted to do.

What must still happen in your career for you to feel this way?

Starting from the Start

Now take your CV, set it aside, and create it again from scratch. Yes, indeed – start all over again.

Why? Because by doing so you re-prioritise your experience and competencies according to your current strengths and interests. Some things will naturally fall away, others you will recall and add.

It is a wonderful exercise for structuring your thoughts on “Who am I?” and “What am I seeking?”.

If your mind goes blank and you cannot decide what to write, begin by studying open vacancies. Select five roles that appeal to you and seem realistic. Review their requirements and reflect on what you lack and what you have in abundance.