reed.co.uk

reed.co.uk is a great online agency web site that offers thousands of jobs in hundreds of sectors. The site has well over forty thousand recruiters so there is no drought of vacancies. The web site is well designed and very professional
and the features of the web site are amazing and I've covered them in more detail later on in this review. I have covered my experience with reed, what I have found, and what my future with them will be.
.../> I first came across reed.co.uk when I was using a search engine to find agencies that offered Information and Communication Technology jobs in the London area. It was one of the highest ranked results in the search engine, but I
hadn't heard of them before. I had joined other agencies on the Internet and I was in the 'I want a new job mode' and decided that I would set aside some hours to join some agencies and complete everything to the ... more

reed.co.uk is a great online agency web site that offers thousands of jobs in hundreds of sectors. The site has well over forty thousand recruiters so there is no drought of vacancies. The web site is well designed and very professional
and the features of the web site are amazing and I've covered them in more detail later on in this review. I have covered my experience with reed, what I have found, and what my future with them will be.

My Experience with reed.co.uk
***********************************

-- First Contact --

I first came across reed.co.uk when I was using a search engine to find agencies that offered Information and Communication Technology jobs in the London area. It was one of the highest ranked results in the search engine, but I
hadn't heard of them before. I had joined other agencies on the Internet and I was in the 'I want a new job mode' and decided that I would set aside some hours to join some agencies and complete everything to the best that it could be.

-- Why did I join --

I noticed that one of the sections on offer at reed.co.uk was information technology, so I decided to join. The vacancy statistics looked great and I thought I would have no trouble finding a job with this company. There was a simple apply for a job system, that once you had completed your profile with everything that goes
on to a CV, you can click a button and apply for the job, seeing that this was really easy to do, made me want to join even more.

-- Jobs --

There are loads of jobs and you are sure to find something that is in your field. In the I.T. field there are plenty of jobs that I am looking for, which is very good. All jobs come with a description and any extra information that you
might need in applying for a job.

-- Signing Up --

The signing up process for agencies can be a lengthy task, and with reed.co.uk it is pretty long, but things have been sped up with the option to fill in job experience, qualifications etc by uploading your CV. The web site reads and
applies all the relevant information from it. This was excellent! Of course some minor adjustments are needed but it is all quick and easy to do. Once you have completed joining, and you have logged in (all the necessary links are on the homepage for signing in) you have your own personal start page that consists of?

Quick Search
Other Search Options
Saved Searches
Featured Sectors

I have covered these in more detail in the 'the web site. reed.co.uk' section of this review.

-- E-mail --

You are sent jobs weekly (or whenever you wish to receive e-mail) with jobs that match your criteria. This is a great feature if you want to be notified straight away of any new opportunities, and be one of the first to apply for a certain job.

--Different Job Sectors --

Here is a list of the different job sectors to help you out if you want to complete the sign up process.

Accountancy
Accountancy (Qualified)
Admin and Secretarial
Banking
Building and Construction
Customer Service
Education
Engineering
Financial Services
General Insurance
Graduate Roles
Health and Medicare
Hospitality and Catering
HR and Training
I.T.
I.T. Contractor
Legal
Management and Executive
Manufacturing
Marketing and P.R.
Multilingual
Pharmaceuticals
Public Sector
Recruitment Consultancy
Retail
Sales
Scientific
Social Care
Temporary Work
Transport and Logistics

These categories then go into sub sections. I am part of the I.T. sector so my own personal account page opens up on the sub categories that involve this area, it would be the same for you for your section. I have explained and reviewed more of the account options in the next area of my review. There is something for
everyone!

The Web Site, reed.co.uk
****************************

Here is the part of my review that covers the reed.co.uk web site as a web site, for example the navigation, design and ease of use.

-- Design --

I love the design, the colour scheme is blue, white and cream and fits together brilliantly. There is a main header graphic, and the page is split into two columns. Your search options are on the left and all content information is to
the right. Everything is laid out neatly and clearly and the mixes of yellow bulleted points and blue text make navigating the site easier.

--Menu --

The main links when you first visit the site are to the top right of the screen under the header graphic in grey text. It is pretty small and doesn't stand out as well as some of the other links (but then again, I have my Microsoft Internet Explorer font set to smaller!). From this collection of eight links there are options to go to the homepage,
sign in, register, sectors, career tests, contact, employee services and help.

-- Navigation and Browsing --

Navigation is really easy, everything is nice and clear. It's a simple click and go to next section navigation, once you are in your next section you find your next link etc. It is very, very easy!

-- Searching --

The search on this web site is excellent, before you sign up the quick search on offer to you includes keywords that you enter to match the jobs you are looking for, the job sector, town and county and the distance from! Your expected min or max pay per year, plus you can narrow the search to contract, temporary, permanent or
part time work.

When you have created an account you can have a saved search for quick and easy reference to the jobs that you want! It saves a lot of time and repetitive actions.

-- Help Files --

The help files are very clear and precise and can easily be navigated to find the information you want!

-- Account Options --

View Recommended jobs; excellent feature that shows the shows the jobs that would suit your skills, qualifications and experience.

View Application History; this is an excellent feature for looking back at jobs you have applied for.

Attach a new CV; if you're CV changes you are able to upload a new one so that all your information is up to date.

Update your sign in details; this is your average change password section.

Update your job-related skills; this is a link where you can change your job searching criteria.

Update your contact preferences; this is your average personal information page where
you can alter data so that everything is up to date.

-- Other Features, worth a mention --

If you want to change the type of job that you want, there is a feature where you can swap your chosen sector, which can be useful in searching for a wider range of jobs.

There is also a salary calculator that can help in finding out what money you should expect for your role and the area that the job is based, very useful and worth using!

There is an option to download the jobs of the day that meet your criteria that can be useful if you haven't the time to go through on the web site, or your not allowed! So that you can check them at a later date so you don't miss out on
that dream job!

You can also recommend a friend to reed.co.uk, so that they can have the same great resource at their fingertips.

There is a section on your account page that takes you to recruiter profiles so that you can read up on recruiters that use reed.co.uk for filling vacancies.

Conclusion
**************

I've applied for some jobs, but I've had no offers or interviews yet, making me think that joining an agency and actually talking to them about your needs and requirements will have a much better
outcome. I've joined and agency and I had a job offer almost every day. It's a great resource for jobs and reed covers every possible sector there is, but the personal face to face care isn't there. It is another job searching web site.

This website if very professional and I am very pleased that I have joined. If only I had found it earlier. The advanced searching features are great and are sure to find something every time. It is easy to navigate and apply for jobs that
this is truly a job seekers heaven!

It says that reed.co.uk has to chance to personally look at your C.V. but I don't believe that they do! To find a job with an agency the best thing to do is to go to the agency in person and discuss what is best for you, this way you can call them and they can call you with job offers. My dad recently joined an agency in the Engineering field and was offered around eight jobs a week, which is impressive. He chose (Yeah, he ended up choosing which job he wanted!) a job and started within two weeks of joining. This shows that if you are deadly serious
about finding a job, speaking to an agency will probably be best. Being an 'keep my options open' person, I use the web site on the off chance of finding a job that interests me.

An excellent resource for job hunters! It's unbelievably popular with seekers and recruiters.

 

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