Job search is a very time-consuming activity and if you can’t easily find an acceptable job, the whole experience gets very frustrating. Sometimes a good position requires more than you can offer, or you are a perfect match for a position but unfortunately, just right now, the company doesn’t seek people with your qualifications.

When a vacant position is advertised, you can bet that many people will apply. Competition can be fierce and even if you offer a lot, there will always be somebody else who offers more and he or she will be hired. Sometimes when you are a good candidate but you are not hired right now, the employer will keep your resume and will contact you in the future – of course, this will hardly be at a moment when you are searching for a job. In one case a company where I had applied 3.5 years ago contacted me to offer me a position, which quite naturally was of no interest to me because I was already working as a freelancer and couldn’t care less for the offer.

So what can you do? Watch for hiring companies, or just for good companies and when you find one, submit a resume, even if they don’t advertise a vacant position you are a good match for. This is a great approach – I have done it many times and it worked for me amazingly. I have found some of my best jobs exactly that way. When you submit a resume (and you are a good candidate, of course), even if there is no vacant position advertised, you still might be invited to an interview and offered a job. And since you have no competition, this additionally increases your chances to get the job. This approach works greatly especially for mid-size and large companies with hundreds and thousands of employees, where the chance of a vacant position is higher.