How To Find SAP Jobs

Times are tough – Job seekers are everywhere, contracting opportunities are down, permanent openings are on the increase. Although there is still plenty of work out there, companies are a lot more fussy about who they take on. Because of the wobbly economy at the moment, there are a lot more people looking for work. In order to find good work, you need to make yourself visible. Stand out above the rest by making yourself known.

When it comes to finding SAP-related jobs, most people rely on the run-of-the-mill tools like job boards. Some will ask friends and family, and others will have former colleagues “ask around”. But when it comes to finding a new job in the current global economy, it is important to use all the tools at your disposal. This posts perfectly compliments Personal Brands and Your Career.

The following online tools can very effectively help you find a job online. I have listed them in order to indicate, in my experience, the success of using the tool.

1. LinkedIn

Over the last 12-18 months, LinkedIn has been transformed into a professional powerhouse. With over 35 million profiles available, LinkedIn is fast becoming the preferred site for business professionals around the world. Once you have created your own profile on LinkedIn, you can join any number of SAP related groups – from the SAP Community with 26,000 members (and growing) to the SAP Freelancers group with about 5,000 members, there is bound to be a group that suits you best. Make sure to complete your profile – Add a picture, keep your work history up to date, add your education details. The more you add to your profile, the more impressive you look.

Have a look at the following groups to join:

2. Job Boards

In the South African market, it is still very effective to post your CV on multiple job boards. Of course it can become a little frustrating posting the same information over and over for each job board, but it will pay off in the end. Make sure to have a very professionally formatted and up to date CV. The nice thing about local job boards is that you get more personal service – Your information is delivered right into the recruiter’s lap – They don’t have to go looking for you on the web. This means that you will get more individual attention because they know that you are serious about finding a new job. If you haven’t already, register on our job board.

3. Ning

Ning is a predominantly European social network platform – You can create your own social network, targeted at your specific audience. International SAP Projects is an extremely successful social network obviously targeted at SAP consultants. Go join International SAP Projects in order to gain exposure and use their job facilities to find new jobs around the world. Once again, the complete your profile, the more likely you will have recruiters knocking at your door.

A good start once you have registered is to join these groups:

4. Twitter

It is still not known how Twitter will influence the business market in the future, but more and more companies and job seekers are beginning to leverage the power of micro-blogging. At first I thought it was a load of bull. I though – “What is the point of posting one line to the world?”. Why would anyone care? Well I decided to give it a try, and in my experience, it opened up endless potential to build new relationships with other prominent SAP users, and keep up to date on current market trends. Being active on Twitter and following other SAP consultants and companies helps you to know where SAP is going, what the current trends are, what job opportunities are out there, and what areas you should be up-skilling in. As a starting point, have a look at the following and start following!

You can find me on Twitter here.

Twitter realised that a lot of recruiters and job seekers we re using their site to look for jobs or find candidates. That’s when they decided to introduce Twitter Job Search. Using this tool you can search for location specific jobs that have been marketing by recruiters and companies using Twitter.

5. Facebook

Increasingly, Facebook is bridging the gap between our professional and private lives; and it is important to never underestimate the power of your personal network. By clearly identifying your SAP skills in your profile, it will expose this information to the millions of people who use Facebook every day. Of course, there are some specialized SAP-oriented Facebook groups available. Some are closed while others are open. Make sure you join those that align closely with your interests and skills – you may be surprised how many opportunities may present themselves. Some to look at are SAP Consulting South Africa, SAP Positions – South Africa Group, SAP Page, SAP Consultants Group, SAP Network Group, SAP Network (GLOBAL) Group, SAP Group, and a whole lot more – These ones mentioned are just a few of the more popular ones…

6. Xing

Xing is a serious competitor with LinkedIn – but has a much larger user base in Europe (and in particular, Germany). It has similar functionality available, including groups – but may be a more useful network for those who are based in Europe. And while it can take some time building and maintaining your profile on multiple sites, your goal is reaching the right employer in the right location. By doubling up on your profile information you may actually be doubling your chances of a new job.

7. Visual CV

Think of this as a professional lifestream. Visual CV provides a single view of your career achievements in a web interface. You can control the privacy settings, enrich your CV with multimedia, links to websites and social networks/profiles, share your profile via a unique URL and automatically generate a PDF version.