How to Get a Job at Apple, Microsoft & Google: Where to Find Vacancies!

With the economic hangover starting to wear off, the technology giants are once again recruiting in earnest. Apple, Google and Microsoft all have vacancies on their websites, and now could be the perfect time to land a job at one of computing's biggest hitters.

FINDING A VACANCY:
The first port of call when casing a job at ITs heavyweights is their websites. All three list available posts online, with options for submitting CVs and cover letters for specific roles.

Microsoft says it generally advertises only full-time posts on its careers site, 'because otherwise we'd be inundated, and there are only so many CVs we can sift through". However, specific roles with rare skills occasionally appear with specialist recruitment agencies. Full-time technical jobs are sourced on-site, through a department nun by recruitment agency Penna Barkers.

Temporary and contract positions are handled by the Brook Street agency, while sales positions are filled through Manpower. In a bid to improve diversity, Microsoft also places roles on special-interest websites, such as women's job sites.

Google, likewise, prefers to hire through its website, but is more likely to post jobs with skills specific recruitment websites. "we want to find the top talent and realize that it isn't always going to come to us, so we're active about getting agencies involved and will use headhunters, especially for more specific roles." said Alison Parn, a recruiter at Google US.

Apple advertises on its website, but uses agencies to identify staff for certain positions - a recent change that's shaking up the company culture, according to one manager, who spoke with a magazine on the promise of anonymity. "We used to find people through people who we knew," said Apple insider. "If we were looking for a systems developer, we'd say 'who do we know in the channel, or at our rivals', and we found people that fitted well with the culture of the company. We're growing so fast now that it isn't always possible, so often we'll go to agencies with a job spec and let them track them down."

The official websites might be the front door, but highflyers are invited round the back - all the giants use headhunters to help them fill specific roles. Increasingly, the big three are also using social-networking sites
such as Linkedin and Facebook when searching for fresh talent. Microsoft, for example, occasionally recruits directly through Linkedin, saving around £5,000 in agency fees each time. "we also have deals in place with Linkedin and Monster, where we can interrogate their databases for a very specific set of keywords to find suitable candidates for posts," said a human resources specialist at the company.

It's therefore imperative that jobseekers, even latent ones, manage their online presence - both by keeping it professional, but also up to date. According to Linkedin's Christina Hoole, users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through Linkedin than subscribers with patchy details".