For the past 50 or 60 years, resumes have been the thing to do in putting your name out there for a job. Resumes do serve their purpose; however, with today’s technology, there is so much more out there to take advantage of in order to announce to employers that you are available and ready to work.
I am going to summarize a few tools that might come in handy for you in your job search efforts. Some of them may be right down your line and others may not even be of any interest to you. Go over each of them and see if there is something that might be able to help you get noticed or something that you had not even thought about doing in your job search.
JOB SEARCH TOOLS
The Internet
You can search for jobs anywhere on the Internet by simply going to a search engine (such as Google, Chrome, Safari or Firefox) and entering the type of job you want and the location, for instance, and the Internet will locate the types of jobs you are looking for in the area you want them. You can also look up names of companies and see what they have in their own particular websites to see what job positions are open.
Social Media
Social media is all the buzz right now. You can’t turn the corner on your street without somebody knowing where you are, what you are doing and where you are going, maybe even how you are feeling! But social media can especially be used in working your job search. You can get alerts, make comments, search for jobs, or even re-tweet information. There is so much you can do with social media.
Twitter:
140-character (or less) messages can be sent and received between Twitter registered users. If an employer is on Twitter, you, as a job seeker, can choose to follow them and see all the news for that company as it happens. They can also post jobs and other pertinent information.
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service that can be used by employers to connect with registered interested individuals of jobs that they post. They can also establish and document networks of people they know and trust professionally. It is almost like a business version of Facebook or Twitter.
Facebook:
Facebook was started as an online tool for fellow students to connect and share photos around campus. The idea spread to other colleges and then, it went public. Now, it is not just for friends and family; it also is being used by employers to post jobs and job information. By creating a business page, they can make contact with various registered individuals as this tool offers users a variety of ways to publicly or privately share data. Users can “like” a business page and then be connected to everything that is posted for that particular employer.
You Tube:
This web tool allows users to upload short videos for private or public viewing. This allows job seekers to post a video of themselves for the benefit of an employer seeing it. The only drawback to an employer being able to see it is that everyone else can see it as well — not very secure for this purpose. A job seeker can, however, view company information or data posted on the site for the purpose of filling a position.
There are other social media avenues available and used such as Pinterest, Flickr, Foursquare, Instagram and many, many others. Check them out at your leisure and find out if any of them will work out for you.
Blogs
A blog is a web log that can be created by an employer or even just another person and you can read information relevant to the topic they are discussing. If it is an employer, they will, most likely, be talking about a job or event such as a job fair. If It is simply another person, they could be discussing anything. However, if you research and find job blogs, then, you can read the entries and if you care to, you can post to their blog. You can even register with them so that you can get notifications when new things are posted. You have the option of just reading, responding or joining in the discussion.
Forums
A forum is a communication tool that individuals, schools, companies and employers use to engage with other individuals. Employers can use a forum for posting job information or positions. A forum is used to distribute information with regard to a company position, listing all pertinent data with regard to a particular job or category. I have seen a forum that lists various job categories and the job seeker is able to click on a category and it will take them to various positions within that category. At the end of the forum, there is usually a website or link where you can apply for a particular job or send an e-mail to a certain e-mail address.
E-Mail Notifications
If you register with certain employment websites, you can choose to have e-mail notifications sent to you by a company website. You can manage how you want those notifications to come into your e-mail box. Go to your Settings, click on Notifications and indicate what notifications you would like to receive and where and what you do not want to receive. Employment websites can send you notifications of job openings, closings or job or hiring events, if you are registered with them.
Job Websites
This form of tool is similar to just using the Internet. It simply allows for a job seeker to google or search a company name and be able to select how much or how little information they want to see or read. In this medium, everything you ever wanted to know about a company can be accessed. Job websites give you instructions of how to apply for jobs, the location of the position, telephone numbers with names of individuals posting the jobs or doing the interviewing.
RSS Feeds
An RSS feed is a vehicle for delivery of information. This format is used when news needs to be spread to various other places. When the information is distributed, it is called a feed. Many employers use RSS feeds so that their company information, to include job announcements, can be widespread. You, as a job seeker, can choose to receive partial feeds or full feeds. Partial feeds can include a headline and some content with a link to take you back to the website where you can read the entire story.
A full feed just delivers the entire article to your news reader and you don’t have to go back to the website to gather any of the content. You can receive all the latest news right away without having to do a search on the web. Simply set up your preferences one time and then, the news or content comes straight to your desktop. Your subscription can remain anonymous; you don’t even need to supply an e-mail address. Search the web to find out how to subscribe to a news reader so that you can begin to receive RSS feeds for particular companies.
These are just some of the tools available to job seekers. There are literally thousands of websites, feeds, search engines, employment sites and company sites that can help a job seeker. Take a few minutes and explore the Web for resources you can use. Good Luck in your job search endeavors!