Money Talk Daily

Posts Tagged ‘online job search’

Many people know that sites like Facebook and MySpace are great for keeping in touch with friends. What some do not know is that those same social networking sites can help job seekers in their search for new employment.

Some sites, such as LinkedIn, are geared more towards business use, but even the social networking sites can be valuable assets in a job search. In fact, some companies have even started using the sites as recruitment tools. The benefits to hiring managers are obvious: there is no cost, they can reach people in a certain geographic area and it is easier to find people to fill specialized niche positions.

On sites such as Facebook, users can post a note and write about details of their job search. You can even post a resume in this way. Under the privacy settings you can choose to allow only your friends, friends of friends or everyone to be able to see the note. Doing this has the potential to allow hundreds of people, including many that do not know you but know one of your friends, a chance to see your resume and learn about the type of job you are seeking.

LinkedIn, being that it is business based, offers even more opportunities for job searching. In addition to being able to be linked to people that you know, LinkedIn also allows users to search companies to see if any of your contacts has a contact at that company. If not, users have the option of paying a monthly fee which will allow them to make contact with someone with whom they have no “friends” in common. LinkedIn also allows employers to post job openings, which other users can view.

Twitter can also be helpful in your job search. On Twitter you can search for people who share common career goals or interests. When you follow them and/or they follow you, you may become privy to some job openings that may not yet be posted on any job sites. If you Tweet often about the status of your job search, there is always a chance one of the people following you will see it and send you a lead.

Including social networking sites in your job search is just one more way to help you land the best job for you.

John Goode could not understand why he was not getting so much as a callback in response to any of the resumes he had sent out. He had spent over a month researching companies and sending off professionally written resumes to close to 100 potential employers.

When he finally did get an interview, he was disappointed to learn that, though the hiring manager had been impressed with his experience and skills, they had decided to go with someone else. When he asked the manager for an honest reason as to why he was not selected, the reason she gave took him completely by surprise.
It was because of the information available about him on sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Although John had been out of college for five years, there was still plenty of photographic evidence of his college and current hard partying lifestyle all over the internet. With so many employers including an internet search of potential employees in their hiring process, these photographs had hurt John’s chances of finding employment.

Luckily, it was fairly easy for John to correct this. He simply deleted any questionable photographs and asked his friends to remove any tags about him from their photos. Next, he decided to use networking pages to help, rather than hinder, his job search. After making the privacy settings on his current social networking sites foolproof, he created new sites where he posted snippets about his career goals, some samples of past accomplishments and photos that showcased him as a well-rounded, ethical and likable man.

Making sure that you have a professional online presence is not just a nice idea, it is a necessity. Even though you consider your Facebook or other social networking sites to be only for your friends, if you aren’t careful about privacy settings, then anyone can see your information.

At the beginning of your job search, take time to review all of your pages on any social networking sites to which you belong. Either clean them up, close them down or be sure the privacy settings are foolproof. Also, do an internet search of your name. Look at as many of the hits as possible to be sure there is no negative information about you of which you might not be aware.

There is no way of saying for sure that this is the reason that John had trouble landing a job, but in this competitive job market there is no room for leaving a bad impression with potential employers. Be sure your online presence helps deliver the positive results you are working so hard to achieve.

Sure, the internet has made starting the quest for a new job a bit easier. Still, there are many common mistakes that can hinder your job search. Below are five mistakes that many people make.

1. Wasting Everybody’s Time

If the position requires 10+ years experience and you are fresh out of college, then don’t bother applying. It wastes your time, and the time of the hiring manager who has to wade through the resumes of under qualified people in order to find the ones who meet the criteria included in the job listing. Instead, be sure to read the listing carefully and then only apply for jobs for which you qualify.

2. Not Paying Attention to Privacy Settings

Your current employer may be looking to hire a few more people. Suppose that while your boss is perusing the resumes on some job search sites, he comes across yours. It’s hard to imagine a situation in which this could be positive. Be sure to carefully check the privacy settings so that neither you – or your boss – encounter any unpleasant surprises.

3. Searching While at Work

While it may be tempting to spend half of your workday cruising around job search sites and shooting your resume off here and there, here is a word of advice: Don’t. First of all, it’s unethical. Your current employer is not paying you to look for another job. Spending your on-the-clock time that way is akin to stealing from the company. Aside from being unethical, you stand a pretty good chance of getting caught. More and more companies have installed software that allows them to track the internet usage and email activity of employees. Some are enabled with automatic keyword searches that bring any activity containing certain words to the attention of management. You don’t want to lose your current employment without having found your next job. Save your job searching for your off hours.

4. No Follow Up

As mentioned earlier, the internet has, in some ways, made searching for a job simpler. That does not mean, however, that you can just post your resume on a few sites and forget it. Conducting a successful job search takes a lot of work. You’ve to follow through, make phone calls, send letters, do research. Make finding a job your job. Very few people will land a job without diligently following through on leads.

5. Presenting an Unprofessional Presence

Websites such as VisualCV.com make it easier than ever to post professional looking resumes. You even have the option of including photos, videos, charts and graphs. While those tools can be positive, just be sure to keep in professional. This is a job search, not a creative video making contest. Too much extra stuff could possibly turn off the hiring manager. Keep it professional and increase your chances of getting an interview.

By working to avoid these five common mistakes, you can increase your chances of landing a job in a shorter amount of time. Happy hunting.

Another in a series of articles on How to Conduct a Successful Online Job Search from www.com

There is no magic that will help an online job search be successful. Just like anything else, consistency and diligence usually pay off. Knowing how to get started on your job search can give you a leg up on the competition. Here are five quick tips to help you get started in the quest for your dream job.

1. Clean Up Your Act

More and more employers are taking advantage of the internet to do a sort of preliminary background check on potential employees. Any questionable photos or postings on social networking sites can quickly nix your chances of landing a job. Before starting your search, be sure that your online presence is professional and will not give any hiring manager a moment’s pause.

2. Know What You Want

Knowing exactly what you want in terms of type of job, location and salary will help you narrow your search and prevent a lot of wasted time for both you and the hiring manager. Research each company you may be interested in to learn about the corporate culture, benefits, room for upward mobility and other factors and then only apply at the companies at which you feel you’d be a good fit. Sending out a blanket of resumes to every company you can think of is not always the best way to begin your search. Start by figuring out what you want, and then find the employers that can meet your expectations.

3. Spread it Around

While sending your resume to every employer within a 100 mile radius is not a good idea, neither is concentrating all of your efforts on just one career development website. While some companies may use several, others will only pay for the services of one or two. For this reason it is important to both check the listings and make your resume available on several career websites.

4. Know Your Stuff

When you do find an employer with which you feel you would be a good match, do as much research as possible. This is especially important when you land an interview. Don’t walk into that interview asking questions that could easily be answered by doing a bit of internet research. This will make you look unprepared and, perhaps, even uninterested. Show the hiring manager that you mean business. Let her know that you have done your homework. For example, explain how your values match the values of the company or talk about how you could have been an asset on a recent major project that the company took on. Find creative ways to weave your knowledge of the company into casual conversation during the interview. This will let the interviewer see how serious you are, and is likely to leave a lasting impression.

5. Follow Through

Lastly, don’t just send out a bunch of resumes and wait for opportunity to come knocking. It doesn’t always work that way. Instead, be diligent about follow up phone calls and letters. If you land the interview, send a note a day or two ahead expressing how you are looking forward to the opportunity. After, be sure to send a thank you note. Even if you don’t land the job, see if the hiring manager would be willing to give you a few pointers about areas in which you may have been weak.
These five tips will help you get started on what will hopefully be a very successful – and short – job search.