Modern Job Search

As a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, I spend countless hours working with people to find employment. This continues in my personal life as I always get stuck in my friends business as they look for jobs themselves. I have learned a few things from all this time spent looking for job openings and I want to start by sharing five things that I believe have changed since our evolution to a digital world.


1.       Every job post listed on a job search website receives a million applicants.*


This might be hyperbole, but nonetheless you better be the exact candidate they are looking for with a pristine application or resume and near the top of the stack if you expect to find a job through these means.


2.       Resumes written off of templates through Microsoft Office will not stand out.


This is the easiest way to produce a resume and is probably 90%* of what Human Resource managers see. A simple web search will provide many different resume formats that are more creative, and will be able to highlight your job and educational experiences more readily.


3.       Companies use scanning devices to quickly weed through resumes, for rejection purposes.


Large companies that usually offer the best salaries, and benefits are also the most competitive for hiring. They have it down to a science where they are able to sift through thousands of applications and resumes quickly, using computers that reject applications for such reasons as poor spelling and grammar, poorly worded descriptions of experience, and lack of job specific buzz words.


4.       Networking is more important than ever, and much easier through social media.


Being on websites such as LinkedIn is vital when searching for a job. Being on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and various other social sites can be helpful, but can also be detrimental. In the age of "googling yourself", every person looking for a job needs to learn to manage their on-line presence.


5.       Staffing agencies are a normal way to find a job.


With the amount of job posting websites and on-line applications, using a staffing agency to get your foot in the door with a company is essential. These companies are paid to place people, and have several companies that use them instead of hiring their own HR staff.


The future of this blog will address these areas as well as many others. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for future posts.


* Statistics not based on any research, and likely overblown.