Gone are the days of walking your resume into an organization, sending your resume via snail mail or sending your resume to a company with a cover letter and fax. Fading away are the days of posting your resume on job boards, as job boards are being flooded with fake resumes. Outdated information and people leaving their profiles online after they find new work make it even tougher for recruiters to navigate. The focus of this article is to provide tips and tricks of how to navigate your career or work search in the digital world. There are no right or wrong answers but when I was thinking out loud about the best information I could provide for you, these are the first five that came to mind.
- Learn how to use LinkedIn. It is the Facebook of work searching and networking. 95% of people in the workforce are on LinkedIn. Keep in contact with former colleagues and keep in touch with them as they move in their careers. Make yourself more visible to recruiters by turning on the “Open to New Opportunities” option to let recruiters know you are interested in hearing about new roles from recruiters.
- Apply to jobs! When potential candidates access a career portal, not everyone completes their application. Completing your application and putting your resume into an applicant tracking system gives the recruiter access to your profile at any time. This also shows them you are serious about looking for new roles because you took the time to apply.
- Attend meet ups and webinars to network. Use social platforms to find out when events are. Register, attend and take notes! Make connections with others in the same field and learn from them.
- Make your profile and resume stand out! Many resumes have the same template and verbiage. Make yours stand out. Show your personality on your resume! Add a little flair with your font. Describe the career path you are looking for on your resume and list examples of relevant past work. If it’s over 10 years ago, it’s probably not relevant. Know your audience and have fun with it!
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Most people are going to try and help you if they can. If they can point you in the right direction they will. This author believes the only bad question is one that goes unasked.
These are the five items that I feel can help you make the quickest impact in improving your presence in the digital world and helping navigate an effective career search. Give them a try and see where it leads you. Hopefully down the path to success.
Want more information?
If you would like to learn more information, please contact us today.