5 Quick Ways to Save Time in Your Job Search

5 Quick Ways to Save Time in Your Job Search There’s no denying searching for a job these days is trickier than it used to be. A decade ago if you wanted a job you’d go into your local job centre, have a look in the local newspaper or ask around your network of friends and family â€" these days the picture is very different. In 2013, 95% of job searches involve the internet in some form or another and finding a job is much more complicated than just keeping an eye on your local newspaper. In fact, it’s fair to say that thanks to the digital revolution, there are now more sources for job vacancies than ever before. Job boards, direct employer career sites, recruiter sites, job search engines/aggregators â€" you name it, they all advertise thousands of jobs on a daily basis, and not just for positions in the UK but from around the world too. With so many sources, searching for jobs these days can feel like a full-time job in itself but there are a few shortcuts available which allow you to keep up to date with the latest jobs without giving up 100% of your free time. 1) Social Media From sourcing candidates to broadcasting vacancies, social media is now an integral part of any employer’s recruitment process so it’s essential you’re connected too. Look at the recruiters, brands and any specialist career websites and job boards operating in your niche and be sure to follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+. But simply connecting with them isn’t enough. Why? Because unless you’re connected 24/7 there’s still a chance you’re going to miss out â€" you never know, the tweet they send out the second you log out could hold the details of your perfect job. To make sure you stay on top of all their tweets, create specific recruiter/job board/careers lists within the businesses you’re following and be sure to check it at the end of each day or every couple of days to ensure you don’t miss out. 2) Set Up Job Email Alerts If you’re not a fan of social media it’s a good idea to set up job email alerts from your favourite job board. Just tell them what kind of job you’re looking for and where and they’ll send an email directly to your inbox as soon as any vacancies appear that match your criteria. Don’t panic if you’re not entirely sure what you want your next job to be â€" just set up a few different job alerts from a few different sources to keep your options open. Once you’ve set your email alerts up, you can sit back and relax, knowing the most relevant vacancies will be sent straight to your inbox â€" this means you can spend less time searching and more time doing the things you actually want to do! 3) Set Up A Job Seeker Account Setting up a job seeker account can be a bit of a hassle but once it’s done, it’s done â€" and you can apply for any of the jobs featured on the site. Not only that but you’ll also automatically be sent weekly or monthly newsletters from the site in question which will normally highlight some of the most exciting vacancies that match your specific job search criteria. 4) Sign Up for Google Alerts If you’re a business it makes sense to sign up for Google Alerts but have you ever thought about signing up for Google Alerts for your job search? The idea’s simple â€" just sign up for Alerts for your chosen key phrases like “online marketing jobs” or “Apple Store jobs” and let Google do the hard work for you. Every time your specified phrase gets mentioned in a blog or news item, you’ll get the link sent straight to your inbox â€" and you can go from there. Granted, some of the Alerts you’ll received might not be of any use to you and might not necessarily relate to the jobs you’re actually searching for â€" but Google Alerts can be a good tool for keeping up to date with the market. 5) Use Job Search Engines Wouldn’t it be great if there was just one site where you could find the best jobs from all sources â€" direct employers, recruiters, job boards? There is â€" and they’re called job search engineers/aggregators. Sites like Indeed collect vacancies from across the web and converge them all on one site â€" this makes them your one-stop-shop for new jobs across a wide range of industries and makes them an increasingly important tool in job search strategy. Just like job boards, with job search aggregators, you can also sign up for job email alerts for a number of key phrases and locations to ensure you never miss out on a vacancy â€" and, rather than having to create yet another job seeker account, they simply redirect you to the site the job was originally posted on so you can apply directly via the employer/recruiter/job board. Author: Amy Edwards is an SEO Manager for the niche online jobs board Bubble Jobs that specialises in advertising the latest digital, online, eCommerce, online marketing and web design and development vacancies from across the UK. Follow Amy on Twitter: @amy_edwards88.

Resume Writing Advantages

Resume Writing AdvantagesWhen I was writing my resume's, I was often amazed at the resume writing advantages that employers were showing me. The key to it was simple, the advantage of it being easy to use for me, and I realized that it could be used by anyone. Let's look at a few resume writing advantages.Number one advantage is the fact that your resume is your resume. When you're done with it, you get to show your expertise. You are saying, 'Hey I know this field, and I have expertise in this field.' Anyone who has had a resume written can tell you, that is an effective sales tactic, and can help you with your job search.Another common practice is the use of bullets. This allows the reader to skim and see the details of the information. It will take longer for them to read a long list of things. You can also get the reader to compare your information to others. For example if you have written your resume, under an area of expertise, say service, the bullet points will show you that you have similarities with other people.In this world where we go to school and college, there is going to be a major consideration in getting a job. They want someone who knows what they are doing. For this reason, having a person who is well versed in their field, can stand out from the crowd.Another example of resume writing advantages is using numbered sections, that make the information easier to review. You can easily see the importance of the job you are trying to get. You can put it all together, like a structure, when you are talking about your expertise, and other points of view. When you are finished, you can now focus on the positive aspects of your qualifications.A good resume is going to be tailored to the position you are trying to fill. The information should be specific to the job, but not so specific that it makes the person unable to perform. It should also highlight the best of the skills of the candidate, as well as the areas in which the job will most benefit them.One last example of resume writing advantages is the use of something in your resume that will make your application stand out. Many companies do not use a standard format when it comes to their resumes. For this reason, and because many of them do not want to miss an opportunity to hire someone, they use various 'catch phrases' in order to bring the attention to the certain sections of the application.Using these resume writing advantages can make your resume stand out, and get you the interview you need. It does not take a huge amount of time, but it does take a little research. Start looking for other people who are applying for the same job and use what they are telling you to help build your resume.

Why Robots Can Never Replace Real Recruiters

Why Robots Can Never Replace Real Recruiters With the wonderful World Wide Web turning 25 recently,  its only natural to reflect back on how it has touched almost every part of our daily lives. The technology has helped develop new business models worldwide and changed our economies forever. It’s predicted that by 2020 most skilled professionals career paths will be disrupted by smart machine technology, which is capable of ‘absorbing millions of middle-class jobs’. Technologies such as intelligent personal assistants, smart advisers and advanced global industrial systems are paving the way for automation to replace knowledge workers who once performed certain tasks. Technology is equipped (or very soon will be!) to make executive decisions; decide our safety with transport automation in cars and planes and of course what happens to our jobs. Technology is enhancing our lives in more complex and exciting ways, it can be given a name, personality and even make us fall in love with them if the movie  â€˜Her’  is anything to go by! IBM: Take IBM’s Watson computer system. It is transforming how organizations think, act, and operate in the future. With the ability to understand and offer personalised consumer questions, this technology is already capable of completely replacing humans in the banking, finance and healthcare sectors. There is no doubt that technology is changing our careers forever, not only that, it is changing how we look for our next career with technology advancements already impacting the recruitment market. Smartphones are so widely available that the rise of mobile job searching was inevitable. Job seekers have the convenience of searching for and applying for jobs right from the palm of their hands, especially with the array of specifically designed apps. Job boards have already or will very soon redesign their strategies to incorporate mobile. Jobserve was the internets first job board and their mobile website received over 500,000 mobile job applications in the second half of 2013. Social Media has played a large part in this shift also, it is at an all time high with 93% of UK companies using some form of Social Media for recruiting, with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Pinterest among the favourites. Although highly convenient and seemingly easy, job searching on devices which are generally glued to our hands is in fact a double edged sword. The things which differentiate candidates and set them apart from the rest cannot possibly be conveyed in application which has taken literally 10 seconds  to complete, where little time has been taken to personalise the CV to the role in question or write a compelling and relevant cover letter because the person was on the move whilst submitting it. The importance of these things in an application is paramount. What our clients look for is a candidate to enhance their business, someone who fits the culture in their company, with not just the right qualifications and technical skill but with personality and soft skills. Recruiters: And this is where recruiters add real value. Despite the rise in technology and the prediction that computers will replace people in the jobs market what we have found is our clients still value skills such as product design, consultancy, communication and problem solving. Very often the driving factor behind success is the lesser tangible qualities, personality, passion and creative spark that thrives from us being the individuals that we are. Technology will never be able to get to know someone and make recommendations the way a recruiter can. By working with candidates, recruiters provide feedback, get to know candidates and assess which role which would be ideal not only for their skills but also their personalities. The problem with job boards and social media recruitment is the restricted pool of candidates, they are limited to just those who have actually registered on those websites. What about those who haven’t? Recruiters networks extend much further than job boards and social media, the ability to reach candidates who may not have been actively looking but waiting for the right opportunity to find them, again not something a computer can do for you. The much talked about  War for Talent  is still ongoing for software engineers in the UK. Firms up and down the country are battling for these highly skilled individuals who are like gold dust in the current market. Interestingly  a recent survey  revealed who it is they value most to find their next career opportunity â€" recruiters. A massive 81% of software engineers surveyed said they value the transparency of recruiters, those who will tell them the pro’s and cons of companies. The majority (70%) also said that this is how they hear about new opportunities. Not online job boards, not mobile apps but when recruiters go to the effort to research the candidate’s history and reach out to them about potential opportunities suitable to them. Recruiters are in the unique position to get to know the candidate and the client and make recommendations based on what would be best on both their personal and professional levels. Any good recruiter builds a relationship with their client, gets to know their business and assesses candidate’s personality and skills against this. Technology may impact the job market in many ways but that human face to face interaction, building of trust, personal recommendations, shared experiences, and transparency is something I don’t believe technology can ever replace. Author: Anndeep Sandhu is Marketing Executive for enigmapeople.com.