It’s no secret having an online presence in the digital age is highly recommended if you’re looking for a job. While finding your dream job online can seem impersonal and outside of your control, fortunately it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s how to take control of your digital job hunt and make the web work for you.
#1 Post your resume online
It may sound obvious, but you need to start with the basics. If you’re not on the web – search technologies can’t find you. Most recruiters search online resumes as the first step in their recruitment campaign, well before they even think of advertising. Just establishing a net presence isn’t enough. You’ll need to keep tweaking your profile daily, even if it’s only a small change, to keep your profile at the top of the pile.
#2 Non-confidential or confidential?
When posting your resume on job boards (you should pick two or three major exhibitors), the decision to keep your identity out of the mix depends on one major criteria. Are you already employed? If the answer is yes, keep it confidential. You don’t want your current employer to find out your intention to leave the company and decide they don’t need you before you’re ready to jump.
#3 Level the playing field
Are you sick of those want-adds which keep the hiring company a secret? In the majority of cases you can work out the company’s identity for yourself, and then approach them directly if you know what to look for. Try highlighting descriptive phrases which aren’t generic, and then plug them into your search engine. Often recruiters take key phrases straight off a company’s website, making them easy to trace.
#4 Keywords
If yours is the resume you want recruiters to find, you need to make sure you have all right keywords to get your profile flagged in a search. Unsure which words to use? Check out your competitors’ (people working in the same industry with the same, or similar, qualifications and experience) profiles and compile a list. Also be sure to examine the main skill sets in demand and ensure you have them covered.
#5 Become the hunter
Want to take the power into your own hands? You can make sites like LinkedIn work for you. Go to the Advanced People Search Page, type in your location and industry specific keywords, and it will pull up people working near you in the same kinds of roles. From there you’ll be able to target local employers utilising your specific skill sets
#6 Target their weaknesses
It’s the nature of business that every company, no matter how successful, has at least one weak spot. Plug one leak and another will arise. Whether it be insufficient infrastructure, inadequate marketing, or a culture that’s too insular, it’s your job to uncover that weakness and then show how — with your skills, experience and expertise – you’re ideally placed to overcome it.
Don’t forget:
- Post your resume online
- Keep your resume confidential if you already have a job
- Check out your competitors’ keywords
- Make LinkedIn work for you
This article originally appeared on The Naked CEO
Comments
2 responses to “Six Tips For Finding A Job Online”
Not so sure I like #3. If you’ve found a role as a result of an agent posting the job online, then you should apply through that agent – it’s the right thing to do.
I worked for a head-hunting company once. They are not working for you, and many understand very little about the work involved if it is something specialised, and that is often the reason for companies to hire head hunters.
They screen candidates, often keywords are significant. If the keywords are Java or OO languages they will not catch on to C# or C++ etc.
Companies ideally would like to get 3 or 4 candidates to interview and be blown away by 1 or 2 of them and then negotiate with them. So if the HH thinks you are marginal, you don’t get on the list, and the reason for not getting on the list may be completely wrong. Also if you approach the company directly without being introduced by the headhunter they will often not have to pay the heavy success fee.
My own experience on the other side bears this out. My then ex-wife was offered a position which she declined because she felt she did not have the technical knowledge. She recommended me to the recruiter and it was the lack of a few keywords that meant I did not get my resume forwarded to the company.
Don’t be shy. If you have a relationship with the recruiter that is different but if it is posted online go for it. The HH is working for their own commission and under the constraints imposed by the expectations of their employer.