Minnesota Headhunter: Job Search Tips: 5 Tips To Digitalize Your Job Search

The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap:

“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.” - Jack Welch

I just read that the last company to manufacture typewriters just announced they are ending production.

"Typewriters? What's that you may ask (ancient history).

In one way, it is a little sad for those of us that grew up in the days of pre-computer typing days but in another way it is just another step in leaving the past behind. For those of you fortunate enough to never have had to type your resume on a typewriter, you don't realize how difficult and manual job hunting was in the pre-digital days.

We (yes, we are now all in the same boat) now have different challenges that the digital age poses. "Speed to market" is now the name of the game, along with leveraging digital tools. And to those who master these skills, the job market is all yours.

Tip #1 - Make your resume accessible- Two points on this one. First, you should be able to get to a digital verson of your resume no matter where you are. Second, upload your resume to company career sites and job search sites.

5 Ways to Leverage the Internet in Your Job Search- Take a look at this CareerAlley post with lots of alternatives for making your resume easily accessible.
Company Career Centers - Use this list of Company Career sites from Quintessential Careers to pick the companies you want to work for. Go directly to their profile page, enter your profile set notifications for new jobs. This way, you will get an email when there is a job match for a company you want to work for

Tip #2. Use job search bots - Most job search engines have the ability to deliver personalized job search results to your mailbox similar to, but a little different, company career sites. The advantage is that you can set up very specific criteria and have several searches. This allows different slants on your search (whether it be different cities, industries or types of jobs).

Job Search Sites - Some links previously posted on CareerAlley
The Top Ten Job Search Engines on the Web - A bunch of links from About.com

Tip #3 - Leverage social media - Social networks are mainstream in job search as well. You should leverage these (in the right way) to both, cultivate your professional network and to look for jobs. A few links below (most of which you should know), but focus on their career pages.

How Job Seekers Are Using Social Media for Real Results - This article, posted on Mashable.com provides some great tips for leveraging social media in your job search. Tips like "put yourself out there" and more. Definitely worth the read.

Tip #4 - Do your homework - research companies - You need to have a pretty good idea about where you want to work and in order to do that you need to do the research. Between company sites and other resources (like your network), you should be able to get all of the information you need.

How to Research the Company Before Your Job Interview - This article is from wikihow.com and provides nine tips on how to conduct your company research.

Guide to Researching Companies, Industries, and Countries - This is a really good resource provided by quintcareers.com. Not only are there links to help you research but there are also links for researching industries and countries.

Tip #5 - Know your interviewer - have you LinkedIn today? - LinkedIn is not only about your network, you can also use it to find out lots of information on your interviewer.

100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn - Cut to the chase and read this article about all of the different ways you can leverage LinkedIn in your job search.

Good luck in your search.

Author: CareerAlley

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

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