Using Personal Technology To Find A Job

Finding a job used to be pretty straightforward. Remember the days when you could circle an ad in the newspaper, drop off your resume, and get an interview? If you’ve tried to find a job lately, you may have been unpleasantly surprised. Even though you have decades of solid experience, recruiters might tell you that applications are only accepted online, or that you shouldn’t reach out to the company over the phone. 

With all these changes to job hunting, how are you supposed to find a job? You’re competing with young candidates who have much less experience, but are far more tech-savvy than you. Fortunately, using the necessary technology to get a job isn’t too hard! After a quick overview, you’ll be able to confidently tackle today’s job market. 

There are three major sites for job postings online: Google Jobs, LinkedIn, and Indeed. LinkedIn has the best reputation as a place for professional networking, but the others are great resources too.

Google Jobs is easy to use. If you type a term into the search bar of Google Chrome—office manager jobs, for instance—the first results will come through Google Jobs. If you click ‘view more jobs’ at the bottom of these first listings, it will take you to Google’s hiring platform. After applying filters like location, date posted, title, and type, Google will curate a list of jobs from across the Internet that fit your wishes. If you click on the title of a job that interests you, it will display a full list of job responsibilities and requirements. Once you do that, you can pick which site you’d like to click on to apply for the job. The two most popular sites that Google will direct you to are Indeed and LinkedIn. Both sites are treasure troves of available jobs independent of their association with Google. 

Once you go to LinkedIn.com, you’ll be prompted to create an account. Put in your name, email, and a strong password—then you’re set! LinkedIn serves as an online profile that displays: your current job, accomplishments, work experience, previous managers, languages you’re fluent in, volunteer experience, and more. LinkedIn is also a great site because it provides professional networking opportunities. If you’ve used Facebook or similar social media sites before, you’re familiar with the concept of ‘friending’ people.  On LinkedIn, they’re called connections—and you can connect to people in your industry, people you currently work with, or past coworkers/employers. 

Once you’re ready to start looking for jobs on LinkedIn, you need to add your information. It’s as easy as inputting the information on your resume! Type up dates, titles, responsibilities, supervisors, and save it. LinkedIn is a free tool, but LinkedIn Premium is available for a monthly or yearly fee. With LinkedIn Premium, you can get insights on the other candidates you’re competing against, and message people who you aren’t connected with. 

Once your profile is set up, you can search any title or keywords in the Jobs search bar. After you get the hang of it, try setting up filters. That way, you will only get results for jobs posted within the last week or month, or jobs with less than ten applicants so far. 

Setting up an Indeed profile is also easy. You can create an account by filling in your relevant details, and uploading your resume. On Indeed, employers often comb through uploaded resumes, looking for the best candidates for their open roles. However, rather than waiting to be discovered, start applying! You can search by keyword, and add filters such as location, title, salary, and date posted. 

However, to use these tools, you need a resume on your computer. If you have Microsoft Word, you can easily create a resume. There’s a huge selection of templates available, where you can easily input all your information so it looks crisp and professional. Once you’ve finished, Microsoft Word allows you to save it for later. You can save it with your last name, such as Jones_Resume, so you can find it later on.

Using technology to find a job, especially after you’ve had a long and successful career without it, can seem challenging. However, the ability to find, research, and apply to your dream job from your living room is exciting! Especially if you’re looking for an out-of-state job, it makes your hunt even easier.