Wondering how to navigate the technology related to your job search and hiring? Our Director of Corporate Services, Janell O’Brien shared some insights with The Morning Call.
Technology has changed hiring for both job seekers and recruiters
For better or for worse, technology has changed the recruitment and job search process, for both those seeking jobs and those hiring for them. It’s easier than ever for recruiters and hiring managers to find candidates who have specific niche skills or even sway candidates who might be currently employed and not actively job searching. Job seekers can not only create online profiles to attract recruiters and apply for jobs with one click, but they can even reach out directly to employers.
With so many tools available to make the process less resource-intensive, candidates are generally the ones doing the “heavy lifting” in terms of making themselves known to recruiters. With setting up LinkedIn, Nexxt, Jobcase and other online accounts that allow them to actively reach out to employers, job seekers are trying to turn themselves into the “hand-picked” candidate.
Reviews
Years ago, it would have been unheard of to find company reviews and salary information when conducting an online job search. Now, according to “The Modern Job Seeker Report” from recruiter software company iCIMS, 92 percent of Americans turn to employer reviews when considering a new job. Plus, one-third of Americans (including 47 percent of millennials) has declined a job offer due to poor company reviews.
Here in the Lehigh Valley, however, the trend of “seeing behind the walls of a company before you ever set foot in the door” isn’t always the norm for job candidates.
“That hasn’t been our experience,” says Janell O’Brien, director of corporate services at Allied Personnel Services in Allentown. “Here in the Lehigh Valley, we find word of mouth, personal connections, news updates and a company’s awards or recognition carry more weight with job seekers than online reviews. Reviews for employers (or any kind of business for that matter) allows for both accurate positive and negative reviews but also allows a space for anyone at all to say anything they like about a business. Savvy customers and consumers should do a full range of research before relying on any one site for review information, as one person’s experience with an employer may not mirror the experience of another. Work is actually a very personal thing; as we all know, the job you love may be despised by the next person, and the job you can’t do because of a lack of skill may be easily mastered by someone else.”
LinkedIn and online job networks
LinkedIn has held the title of “the” go-to professional social network for 16 years now, and has shown no signs of its popularity or usefulness waning. The site has played a major role in how candidates search for jobs and how recruiters find candidates. With a strong profile and the right connections, you can attract hiring managers and recruiters to the point that you’re literally bringing job opportunities right to your inbox. And with the networking and connections aspect, you can keep a close eye on potential job openings from past colleagues and other connections.
There are other sites that have followed a similar model, such as Nexxt (formerly Beyond.com) and Jobcase, both of which give job seekers the opportunity to create a comprehensive profile to show off their most relevant information for recruiters. These sites allow you to list work preferences such as your willingness to relocate, preferred job location, salary range, personal traits, volunteer work and other career-appropriate information.
While LinkedIn allows some of these more nuanced information categories, the advantage of the other sites is that they power more than 100 existing job-listing websites, meaning users have access to a wide range of employers and opportunities associated with these sites.
Mobile
Today, the norm is searching for a job while using a mobile device. There are countless job board apps and job search apps designed to quickly connect recruiters and hiring managers with job seekers.
While mobile might make the process quicker, how does one stand out amongst all of the technological noise?
“A simple application process that can be done quickly and from anywhere on a mobile device still requires consideration and thought. To stand out, be the person who follows all of the instructions, who completes the application process accurately without spelling errors and typos, who follows up, or who finds a way to connect with a hiring manager directly,” says O’Brien. “If there is an option to apply directly to an email address, we always recommend doing that over submitting something through a site. This puts the job seeker in front of a person and shows a sincere interest in a particular position. We have repeatedly seen job seekers sabotage themselves by applying online over and over and over again to the same company for a wide range of jobs. This can be construed as desperation and a need for any job at all which is why careful consideration should be given to each application submitted.”
Source: The Morning Call
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