How To Best Use Technology To Find Your Dream Job

How To Best Use Technology To Find Your Dream Job

The job search. A familiar and often dreaded path by most job seekers. As exhausting (and sometimes, demoralising) as the journey to a job can be, many facets of the job search experience can now be enhanced with the use of technology.

 

Our team at the career fair.

 

Earlier this month on 12 June, we participated in the Employment & Employability Institute‘s (e2i) Trade & Connectivity Career Fair. The event drew throngs of job seekers all on the lookout of suitable employment.

 

Aside from the main career fair, there were also talks and workshops conducted specially for the attendees, all with the goal of enriching them with useful knowledge that will help them with their job search process.

 

 

 

Our Business Development Lead, Kenneth, was invited to present one of those talks. The topic was simple: How do we best use the power of technology to find jobs?

 

Our Business Development Lead, Kenneth giving the talk.

 

Technology As A Multiplier

 

As always, it is always good to start with why.

 

Why use technology to find jobs, when there are many other useful offline job search platforms, methods?

 

While traditional offline methods have their uses, the case for utilising technology to get a job is strong when you factor in the power of leveraging on tech. Technology is a multiplier. Used correctly, technology allows you to reach out to more employers faster and easier than ever before.

 

Cast Your Net Wider

Some popular online job platforms to use.

 

The internet is a wonderful resource for the job seeker. The very first thing you should do, is to make use of all the job platforms readily available. Pictured below are some of these available platforms.

 

These platforms range from the common and well-known Jobstreet, Linkedin, to other equally key platforms such as Monster and StartUpJobs. Each one of these platforms serve these common functions: 1) They are marketplace for open job roles 2) They allow applicants to easily search, filter and apply for the positions you desire.

 

Remember we spoke about technology being a multiplier for your efforts? These platforms make the job application process easy and fast. Meaning that you can apply for more jobs at one go! You can also use the search and filter functions to sieve out only the jobs that you desire. For example, you are only interested in Marketing jobs – you can easily narrow down your search to your chosen job category, size of company, industry, etc – the sky’s the limit.

 

Some of these platforms serve a particular job type – Fiverr and and Upwork are freelancer job platforms – they cater to members of the gig economy. If you are looking for a freelance work, these are the platforms you visit to get connected with clients. MyCareersFuture.sg is an online jobs bank maintained by the Singapore government, listing relevant job roles for Singaporeans and PRs. You also get social recruitment platforms like Jobs007, which uses the power of word-of-mouth to get great talent for jobs. You could be on the receiving end of a wonderful job-referral through Jobs007 – again, powered with use of technology.

 

Make More Informed Decisions

 

This ties in nicely to our first point. The internet gives us the ability to have information, sometimes literally, at our fingertips. Consider the following questions: [insert company name] hiring? Is XYZ company a good place to work for? Is the interview process at ABC start-up difficult?

 

These are common burning questions that job seekers have when they look to apply for a job.

 

Fortunately, the answers to these questions are usually a simple Google search away. Platforms like Glassdoor, an employer review site, have former and current employees leave anonymous reviews on their employer, covering things like salaries, culture, benefits, approval of CEO etc. Reading these will give you a good idea of what working in the company is like.

 

Employers have also learnt about the value of properly branding themselves, to make themselves more attractive to job seekers. Thus, company career pages should be the first thing you read, to find out more about them. This applies to their social media pages as well. Just like you can tell a lot about a person through their personal profiles, the same goes for companies. There’s a wealth of information of there!

 

Beyond the companies themselves, there’s a wealth of guides related to the job search. Simply search on Google for the questions you want answered, and chance are that there’s a full-length, detailed guide, ready to give you the information you need for free. Pro-tip for Google search: Be specific. There are loads of information out there. It is better to search for “How to write a resume for a marketing job” than “How to get a job”.

 

In a nutshell, technology helps us make more informed decisions through the sheer wealth of information available. Do your research and be better prepared in your job search process.

 

Mobility

 

Let’s cut to the chase: if you are not already using your smartphone in your job search process, you need to start.

 

Our smartphones now have the processing power of computers from a decade ago. Which means, we can search for jobs, filter out the ones we like, and apply for them, all from the comfort of anywhere you choose.

 

With technology, you can apply for a job in the restroom, at a bar, and…even in a meeting.
Source: Jobvite’s Job Seeker Nation Study 2016 (https://www.digitalhrtech.com/why-mobile-recruitment-is-a-must/)

 

Hence, the concept of mobility in the job search. The advanced yet easily accessible technology we have in our smartphones allow us to do nearly any part of the job search process on the go. You can even be digitally interviewed using your mobile device! Check out the concept of video resumes (vidsumes) and digital interviews.

 

Mobility in the job search process enables the next frontier of hiring – social recruitment.

 

Social Recruitment – How It Can Help You Get A Job

 

Sometimes, the best job opportunities do not come from a job ad or a career page. They come from the people you know and trust.

 

Great talents often know other great talents. Professionals are usually connected to other similarly skilled professionals in the same industry. Imagine receiving a job opportunity from a fellow industry peer – a great job not found anywhere else.

 

That is social recruitment in action.

 

Social recruitment taps on the power of existing professional networks to get the word out about a job, which results in hirers reaching out to a talent pool that might have otherwise been previously unreachable.

 

A study by Jobvite shows that internal Employee Referrals have the highest applicant to hire conversion rate – only 7% apply but they account for 40% of all hires. Referred employees also report higher employee satisfaction and longevity, with 46% staying over 1 year and 47% staying over 3 years.

 

A social recruitment platform, powered by the mobility technology gives, gives job seekers and hirers a chance to reach out to each other, and bring the internal employee referral model to the entire labour market.

 

That means, you, me, anyone can play the part of a recruiter, and help to find the best talent available. For job seekers, the advantages of being on social recruitment platform are great. Firstly, you can get referred relevant jobs by people in your network.

 

Secondly, because these jobs are referred, employees are more likely to value your application. You aren’t just any cold applicant – you were recommended by someone! That is the kind of application that holds more weight and helps you to stand out amongst other applicants more.

 

An example of a social recruitment platform that works is Jobs007. Yes, our very own referral-based social recruitment app. Jobs007 fulfils the golden trinity of what a social recruitment platform should have:

 

1) Online, Mobile Focused Job Search (Mobility)

2) Auto-Matching To Jobs (Intelligent Technology)

3) Referral System (Social Recruitment)

 

Jobs007 combines all 3 overarching features into one, easy-to-use, mobile-ready social recruitment platform. Use it for your job search, and refer a job if you spot something interesting! Being on the platform means you can be referred to a job too, hence increasing your odds of landing that dream job.

 

Conclusion

 

Boost your next job search experience by leveraging on the power of technology. There is just so much out there for the enterprising job seeker. If you not already, start with the various job platforms around. Use social recruitment. Research for relevant information. The world is your oyster when you use tech, in your job search.

 

 

Keen on using social recruitment to get your next job?

 

Download Jobs007 at the following links: Apple Store (iOS) | Google Play (Android)

 

Get that dream job!