Sunday 13 July 2008

New times call for new job search methods

The Career Digest Volume 8 Issue 4 (June 2008) is an American publication that I tend to glance at rather than read but I stopped when I saw the following:

The last time Phylise Banner looked for a job, the job market was much different. And as someone who designs online distance-learning programs for a living, she knows the world has changed since she last pounded the pavement. "This is a different type of search," says Banner. "I'm trying to create my own online agency to promote myself." Banner maintains a profile on several social-networking sites, including a popular online address book that can broadcast her job-seeking status to anyone keeping up with her comings and goings. Banner is ahead of a big curve. "Job seekers today don't realize the extent to which social networks are a good tool to reach someone inside the corporation you've targeted," says Gerry Crispin, a corporate-recruiting consultant at CareerXroads. On her website, Banner has posted the full text of her resume, seeded with key words she's researched for her industry. Time is still of the essence in a job search – it just moves quicker these days. Be among the first to know when a job opens up by also setting up automatic searches on job search engine sites. They'll spider other sites, then send alerts to your email address.
Abridged: Kiplinger.com

Phylise is on Facebook and LinkedIn and if you search for her name using Google you will find that she's not just in the top ten she is the top ten.
Of course it does help that she has an unusual name but it is possible to get into the first page unless you happen to be John Smith or David Davis (you get British politicians).

I'm off to church now but will write up Karen Blakeman's post on using tag cloud applications to improve a CV when I return.

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