Job seekers, make your resume searchable online with keywords

Tweet Before submitting your resume to online job boards and corporate websites or posting your social media resume on your website or blog, you will want to ensure that your resume is searchable by potential employers with job openings that match your interest and experience by including specific words or terms (keywords) in the body of your resume that are associated with your experience/credentials and the type of job you are seeking. 

Since many companies often use an electronic keyword filter to screen potential candidates your increase chances of being discovered by a hiring manager with an opening that matches your interests by including multiple keywords.  Some online job boards may also ask you to input keywords in a separate field to aid in matching you with the right jobs.

Of course, once a recruiter for your dream job finds your resume on the Web and invites you for an interview, you will need a well-formatted print resume - see MS Word templates for creating resumes here.

How to use social media to find a job!

Tweet Just as a negative social media presence can harm your chances of being hired by a prospective employer, a positive social media presence can help you land a dream job!  With so many Americans currently unemployed, job seekers must find a way to stand out in the crowd, here are a few ways to use social media to gain a noticeable social media presence:

Twitter

• Find recruiters or industry leaders with Twitter accounts, follow them and occasionally engage with them to learn more about them and the companies for which they work.  Developing a good relationship here can lead to an invitation for an off-line meeting.
• Re-tweet or share any industry-relevant information that you find.
• Post links to your blog posts.
• Learn more at  Mashable's "How to: Find a Job on Twitter"
  

Facebook

• Be sure your personal Facebook page has the appropriate privacy settings so any questionable content there cannot be found by a potential employer.
• Create a business page focused on your job search where you should post your resume and links to any professional web content you have created or any articles written by or about you.
• Use the Notes section as a blog where you can post ideas and points of view about your industry.
• Be sure to update your status regularly.
• Get your friends to "like" your page and spread the word about your job search!

Blog

• Start or update a blog regularly to showcase your expertise and point of view.
•  You may want to import your blog into Facebook's Notes.
• Follow other relevant blogs and comment on any interesting posts to engage with industry peers.

Video

• This may not be appropriate for all industries, but creating and sharing online videos that highlight your talents, expertise, creativity and points of view may help you to get noticed by hiring managers.

LinkedIn

• The ultimate social network for job hunting - Erik Qualman's Socialnomics video tells us that "80% of companies use social media for recruitment" with 95% of those companies using LinkedIn!
• Be sure to create or update your existing profile with your work history, education and other relevant experience as well as links to your blog, Twitter or Facebook page.
• Write a thoughtful and descriptive headline for your profile.
• Be sure to connect with anyone in your address book that currently has a LinkedIn page and ask them for recommendations.
• Join (or start) industry groups and post an ad describing the job you are searching for in the jobs section of each group.  Be sure to actively participate in any group you join by sharing great ideas and information with your peers and it is a great way to get noticed by potential employers.
  
• Add applications to your profile that will pull your blog posts, Twitter updates or even presentations that you have created and shared online.
• Post and answers questions.

Social media resume

• This is a virtual copy of your resume that can be hosted on your website or your blog.
• Add video, audio or images that showcase your expertise.
• Make your resume shareable by adding a sharing utility such as Share This, Add to Any or Add This that site visitors can access readily to share with others.
  

Use job aggregators to search for jobs online

Tweet Monster and CareerBuilder continue to be great sources of job postings but job seekers may find them somewhat limiting.  Job aggregator websites such as Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com are job search engines that not only give users the results of jobs posted directly on their sites but also sites like Monster and CareerBuilder as well as jobs posted only on corporate websites.   Active job seekers can spend their time more productively with a fairly comprehensive list of relevant job openings obtained from their chosen job aggregator.

Indeed


SimplyHired