Tired of your job and ready for a change? The problem is that searching for a job is time-consuming and thus hard to do when you are working a full-time job. As a result, working job seekers find themselves trapped in a job they dislike because they don’t have enough time to invest in a thorough job search.
[See: 10 Ways Social Media Can Help You Land a Job.]
Less time-consuming job-search methods exist, but generate dismal results. For example, it doesn’t take long for you to post a resume to a job site (or two). The problem is that very few recruiters search posted resumes as a primary source for identifying candidates. The other trap job seekers fall into is wasting time searching job boards and applying to any job that may look interesting. It isn’t unusual for working job seekers to send a generic resume and cover letter. This shotgun approach results in less than 15 percent of hires, according to the Jobvite Index, which aggregates source of hire data from 2007 to the present.
The other problem with searching for a job while employed is that you run the risk of your current employer finding out you are looking for a new job. Even talking with people in your network about your quest for a new job could get back to your employer if you aren’t careful. Keeping your job search confidential will require telling your network to keep the information private.
Secretly announce you’re searching. Imagine if you could secretly let recruiters know that you’d like to be contacted about new opportunities. This might increase your chances of a recruiter reaching out with an amazing opportunity. Now you can. LinkedIn released a new service called “Open Candidates” which enables you to privately indicate to recruiters on LinkedIn you are open to new opportunities. LinkedIn will hide the Open Candidates signal from recruiters at your company or affiliated company recruiters. And most importantly, your openness to new opportunities is easily viewable to recruiters when reviewing candidates using LinkedIn’s recruiter tools.
[See: 8 Things That Are More Productive Than Staring at a Job Board.]
Specify your job interests. Another benefit to the Open Candidates feature is that you can specify the job titles and industries you are interested in and the geographic locations you are open to. This eliminates the frustrations job seekers feel when they are specifically interested in relocating or open to opportunities in more than one industry. To activate your preferences in Open Candidates, go to LinkedIn Jobs in the pull-down menu on your home page and select preferences.
It isn’t enough to hope that recruiters find you. You have to proactively target companies that seem like they would be a good fit. Let’s say you find a job and want to research the company. This typically requires using multiple sites and even then, you aren’t sure the information you’ve read is accurate.
Research the company. LinkedIn makes researching companies easier through their newly released “Career Pages” which will focus on company overview, relevant jobs and corporate culture. Companies will need to pay to incorporate long-form written posts, photos, leader profiles and aggregate data on company and culture. Thirty companies successfully piloted this employer branding and research feature and LinkedIn has decided to roll it out. Expect to see more career pages as more companies learn about it. These additional features should save you a lot of research time and provide you with a 360-degree view of the company to help you understand what it will be like to work there.
[See: 10 Things New Grads Can Do Right Now to Get a Job.]
Research the team. Career Pages will also include even more valuable intelligence for job seekers. When you are on a company’s career page, you will see job recommendations tailored specifically to you. You’ll also see a section called “Meet the Team” which shows you helpful information about people in similar roles in the company. You’ll see the job the person came from, their skills and the school they attended. As you look at this information, you can compare your skills and career path with theirs. You may also find that you attended the same school, which you can use during the interview to build rapport.
If you are working and searching for your next job, you want to make sure you take advantage of all the resources available to you. These newest features should save you time, provide meaningful insight and allow you to easily identify people you know inside companies so you can get the inside scoop and a leg up on the competition for the job. Remember, referred candidates are the number one source of external hires.
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New Help for Busy Job Seekers originally appeared on usnews.com
