Trending for job seekers – social media and smart phones from Peter Diamond on Vimeo.
Finding a new job is no easy task. Technology is serving as a primary enabler in the process. Leading the way in securing a new position is the use of social media and now smart phones.
Social Media
LinkedIn with over 200 million members worldwide continues to play an integral role in helping professionals find jobs. Companies are using it as an essential recruiting tool. LinkedIn is fueling this trend by developing more sophisticated tools for corporations to use; thus creating a greater reliance on their services. These suites of tools allow in-house recruiting departments to find prospective employees who are both actively looking for a job as well as those they would like to recruit based on skills they covet. It appears the use of traditional recruiters is being scaled back unless it is for very senior level folks.
Companies are also leaning heavily on their current employees and their LinkedIn networks to help them find potential candidates. Companies are using cash rewards for internal referrals that get hired. This not only puts their workforce to work but it also serves as an initial vetting tool.
Smart Phones
We knew it was coming and now companies are beginning to allow candidates to apply for jobs using their smart phones. This is not surprising since it is predicted that smart phones will be the preferred method for accessing the web within the next three years. The Wall Street Journal has reported that 33% of the Fortune 500 companies have already optimized their career portals to fit on a smart phone screen. While navigating an online job application is cumbersome when dealing with a small screen, there are rapid improvements being made to simplify the process with the aid of drop down menus. The earliest adopters seem to be for industries that hire for volume and don’t require the completion of technical or complex job applications.
The convergence of social media and smart phones may be the future for job seekers. Looking back over the past 10-20 years, this represents a seismic shift in how companies are recruiting. If you are looking for a job and haven’t done so, ensure your LinkedIn profile and your contacts are current and plentiful.
Happy job hunting.