HOW TO USE THE INTERNET TO BOOST YOUR JOB SEARCH

It’s that time of the year again when another set of young people troop home to reunite with their loved ones having either completed their undergraduate study or their service year as corps members. You know what that means. Yes, more job seekers have been released into the labour market. In fact, I came across a post by a corps member in celebration of his passing out ceremony and it read,

“Officially unemployed and employable”.

As funny as that sounds, this is the current state of affairs for many vibrant youth in this part of the world. Even my kid sister who just concluded her penultimate year of study and is home for the holiday is looking for a vacation job. She practically drums it into my ears daily that she needs a job. Most of my friends and acquaintances have slid into my dm to request that I share any job opportunity I stumble upon with them. Some even asked for tips on how I get information of job openings and I try to make them understand that it is not rock science.

Perhaps you are a fresh graduate eager to flex your employability skills or you are an employee who is looking to move from your current job to the next or perhaps you are student who needs a side hustle. Whichever category you belong to, I hope this article answers your innumerable questions about job hunting on the internet.

Gone are the days of looking out for job adverts on newspapers or over the radio. Social media and the internet at large is the new market place. The advent of the internet has made the job search process much easier, faster and convenient. All you need to do is draft a strong job hunt strategy, evolve with the changing times and get your internet game on.

EXPLORE RECRUITMENT WEBSITES AND PLATFORMS

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Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone who sits all day clicking away on their computer is an internet fraudster. I for one can be found punching my keyboard all day long and churning out tons of articles. As a job seeker, you should be actively searching for jobs online. Register your Curriculum Vitae (CV) and contact details on relevant job websites.

You can explore sites like Jobberman, Indeed, Ngcareers, CareerBuilder, Dice, Idealist, Monster, Craigslist, Glassdoor, Nexxt, ZipRecruiter, AngelList and many others. Subscribe to their email list so you can receive daily notifications of new job listings. It is important that you check your mail daily so you don’t miss golden opportunities especially if you expecting a feedback from a job you applied.

If your email is rusty and deserted, do yourself a favour and go fix it. If you’ve lost or forgotten your login details, create a new email account. It is advisable to use your first name and last name to create your email address. An address like lizzydesparklingstar3001@gmail.com gives the impression of an unserious applicant. Recruiters receive tons of mails daily. The mere sight of your email address could be a total turn-off. S/he may not be patient enough to open your mail. Like the popular mantra says, ‘first impressions matter’.

Twitter is also a good place to search. Recruiters tweet job openings on a daily bases. To streamline your search, draft a Twitter job list which consists of recruiters, HR personnel, managers and hiring company handles. Read their tweets daily and be on the look out for job listings.

If you prefer the simple user interface of Whatsapp, then you could try groups like Becoming Better With Chimex (BBWC) where job listings are shared every single day. JibberJobber is a valuable tool you can use to keep track of the jobs you’ve applied for. It can also help you arrange and organize the information you collect during your job search.

 

OPTIMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN ACCOUNT

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I once tried convincing a colleague of mine to participate in a LinkedIn masterclass and he replied that unlike me, he has no need for a LinkedIn account. In his words,

“I’m not a writer like you who needs social media to sell her market.”

I wish more people would understand that social media marketing is not just for business owners and service providers. Anyone and anything can be promoted on social media. You can promote your ideals, skill, expertise, belief, knowledge and potentials. Even beauty and lifestyle can be sold on social media.

It is no news that recruiters now request for applicants’ social media handles during job interviews. It is one of the criteria they take into cognizance before considering you fit for the position. Remember the youth corps member who pitched her CV on Twitter and was offered a job by her dream company?

It is eminent that you clean up your digital foot print. After cleaning up your social media handle, you can use SocialMention as a tool to monitor what is being said or posted about you on the internet so you don’t get into a messy situation that could jeopardize your career. Do you remember the episode of the teacher who lost his job because of his pedophile suggestive post on Facebook?

LinkedIn is the social networking platform for professionals. According to a Survey by Jobvite Recruiters Nation, approximately 85% of recruiters use LinkedIn as part of their recruitment channels. Having a LinkedIn account is like having a public portfolio or CV that any recruiter can access. Most companies share news and information about their organization including job vacancies on Linked In.

With your LinkedIn account, you can receive daily notifications of job openings in your area of interest or expertise. The good thing is that there is no limited number of notifications or vacancies. You can apply for as many as you want to boost your chances.

What’s more thrilling is that unlike Facebook, LinkedIn’s algorithm does not restrict your engagements to only people within your geographical location. You can easily connect and interact with people in different parts of the world. You can apply for a job overseas. You can choose to work remotely from your location or relocate if you so desire. If you want to make the most of your presence on LinkedIn, here’s what you should do;

1. Your profile picture says a lot about you. It makes the first impression of who you are to your prospective employee. An analysis by Ronda Suder reveals that LinkedIn Users with professional profile picture are 14 times more likely to have profile views than those who don’t.
2. Do not upload a tacky, unserious or inappropriate photo of yourself. Always put your best foot forward. Use a portrait photo where you’re dressed in a corporate attire. The picture quality must be optimum preferably one shot in a professional studio.
3. Ensure that your profile is neatly crafted. All sections must be filled appropriately; about, work experience, education, licenses and certifications, volunteering, skills, accomplishments and of course your contact detail.
4. Remember to ask friends and colleagues to endorse your skills. The more detailed your profile is the more convincing your perceived image. You may want to take a day out to sit and do this properly.
5. Your ‘about’ section should give us a background information of your occupation and your career goals or objectives.
6. See it as an opportunity to promote yourself. In your concluding paragraph, you can give a nice friendly hint that you are available for job opportunities.
7. Do not compromise your integrity. Ensure that the information you fill in your profile are authentic. Don’t feel the need to go overboard or exaggerate.
8. Remember, most of your interview questions will be based on the information obtained from your profile. It would be embarrassing if you are unable to defend your claims.
9. Update your headline and profile regularly as you achieve more feats in your career path. This means that you must do something new to improve your professional image on a regular.

 

Enroll for more professional courses. Attend seminars, trainings and conferences. Volunteer or intern with a firm or NGO. Learn a foreign language, French, German, Portuguese, Chinese etc. Being multilingual will increase your prospects of working with foreign organizations. A site where you can find ads on trainings, conferences, seminars, fellowships and scholarships is opportunitydesk.org.

1. Use the “Open to Job Opportunities” icon and fill details of your preferred job title, locations and other specifications. Do you want a full-time job, contract, part-time, temporal or remote work? There are also options for those who simply want volunteering or internship opportunities.
2. Customize your LinkedIn URL. Instead of using the default LinkedIn address assigned to you, edit it so that it can contain your name and the career field or position you want to apply for. All you have to do is click “edit profile”. Then click the “edit” icon beside your LinkedIn URL. It will make it easier for recruiters to search and find you on LinkedIn.
3. Flaunt your intellect. Write interesting articles and posts that are relevant to your area of interest or expertise. Post about projects you’ve done and your new achievements. If you just completed an online course, flaunt your certificate.
4. Post pictures of the conference or seminar you attended. Post pictures of the medical outreach or community development program you participate in. Sell your market! Once you are perceived as a professional, people will take you seriously.
5. Finally, the other most important thing you must do is to network. Don’t be a passive observer. You don’t need to be too stuck up. Feel free to mingle and interact with people in a professional manner.

Follow top professionals and influencers in your field. Like and share their posts. Leave relevant and intelligent comments on their posts. Like I said, flaunt your intellect. Search for the handle of company or recruiter you would like to work with and follow them. Read up things about them in preparation for your interview.

Now, do you still think you don’t need a LinkedIn Account?

 

Finally, it never hurts to shoot your shot. Draft a list of companies you’d like to work for. Write a brilliant cover letter, attach your CV and it as an email to them. Even if they are not advertising a vacancy at the moment, you could always try your luck. You never can tell, it could yield positive results.

 

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll also like to know How Technology is Affecting Businesses in Nigeria. Did you find this article helpful? Please let me know in the comments.

Sincerely, thank you for reading.

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