Take advantage of technology when seeking a job

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Candidates no longer have to manually scan through print classifieds for a job and trawling numerous online sites isn't necessary thanks to online career classified sites and job portals.

These sites connect job seekers with the relevant jobs available, so that they no longer have to search copious sites to find a job advert that is relevant to them. "Modern career portals do the legwork for job seekers as they collect available jobs and notify job seekers in real time of relevant jobs available. They connect the job seekers with the job providers within minutes," says Angelique Robbertse, Product and Marketing Manager for Job Mail.

Job seekers register on a site, capture their experience, preferred industry and area. Candidates can then scroll through the available positions anytime, anywhere via web or mobile. "It makes searching for a job so much easier if you're presented with job opportunities from one source," says Robbertse.

Some sites are responsive, enabling job seekers to access their dashboards from their desktop, tablet or cellphone with one address. This means that a job seeker can have the site open on their desktop, phone or tablet and can scroll through the relevant jobs at a time convenient to them. "We find that more and more people are searching for jobs from their mobile devices and this became a critical driver for optimising our site to provide the same user experience when accessing it from a smartphone and tablet," she says.

Most job portal sites also allow job seeker to apply for a job through the site. Similarly, companies have online forms and questionnaires that candidates can fill out, so they don't have to open a separate email application. Candidates simply complete the form and attach their CV.

Another tool that job seekers can employ is social media. Career sites post the latest job offers in real time so it is a good idea to follow them on Twitter. A search in Twitter using keywords such as #jobs, #hiring, #recruiting and #intern combined with your preferred industry will reveal the recruiters and companies that are hiring.

It isn't only job seekers using the internet to their advantage, recruiters are too. They are able to conduct thorough online and social media profile searches of potential candidates to get a sense of who they are. "It is a good idea to clean up your social profile prior to embarking on your job hunting and to connect with the company before your interview. Retweet or share an interesting article they posted or connect with the interviewer on LinkedIn," she says.

Some of the other tools recruiters are using are professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and Who's Who Southern Africa to search for suitable employees. They also make use of online personality assessments to match the candidate's personality to the culture of the company.

"Remember to update your online professional profile to reflect your latest job and networks. The more connections you have the better your chance of being seen by a potential employer," says Robbertse.

Being invited for an interview has also evolved. A first interview isn't necessarily a face-to-face interview in the traditional sense. Video conferencing applications such as Skype make it possible for recruiters or future employers to get in touch with candidates at a moment's notice and without having to book a boardroom and have candidates bumping into each other in the reception area. It also saves candidates from incurring travel costs and coming up with excuses such as having a doctor's appointment only to sneak away to the interview. Candidates can simply video conference from their phone.

How do companies adapt to recruit in the digital age? Savvy human resource managers have to ensure that their company's profile is within easy reach of professionals who are wanting to find out more about their future employer. "Candidates are consulting several sources before responding to a job ad and therefore the 'about us' overview on the company's website no longer suffices," she says. Relevant company content has to be noticeable on multiple digital channels to reach the right professionals.

Finding employment in the digital age is simpler and quicker. "Job seekers have control over their searches, they're more informed and they can adopt a pace that suits them," she says.