Temp agencies

Looking for work in this day and age is vastly different than it used to be. In the past, the newspaper was the best place to search for a job, but today’s job candidates have many more options and some of them can be pretty high-tech. Below we have compiled a list of different methods of finding a job in 2015 and the pros and cons of each one.

1. Searching for Jobs Right From Your Phone.

If you’re like many Americans, you are glued to your smart phone. If you are a job seeker, you can use this to your advantage by closing those game apps and opening some job searching ones. Use your phone to browse job listings on the go and save them so you can apply for them later at a computer. Even faster, some apps may even allow you to apply for a job from your mobile device, a growing trend. In fact, 27% of applicants expect to be able to apply for a job with their mobile device and 43% of job seekers have used their mobile device to look for a job. While using a smartphone to look for a job may be on the rise, the drawback is that it may be hard to read lengthy job descriptions on a mobile phone. If you’re concerned about reading a listing thoroughly and not missing a thing, your best bet is to save that job and look at it later on a bigger screen.

2. Making Yourself Look Stellar on Social Media.

With the widespread use of social media sites, it is so important to have a profile that you can be proud of. An impressive 94% of recruiters either use or plan to use social media for recruiting, so the importance of clean and attention-grabbing profile is huge. Of all the social media sites, LinkedIn is probably the most popular when it comes to searching for jobs as well as recruiting. In fact, 89% of all recruiters say that they hired someone though LinkedIn. Other social media sites are not to be ignored, however, as 26% of recruiters report hiring someone through Facebook and 15% through Twitter. Social media sites can be a great asset to a job seeker, but they are not without drawbacks. Profiles take time and effort to build and maintain and some sites are not super easy to learn. But, if you’re interested in becoming well-versed in social media, there are tons of great tutorial videos out there that are free to view.

3. Googling it.

If you have used Google to hunt for a job, you are not alone. In fact 30% of all Google searches, that means 300 million searches per month, are employment related. The internet is loaded with information so if you’re looking for work, you really have to sift through your search results and make your searches very specific. For example, don’t just type in “jobs at non profit organizations” , try “social work jobs at non profit organizations”. It may also benefit to search for temp agencies and/or staffing companies in your area so that you can explore another avenue for finding work.

Whichever modern method of job searching you choose, do keep in mind that some traditional rules still apply: be polite, have an honest resume (or profile), and don’t forget to thank any potential employer for their time.