Not happy in your current job or simply interested in pursuing a new career? Maybe you just want to see what else is out there and you don’t want to get bogged down in the details.
There are plenty of reasons why you might be looking for a new employment, and it doesn’t have to be a tedious process. We’ve rounded up 10 apps that make job seeking a little easier, more interesting and far quicker than ever before.
Typical time from application to hire is just under 28 daysVarious labor market reports forecast that hiring will continue to be strong in 2017. But the competition will be fierce, making it hard for job seekers to land their choice role, according to a new survey report.
San Francisco-based recruiting software company Jobvite analyzed over 14 million job applications and their outcomes in 2016 to measure the chances of getting a job by industry, the typical length of the hiring process and the best method to get recruiters’ attention.
According to Jobvite’s data, the most competitive industries for open positions are technology, media, education and e-commerce, with companies like Grubhub or Zappos considering 66 applicants per hire.
Industries like insurance and energy, on the other hand, are substantially less competitive, with less than 20 applicants considered per hire on average. “For those seeking stability and the prospect of long-term growth at a company, these industries may pose an attractive alternative,” said Amanda Van Nuys, Jobvite’s senior director of marketing communications.
Your social media presence is a crucial part of your post-college job hunt. In fact, 60% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, according to CareerBuilder’s annual social media recruitment survey, and 49% of hiring managers say they’ve found information that caused them to not hire a candidate.
If you’re a new graduate, it’s time to give your social media presence a professional makeover, says Lesley Mitler, cofounder of Early Stage Careers, a career guidance firm that works with recent college graduates.
“[In college] you tend to use social media for fun, but you need to use it to brand yourself,” she says.
Companies want to see someone who lives the words on their resume in everyday life, says Ryan Smolko, associate director of student transition and engagement at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “They’re looking for students to have a genuine interest in their desired profession, and to see them engaging with other professionals and organizations related to that industry,” he says.
I want to tell you about a terrific way to find clues that can help you discover what you’d be happiest, and most fulfilled, doing in your career. It’s called The Life Stories Exercise (also known as The Seven Stories Exercise, trademarked by The 5 O’Clock Club).
This powerful (and free!) tool won’t tell you what type of job to do next, but it will show you which factors to look for to have a satisfying career with purpose. I often use this exercise with clients in my semi-retirement coaching practice. And I’d say that some version of it is at the core of most coaching work — and career advice books.
In a moment, I’ll provide step-by-step instructions for the exercise and explain the Personal Profile Summary worksheet that accompanies this post. But first, let me share a real-life example illustrating how useful The Life Stories Exercise can be.
One Woman Finds Her Calling
A few years back, I coached a woman who wanted out of her corporate HR job, but didn’t know what to do instead. After completing this exercise, several key themes about her motivations, skills and interests emerged: Growing up, she adored playing piano and majored in music in college. Throughout her life, she has gravitated towards teaching roles — offering piano instruction to friends for free and helping co-workers master new software (even though that was not her job). After completing The Life Stories Exercise, it became clear that she was happiest working in team-oriented environments, but struggled in competitive corporate cultures.
Today, she teaches music part-time at a school, gives private piano lessons and hosts music-themed birthday parties for preschoolers. It’s work she loves with clients she adores — a far cry from her corporate life.