Day 9 | How to Decode Job Board Postings: A Codex

on February 9, 2013

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Sometimes it feels like reading a job description is like trying to decode Kryptos. No matter how long you look at it, it still doesn’t make much sense.

From epic wish lists of skill sets that no one person could ever encompass, to posts so brief and nondescript that it’s hard to tell it’s whether it’s a job description or someone’s random Facebook post, job boards are filled with the nonsensical, the ludicrous, and the downright outrageous. Before you throw up your hands and resign yourself to sending out resumes on blind faith, take a deep breath and a step back.  Here are some tried and true methods that can help you dig below the surface requirements and hone in on what the role is really all about.    Read More →

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Day 8 | The Internet is Ruining Your Job Search: How Applying Works in 2013

on February 8, 2013

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I you haven’t looked for a job in the last couple of years, you’re in for an extremely rude awakening. A lot has changed, even for the best candidates with the most in-demand skills. There are the added factors of online networking, learning to manage a profile, a brand new etiquette when it comes to approaching recruiters, and the list goes on.

One huge problem we see on the recruiter side is that it’s easier than ever to apply for a job. Features like LinkedIn’s one-click application turn the job search into impulse shopping, which means that everyone applies for everything, which means you’re just that much more likely to get ignored. The black hole of job hunting is bigger and darker than ever. It’s also exhilarating, dynamic, and the best source of increasing your wealth and fulfillment, if you do it right.    Read More →

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How Good People CAN Get Jobs: Four Great Ways to Beat the “System”

on June 14, 2012

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We knew our post last week, Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs, was going to touch a nerve.  It’s like there are two job markets out there: one where companies can’t find skilled candidates, and another where qualified applicants apply and never hear a peep.  Something’s broken, and a big culprit is the multiplicity of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) that many companies use to handle online job applicants. But good news: there are ways to up your chances of success.    Read More →

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Bullet Points: Monster’s LinkedIn Killer; Google Enemies; Job Interview Pitfalls

on June 28, 2011

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  • Monster starts its own job network, the Facebook app BeKnown. Now you can “manage your professional identity and your social identity in one place,” rather than through multiple sites and social networks. Yay? [Mashable]
  • CNET has a list of the companies that probably make up Google’s enemy list. And with company like this, it’s probably just an honor to be nominated.
  • Gen Y is spoiled and easily distracted. Gen X won’t stay for more than a few months (and they mope). Baby boomers, of course, are out of touch with current technology. Investing Answers has some good tips to avoid getting tarred with age-based stereotypes like these during job interviews.
  • Twitter launches #TfN, Twitter for Newsrooms, a website and guide to help media get even more acclimated to the microblogging site. Basic but useful. Berkeley’s J-school recently launched its own Twitter tutorial for journalists, too.
  • The New York Times ponders Klout and its potential weaknesses.
  • Would you fire the ranty Southwest pilot who complained about having to work with flight attendants who were a “continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes”? The odd part is when he’s told that he’s transmitting his bitchy chitchat but keeps on talking …. [The HR Capitalist]
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Bullet Points: Don’t Let Job Boards Suck Up Your Time

on March 25, 2011

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You’re not going crazy! If your job hunt is stagnating, it might be because you’re spending way too much time applying via online job boards. Why?

According to The Aberdeen Group’s latest study, Challenges in Sourcing Six-Figure Talent, hiring managers and recruiters are just as exasperated by the ineffectiveness of job boards as you are. The boards deliver way too big a haystack of candidates, making it darn near impossible for in-house recruiters to find you–even if you are the perfect needle.

In the study, 70% of respondents said that job boards deliver too many candidates per post and 59% of indicated that they don’t have enough resources to review all applications when they do come in.

So what’s a smart Gun supposed to do? Use the job boards to figure out who’s hiring, and instead of applying into the black hole, hustle to figure out if you can find another way into the company through your personal contacts. Remember: 80% of all jobs are still landed through old-fashioned networking vs. 11% on the job boards. Networking is a learned skill; while it may be time-consuming at first, the ROI overdelivers every time. [via Breitbart]

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