How Job Search Technology Is Changing Applications & Recruiting

How Technology Is Affecting Job Search

Twenty years ago, job searching meant long, agonizing hours on your feet. You’d hit the pavement and turn in resumes to every interested business, much like casting a net and hoping for a big catch. If you were lucky and knew someone, sometimes you could get a job by making a few phone calls or visits. Job searching was not complicated, but it was time-consuming.

Fast forward to today: job search technology has completely turned the traditional application processes on its proverbial head. It’s easier, but also more complex, with all new job-searching tips and recruitment strategies.

Job-related searches on Google

According to an interview with Unbridled Talent’s executive recruiter, Jennifer McClure, nearly one-third of all searches on Google are job-related. We can now use the internet to find out about new job openings, retraining opportunities and even how it is to work for specific employers.

Are you thinking of starting a new career?

Dozens of sites are ready to answer your need for job searching tips with in-depth information about education, wage range and opportunities. If it is employment-related and you want to know about it, it will be available online.

The importance of social media

Nearly every respondent in a recent Bullhorn survey of recruiters said that they utilized business networking site LinkedIn for recruiting.

If you are in the market for a job, you could be missing out on numerous opportunities by not having a LinkedIn profile. In addition to LinkedIn, employers seek out information on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure any publicly available information you have on those sites is professional.

Less personal vetting

To help with the overload of resumes most companies receive, larger companies are moving toward automated screening systems to filter out less likely candidates. This means that when you apply to a company, a human being might not ever see your information. This can be disheartening! Not all employment factors can be summarized on a sheet of paper. If you are qualified for the job you applied for, this can be great news; less competition means a better chance of getting hired.

More missed opportunities

With the huge number of job listings to sift through online, it is easy to believe the majority of openings are posted on the internet. This is not the case: many companies hire internally or through word of mouth and never post an online employment ad.

Technology is a great tool in your toolbox, but be wary of relying entirely on it for your job search purposes. Pay attention to networking and job searching tips to ensure that you’re covering all of your bases and finding the right opportunities.

Fewer opportunities for odd jobs

Drifters have been romanticized in television and fiction. The idea of wandering aimlessly from town to town, taking odd jobs which were always plentiful appealed to a great number of us. With instant background checks and detailed and traceable employment, rental and credit history, waltzing into a shop and landing a job is a lot less likely than it once was.

It can still be done, but the advance of technology has certainly changed the sometimes spontaneous nature of the hiring process.

Overall, technology has improved both your chances of getting a job and employers’ chances of finding the right employee, but it requires different job searching tips to land jobs online than it did before. The ability to perform job searches and apply online, any time of the day or night, has made jobs more accessible to more people. While job search technology has created new obstacles for some job seekers, few of us would be willing to go back to the old fashioned way of looking for work.