The job market and the job search are changing rapidly. Take a look at 8 new trends that every job seeker should know.
This is Part Two of this series.
As social networking and social media have changed the way that we use the internet, access information and communicate with each other, it has also changed the way that people find job. It used to be, just a handful of years ago, that sending off a three page resume with a neat cover letter to each company you wanted to work for would land you a job. Today's job market, however, is a completely different animal.
In today's world, most people are finding jobs through a combination of online job boards, their social and professional networks and referrals from other professionals. All of these changes have happened so quickly that it can be a challenge to get up to speed.
If you are just entering the job market, here are 8 trends that job seekers need to know about.
(these are the final four, to see the first half of the list, take a look at Part One of this series):
- Skilled trades and vocational careers are in demand – There is a huge push on teens to go to college right after high school. While this isn't a bad thing, it's important to know that there is a huge market for skilled trades. Plumbers, electricians, welders and even HVAC repair are careers with tremendous growth potential. If you are interested in making a career change, it's worth looking into attending a vocational training school in order to take advantage of these types of job openings.
- Have several different copies of your resume – If you are looking for a job in a couple of different fields, have different master resumes, leaving room to customize the final copy for each job. When you are applying for individual job openings within the field, tweak your resume for the job description before you submit it. These days, you don't have to get different copies of your resume typed up or printed, so there is no excuse not to tailor each resume you submit to the job you are applying for.
- Fine tune your networking skills – In today's job market, most people are finding jobs through referrals from other professionals in their network, along with information gathered from online job boards. When you are looking for a job, try to attend as many networking functions within your industry as you possibly can. Make a point to meet people and let them know that you are in the market for a new job. It's amazing how much power a friends of a friend's aunt's cousin can have over your job search.
- Make full use of professional social networking sites - Both Facebook and Linkedin are huge sites for job seekers. Linkedin was designed as a professional networking site and it allows employers to search for people based on keywords. It also allows other industry professionals to refer other users to job openings.
What do you think about these job search trends? Do you think they are true? Let me know in the comments.
If you are looking for a job in Logistics, visit LogisticsJobsite for the best logistics job listings.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for LogisticsJobsiteBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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