Yahoo Finance 5 Ways to Beat the Competition When Looking for a Job
During your next career move, you will be up against stiff competition. In order for you to stand out as the best candidate and land the job, you will want to learn what your competition is doing, so you can outperform them. Of the U.S. workers surveyed in Jobvite's 2016 Job Seeker Nation Study, 74 percent were satisfied with their jobs but keeping an eye out for their next great job. Here are some tips to take away from the survey.
[Read: Once Upon a Job Search: Storytelling Tips to Land a Job.]
1. Don't just use Facebook to find your new gig. Facebook may be your social network of choice, but it isn't the best place to search for a job. Jobvite reports that 67 percent of respondents used Facebook to find a job. In contrast, another Jobvite survey found that 87 percent of hiring professionals use LinkedIn. That's a huge mismatch. You want to align your job search with the preferred sources used by recruiters, and that is LinkedIn. Another benefit to using social networks for job search is confidence. Respondents who used social media to find their most recent job are also more likely to be optimistic (52 percent) about finding the next job that fits their skills, experience or salary requirements.
[Read: 11 Tips for Job Seekers on Twitter.]
2. Update all your social profiles with professional information. Realizing that potential employers are searching for talent within social networks or Googling potential candidates, some survey participants reported updating profiles with professional information. But only 18 percent updated LinkedIn, 19 percent updated Twitter and 20 percent updated Facebook. You can shine professionally as well as increase the odds of being discovered if you take just a few minutes and update all your social networking profiles with branded, keyword-rich information.
3. Do your research during the application process. You will be asked questions like, "Why do you want to work here?" or "What do you know about our company?" Top candidates know how to answer these questions because they've conducted company research. Just 59 percent of respondents reported using social media to research companies. The more educated the respondent, the more likely they are to research companies online during the application process. Among respondents with a college degree or more, 42 percent research companies. Of respondents who have high school diplomas or no high school degree, only 29 percent research companies. Conducting online research is fine, but don't stop there. Referrals are the top source companies use for hiring new employees. According to Jobvite, 24 percent of job seekers said employee referrals led them to find fulfilling work. Learn about the company by asking people you know about the company's reputation and always have conversations with employees.
[Read: When Bad Referrals Happen to Good People.]
4. It's not one-and-done. The days of a career with one employer or holding a single job are shifting to job-hopping and moonlighting. Job-hopping isn't always a bad thing, especially early in your career. Changing jobs can result in greater salary increases than you'd receive by staying with one employer, new skills and expanded networks. Among respondents, 34 percent say they've changed jobs every one to five years. Moonlighting or holding a second job used to be viewed negatively. But having a side gig is a rising trend. In fact, 19 percent of respondents reported holding a gig-type job. Of those, 36 percent said it was in addition to another job. Companies, such as private taxi service Uber or Airbnb, which lets people rent a room or house, have made it easier to secure a secondary income.
5. Optimist or realist? While it is good to be optimistic, it is far better to be a realist. It is an encouraging sign for the economy that 44 percent of respondents were optimistic about job opportunities and only 12 percent were pessimistic. But being optimistic isn't enough to land you a new job. Learn how successful job seekers are finding employment, understand how companies fill jobs and use the right mix of job search strategies for today's job hunt.
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