Let's Get Digital!

Firstly - sorry about the break in transmission over the last couple of weeks, but as I indicated previously, time is of the essence these days and frankly, there was too little time and too much essence to get pen to paper (I know - what an anachronism! but fingers to keyboard doesn't have the same ring to it).

I did want however to say a bit this week about digital job searching, as it has come up when talking to people at meetings recently that people are still not using it to its full potential.  I know it is quite a while since some of you have had to get out there and put yourselves about a bit but that's what Me Julie and I are all about - we're here to guide you in that unfamiliar world of job seeking that has come along way in the last few years.

However, this doesn't excuse you from using all the modern technology at your disposal to its best advantage.  Even the Jobcentre has embraced the modern world and you can now make claims online, send enquiries about claims or benefit payments or give information about changes of circumstances etc by email, and follow their Twitter feed to get information about jobs. If they can do it, you certainly have no excuse.

Firstly, get yourself on LinkedIn. It is no exaggeration to say that if you are a professional / executive looking for work then you can not afford not to be on LinkedIn. Recruitment companies employ people to trawl through the pages looking for people to match to the jobs they have on their books, and prospective employers will have a look at your profile to get extra information about you once they have received your application form / CV. 

It is dead simple to get set up, either by using your own noddle or the excellent online help; get your profile set up and you'll soon be up and running.  We always suggest you then come into the fold, as it were, by adding us to your network - this has a twofold advantage.

Firstly you can then see all our connections, and take a few pointers from how other members have populated their profiles, as some of them really are excellent and they also tend to be the ones that have gone back into work.    

In addition, we know our pages are watched, as there have been several members who have been contacted about prospective jobs due to their profile being seen on our site, and at least a couple have gone into work on the back of it. 

Once you have a profile set up, go into the search box, set it to "Groups" and have a trawl around for groups to joint where you can get discussions on various subjects of your choice.  For instance, the B2B profile is joined to "Webrecruit Transforming Recruitment Online" which has good discussions on all things about recruiting. For instance, it has a good discussion line on advice and suggestions for the older unemployed, with comments from both older unemployed people and recruiters themselves.  You don't need to be a contributor yourself, but just reading group comments can give you good tips.

You also get groups devoted to various job specific sectors - for instance just by searching "Job Hunting UK" you get:-

Building Services & Construction Professionals - making networking and job hunting for construction professionals in the UK easier.

UK Sales Network - network, share sales/job hunting ideas, keep up to date with sales industry news & search for the latest sales jobs from the leading companies across the country.

Looking Soon - for UK-based Interim Managers currently on assignments approaching an end date, and who are keen to obtain a new role within the next month or two.

UK Project Manager - network, with ideas and job hunting options.

Unemployed Professionals - network, with ideas and job hunting options.

The CV and Interview Advisers - Advice on job hunting in the UK including CV writing and interview technique.

Whatever your field, you'll find someone out there with help and advice for you.

Even recruitment agencies have their own profiles - check out The One Group and you'll find their local jobs advertised.

As I say, you can't afford not to be on LinkedIn.

And another thing - how many of you are using Twitter to look for work? Come on, own up, are you a Tweeter, Twitterer, Twit, or whatever the collective noun is for Twitter users?  And if not, why not?

All you need to do is sign yourself up for a Twitter account which is very easy to do and then decide who you are going to follow, by using the search facility.

We currently follow Peterborough JCP, Jobs in Peterborough, Coulter Recruitment, Anne Corder Recruitment, Jobs Cambridge UK, and Peterborough Jobs, and OK so you won't be interested in 99.9% of the vacancies you receive but if you get info on just one vacancy you wouldn't have known about then that's one more than you didn't have before.

The best thing to do is if you have any questions about any of this just ask us and we'll see if we can help.

Some day we WILL have a seminar on LinkedIn - how to get set up and how to use it - but until I get time to put one together we'll have to play it on a case-by-case basis and give you guidance as you need it.

Next week we will have a real person once again giving the benefit of their expertise, this time in the shape of Michele Austin who is coming along to talk about presentation skills - something that we can all learn from, whether it is likely to be used in giving a formal presentation as part of an interview, or just as part of the interview itself.

Can you afford not to come along?

Have a good week.