4 Ways Technology Is Changing How We Get Jobs

From medicine to IT to marketing, technology has altered the way we find jobs, although not as much as you might think. Some of the changes are twists on old-fashioned networking. Others take advantage of the power of the Internet and computers.

What are the four biggest changes? Read on.

1. Character evaluation

More than a billion people have Facebook profiles, and millions of people also hold profiles sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. As a result, potential employers are looking online at Facebook and LinkedIn to check whether an applicant is a good fit with the company”s culture and brand. You don”t necessarily need to keep your Facebook profile PG, but you might consider keeping a few more things private.

2. Instant notification

It”s now possible to know quickly about available jobs at your favorite companies. There are ways to set up Google Alerts for job searching, but even more effectively, you”ll want to develop relationships with people who can be first to notify you.

3. Friends of friends

Accidental discovery of jobs via connected acquaintances is another way that positions are being found and filled faster. Instead of paying a popular job listing site, a recruiter or employee might make a post to Facebook or use a popular Twitter hashtag like #GPjobs or #ITjobs. Unexpectedly, it”s often acquaintances (not close friends) who unleash the full power of social networking and show you opportunities you would not have found otherwise.

4. Recruiters reign supreme

One thing has never changed: It helps to know people. Especially the people who are in charge of hiring, in the industries and companies you want to focus on. For a variety of reasons, recruiters have risen to prominence in everything from IT to healthcare jobs.

Whether you”re looking for iPhone programming jobs or GP jobs at your local hospital, chances are, a recruiter or staffing agency is handling that for the company.

That”s why you need to spend at least as much time networking with recruiters as you spend with company executives and employees. Recruiters have an increasingly enormous weight in the hiring decisions of most companies, and in some cases, they hold all of the responsibility.