Successfully Applying for Jobs Online
Job searching can be a frustrating process that's not helped at all by the glitches that can - and often do - occur when job seekers apply for jobs online. Michelle Goodman offers her advice for how to overcome some of these obstacles in her article, Job Hunting Online: Escaping the Nine Circles of Application Hell.
Below are Goodman's tips:
1. Sneak in through the back door.
Instead of going directly to the company's career page, it might be better to go to LinkedIn, Facebook or some other online resource and try to connect with someone who already works for the company, and ask him or her about what it's like to work for the company and what would they advise someone seeking a job there to do.
2. Get in touch with your inner administrator.
Don't forget to thank employees who have responded and offer to return the favor. Also, it's wise to be prepared to apply online no matter who has given a recommendation. For databases, chronological resumes, with basic formatting, work best, Goodman says. She also advises saving each online application as a document ... just in case. Not only with saved application make it much easier to reapply - should that be necessary - but it can serve as a job seeker's record of when and where he's applied.
3. Customize, customize, customize.
As always, it's important to know the company and the position and to tailor the resume to each, even if applying for different positions within the same company.
4. Triple up on the keywords.
Using keywords will help job seekers get their resumes noticed by the databases' resume scanners.
5. Guard overly personal information with your life.
Goodman recommends including false information when an online application requires something like a social security number, just to keep the process moving forward. For questions about salary requirements, it's better to give a range or the current industry rate. It's okay to give references if they were notified in advance.
6. Verify before you apply.
Check out job boards before applying. Ask others in the industry which sites they think are the best, Google the site with the word "complaint," "scam," or the phrase, "consumer report." Goodman also suggests sticking with larger job boards like Indeed.com or industry specific job boards like JournalismJobs.com.
There's a lot for job seekers to think about when deciding to apply for jobs online, but with patience, persistence and hard work, the process can be simpler and less frustrating.
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