The 5 Most Overlooked Job Search Features on LinkedIn

Now that you’re comfortable with LinkedIn, you might want to check out some often overlooked features, even by more experienced professionals and job search veterans.

These features might give your job search the boost you are looking for!

The 5 Most Overlooked Job Search Features on LinkedIn

If you’re comfortable with using LinkedIn or new to it, here are a few tips that even experts might skip out on. While the most important aspects of your LinkedIn profile revolve around filling out your experience and responsibilities, adding connections and joining relevant groups, there are overlooked areas in LinkedIn that boosts your profile. Try them out!

10 Powerful Ways to Stand Out as a Job Seeker

Brazen Careerist has come up with 10 Powerful Ways to Stand Out as a Job Seeker. Here are some ways that the Brentwood Library can help.

Garner a reputation

Find Volunteer Opportunities with the Long Island Volunteer Center, who are always looking for Volunteers in a variety of fields. We have a listing of organizations that need volunteers.

Learn a language

Mango Languages, a database provided to you for free by the Brentwood Library, has more than 40 languages for you to learn interactively. ESL courses are also available for speakers of over 10 languages (English for Spanish speakers, English for Francophones, etc.).

Get on the Web

Learning Express and Brainfuse are two more free databases that have video tutorials and live help with various programs such as Powerpoint, Excel, Access, Sharepoint, Adobe Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and many more. They also include beginner computer tutorials in English and Spanish, for new learners.

Add a personal touch

The Career Center can help you with another set of eyes, to critique and provide resources to give your resume a more personal feel.

Visit us today, or send us a comment!

 

The one Math Skill You Need to Succeed at Work

Did you know that Americans need one Math Skill they may have missed in elementary school to succeed at Work? Researchers at the Universitry of Missouri studied 180 13-year olds and determined that a lack of number system knowledge “creates a weak foundation for later learning, which can lead to a lifetime of problems”. The article, written up in Business News Daily, determined that educators should make a concerted effort to reteach these skills to adults.

Here at the Brentwood Library, we have a wealth of resources that can help you work on your Basic Math Skills. Did you know that Learning Express has math tutorials, focused on GED Math? Or that if you get stumped, you could get live math help with Brainfuse? The library also has physical copies of Math books, GED books and the popular for Dummies series.  Visit the library or check out the databases listed on the right hand side of this website, under the category Brentwood Job/Study Databases.

9 Mistakes you may be making on LinkedIn

9 Mistakes you may be making on LinkedIn that could hurt you… Want to use LinkedIn more effectively?  Don’t make these mistakes!

 

 

50 Hottest Twitter Hashtags for Job Seekers

Twitter is like a window into the soul of America. It shows us faster and more accurately what is on our collective minds than any other medium currently in use. So it was only a matter of time, in a bad economy and a worse job market, that Twitter would be flooded with both job seekers and job offerers. The way they find each other is through certain key hashtags, the best of which we have laid out for you to help you in your quest for employment.

-Samantha Gray, Bachelorsdegreeonline.com

If you use Twitter in your Job Search, the best way to get advice or to find out who’s hiring is by using hashtags. A hashtag is the # followed by the key word you’re looking to find. For example, do you want see every tweet that has job searching tips? Just type in #jobtips in the search box. Need to find tweets from other twitter users who went on an interview? #interview can help with that. There are thousands of other ways to get inventive with searching for tweets for good advice or jobs, but Samantha Gray has compiled a list of 50 of the best tips to help a Job Seeker. If you have twitter, why don’t you try it?

 

Fun Fact: Did you know that the French Academy, a group solely devoted to protecting the integrity of the French Language, had a meeting to translate the word Hashtag? Because of the common usage of the English word Hashtag in France, the Academy came up with a French word to replace it. A hashtag in French is now known as a mot-diese. Teachers and government officials are now required to disseminate the word to discourage the use of the English term. 

New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems

A recent study indicated that over 70% of Fortune 1000 companies are now using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which is the software that interprets your resume, feeds it into a central repository, and ranks it according to keywords.

For example, Microsoft gets about 50,000 resumes per week, so they need a system that will automatically review these and only show those that are a good fit. HR also wants to ensure compliance with EEOC rules so they will insist that your resume goes through the ATS.

-Don Goodman, New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems

Feeling discouraged by sending out applications and resumes, yet never getting a callback? If you’ve followed all the rules for the making your resume stand out but still haven’t gotten a call, it may be how your resume is read by an Applicant Tracking System.

What is an Applicant Tracking System? Used by large employers, an Applicant Tracking System sorts a large amount of applications and ranks keywords in your resume to determine whether you should continue to the next stage of the hiring process. Don Goodman has written an excellent article titled, “New Resume Black Holes: Applicant Tracking Systems” that help job-seekers avoid this frustrating problem. Because every Applicant Tracking System is a little different, it’s not a be-all, end-all primer on being the highest rated in an Applicant Tracking System. But it will help you think differently when you format your resume. Remember that when you apply to a large employer, the first person evaluating your resume is a computer. So make sure you follow these tips to avoid the Black Hole.

Linkup.com

Linkup.com

Tired of getting e-mails for job alerts that have nothing to do with what you are looking for? Are you starting to miss important e-mails because of all the e-mails you have to delete? Have you used the website, Linkup.com? Linkup.com is a  job searching website that links directly to the company’s page that’s hiring. Similar to Indeed.com and the NYS Department of Labor Job Page, there are less e-mail alerts and sponsored ads to deal with on Linkup.com

Take for example, a job posted to Careerbuilder and Linkup.com. With Careerbuilder, when you click “Apply”, Careerbuilder will open a popup asking you to put in your E-Mail address and to upload your resume so you could apply. What you are really doing is creating an account with Careerbuilder, and having Careerbuilder manage your upload for you, like a middleman. If done without setting proper options (like opting-out of receiving e-mail job alerts and marketing e-mails) your inbox will become inundated with openings to positions in your field, which may not be in your field of work at all. This is because without specifying what job you are exactly looking for, Careerbuilder will use the categories they have, which are very broad. So it may be exciting to see you have 300+ jobs waiting for you, but without the proper personalization, the jobs will not be what you’re looking for.

With Linkedup.com, there is no middleman to apply to a job. The job link will take you directly to the Company website. This will not only save you time, but help you avoid a deluge of E-mails that are not targeted and personalized to your job search. Try it!

Facebook: The Untapped Job Board

Facebook: The Untapped Job Board 

Many people feel uncomfortable using Facebook in a professional context, and it’s OK if you’re one of them.  However, with many businesses creating their own pages on the site, it’s worth at least investigating whether the company has any information that you can use when sending them your resume.

While Facebook is generally used for socializing with friends and family members, it can also be used appropriately to research a potential company. The article linked above gives jobseekers tips on discovering the “corporate culture” and giving your name recognition to potential hiring managers that may also be administering the Facebook page. Sometimes companies list corporate events on their page, so make sure to like them and maybe even show up at an event. This way, you’ll get valuable face-to-face time with people you could potentially work for.

Learning Express – The Practice Test Database

Learning Express, the library database dedicated to computer instruction and practice exams have added new exams for you to use. The new materials available are:

• Registered Medical Assistant Practice Exam, with an interactive 200 question exam for anyone looking to take the Registered Medical Assistant Certification Exam
• Test of English for International Communication, used by “more than 9000 companies, government agencies, and english language learning programs in more than 90 countries”. Learning Express offers 2 interactive practice tests, with 219 questions styled to the form, content, and timing of the TOEIC.
• The PRAXIS II: ParaPro Test Prep
• Write your way into College: College Admissions Essay
• Geometry Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3e

This is on top of the Career Exams and test guides already available and free to use on the Learning Express Database. With Video Software tutorials to help you learn Excel and Powerpoint, Civil Service Exams, Citizenship Study resources, Skill Building improvement and Spanish-Language Resources, Learning Express is a complete and highly useful database for job-seekers and beginning computer users.

 

Red Flags for Job Searching on Craigslist

When it comes to using craigslist to apply to jobs, you have to be savvy as well as street smart, making sure you don’t fall into a 419 Scam or Confidence scam. Here are some tips to remember while applying to a Craigslist Job posting from the Website Mashable.

Red Flags for Job Searching on Craigslist.