Mobile Technology Archives - The Voice of Job Seekers

5 Ways to Use Your Smartphone to Land a Job

5 Ways to Use Your Smartphone to Land a Job by Mark Anthony Dysonptop, it might be too late.

Speed matters when you’re applying for jobs. If you’re always waiting to get to a laptop, it might be too late.

That’s one reason for you to get comfortable with using your phone for more than Facebook videos and Instagram posts. Your phone is the most important communication tool you own. It’s time to unleash its potential in your job search.

Ready to use your smartphone to land a job? Try these tactics:

1. Report Live From Professional Events

Are you at a professional event? Why not give a short synopsis of it on Facebook or LinkedIn? Some of your connections can’t make it to the event, but streaming it live is a way to include them nonetheless.

Perhaps you can interview the speaker(s) at the event. Not only will this yield valuable information for you, but someone will share your video with their connections, heightening your professional profile.

2. Record the Volunteer Training Session You’re Facilitating

Volunteering is an excellent way to fill employment gaps and is also useful for your online profiles.

By recording training sessions you lead, you not only help other volunteers, but you also demonstrate your competency to a wider audience. Employers and recruiters get an opportunity to see you in action. Published online, the video can offer hiring authorities a face, a voice, and proof of your potential.

3. Take Assessments

More and more companies are using pre-employment assessments as part of the hiring process. If you can take these assessments on the go, you’ll save time and prove your aptitude faster.

4. Engage With Companies on Social Media

via GIPHY

Many companies are actively engaging job seekers on social media, but they aren’t posting 24/7. Timeliness is everything, especially when you see companies post about job openings or receive a direct message about your resume. Recruiters and employers frequently promote job openings on social media. Your response time is critical if you want to land an interview.

5. Help Others

Mobile allows you to be useful in a timely way when it comes to opportunities with small windows. Forward job openings to your friends and colleagues as soon as you see them!

I see it time after time: People who actively help others experience reciprocation. This use for your smartphone is the most powerful of all. The more value you provide for others, the more efficient your job search will become. You’ll get noticed. You won’t have to convince anyone you’re a team-player when your timeline proves you are.

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If you’re trying to differentiate yourself from the pack, you must consider your phone’s capabilities. Employers are expanding their talent searches to mobile, and they are engaging with potential job candidates via this channel. No one enjoys the laborious, confusing, and tedious online job search process. Your cell phone is your opportunity to stand out from the hundreds of candidates competing for your dream job.

This article was originally published on Recruiter.com.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

7 Reasons Job Seekers Should Embrace Text Recruiting

Text recruiting communication could challenge some candidates:

You must be responsive immediately. The recruiter is also texting other candidates with information requiring an immediate response. Failing to respond to the text could disqualify you.
The content of your texts matters. It’s essential to keep in mind that “autocorrect” is not an excuse for poor messaging.
Keeping up with several companies via text recruiting will require organization skills and good recall of what you said to whom. Sending the wrong response to the wrong employer means…well, you know.
Tech adverse candidates will be exposed as being tech unsavvy. (Remember when you put that you’re “tech-savvy” on your resume?)
Your words weigh the heaviest. There’s no way to use intangible body language (smiling, laughter, rapport) to impress or inform.
Your mistakes in texting (grammar/spelling/inappropriate language) are a documented reflection of your inability to communicate in writing.

Here are a few of the advantages:

It’s time-efficient and saves you travel time to an interview.
You can show you’re tech-savvy and a great communicator.
You will be judged solely on your responses.
A great conversation will stand out because it’s documented.

Text recruiting can enhance your hiring experience and offer ways for you to make a good impression if you:

Know your audience. When you receive a text, it’s likely an automated message rather than a personal message. Interpersonal chatter is not appropriate; therefore, answer the inquiries sent.

Write well. You want to double and triple check your message to ensure the message you send represents you. It’s not appropriate or professional to use casual text language, (e.g., 2, U, K).

Respond to the right sender. If you’re confirming an appointment but send your response to the wrong person, you may disqualify yourself. Make sure you are replying to the correct sender.

Call if you are confused about the message. One text message from an employer does not negate the value of talking person-to-person. Call if you receive an unclear or inappropriate message. Think it doesn’t happen? Read these text messages from recruiters. Nothing replaces face-to-face communication.

Don’t follow-up via text to an unanswered text. No answer to your texted question? Call. It’s the surest way to facilitate clarity between both parties. Technology is not perfect, and neither are you.

Keep it Sweet and Simple. Text messages are easy to misinterpret and misunderstand. Call or meet face-to-face if the message requires more than a few sentences. If you need to ask a question, then shorter is better. If you fear your answers aren’t clear, then call.

You are what you text. How you communicate in person is what will come across in all written communication, including texting—tone, brevity, clarity, and personality count. You must exercise caution in every kind of communication during the hiring process.

To be seen as a reliable and qualified professional, you must act professionally no matter the communication medium the company uses to hire. Content and context matter during every phase of the hiring process. If you’re uncomfortable with the nuances of technology, it will appear in text messaging.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

One Solution to Conducting a Stealth Job Search–Go Mobile

More and more job seekers need to conduct a stealth job search to stay at their current gig until they seize the next gig–on a mobile device. One of the solutions scarcely talked about is to go mobile.

More than ever, your phone is capable of doing almost as much as your laptop or tablet does. With the right amount memory, security, and current software updates, functionality will be maintained and will do everything. Whether Android or iOS, both will be enough for you to fulfill and execute required documents, applications, and assessments.

Yes, even assessments. Not only the ones to test skill competencies and employee testing but also learning assessments. More and more employers require results before your first interview (likely to be a phone interview or assessment). So your ability to be mobile and agile are crucial attributes to own 2016 and beyond.

Here are some reasons to mobilize your job search:

– Increase search efficiency and productivity. You may need to give up some Netflix, gaming, and Instagram if you’re desiring results sooner than later. Research, emails, and polishing communication is done while waiting for buses, trains, grocery lines, and during break time.
– You can forgo using work property. Unless it’s a long document or communication (solution: do it at home), it can be done on your phone. Even using work Wi-Fi might be problematic for your phone but I know people who use the public library for Wi-Fi.
– Timeliness is essential to compete. Deadlines are critical to meet for new jobs. Forms and other related paperwork are overwhelming.
– Maintain control of your job search. There are many ways to advance your job search from interviews to the final offer. Your readiness will help you keep track of the two or more employers who have started a conversation with you. There are many productivity apps to help you keep track of the communications needed to keep moving forward.
– Learn on the go. Most colleges and training academies have mobile apps to participate whenever you’re ready. Learning is no longer static but now is dynamic.

There are other reasons to making your search mobile ready. There are tools you can also use to create an office from your phone.

To learn more, go to my article on the Daily Muse and read about the tools I recommend to get started.