Do you want a job or not?

If you want a job right now then spread the word instead of making a secret of it. Active job search means reading several job posts per day and applying to the ones matching your skills. But there is far more you CAN do. After all, more exposure your CV gets, more likely it is that you'll find your dream job.

Image from: Emaratiya

Sounds good, but HOW?

1. First of all, use everything you can. Are you on Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Twitter? Great! Post/upload your CV, tell your friends you are looking for a job. Never underestimate the power of social media. And one more thing: according to several surveys, 1 of 3 employers reject candidates because they found something inappropriate online about them. Images showing your daring and/or sexy side are not necessary meant to be seen by future employers. So make yourself a favour: check your privacy settings and make your profile employer-friendly:

Facebook - Privacy Settings

LinkedIn - Profile Privacy

2. Use Twitter and LinkedIn to find and follow important people in the industry you want to work in and engage with them. Build relationships and learn from the bests.

3. Similarly, you can make a blog and write blog-posts that showcase your knowledge, skills and passion. I think it is more convincing than any letter of recommendation. Do you need proof? Check Matt Cutts' blog. Impressive or what? And if you think you cannot do it, I have good news: you can. Let's say you are a streamstress, I'm sure there are thousands of women who want to learn to make their own dresses. So, go ahead and show a trick or two. Make a few videos, pictures and you're good to go.

4. Distribute your CV. In 2013 hiring managers are reading not only the CVs sent to them but actively search CV databases to find the best candidates out there. So, make sure you upload your CV to respectable job sites and aggregators to increase your chances. (Find out what are the differences between job sites and job aggregators.)

5. Finally, there is one more thing you can do: increase your online visibility by making traditional as well as creative CVs. Why bother? Because creative resumes help you to show your personality and it means you can easily stand out from a large group of candidates. A solid reason if you ask me. Interested but in need of inspiration? Than check out this article that I've found on JoZoo: Creative CV Yea or Nay?

How about you? How have you increased your online visibility?

Job Sites vs. Job Aggregators

Is looking for a job indeed a full-time job as they say? Well, it is true only if you don't use the shortcuts to reduce the time you spend searching. In 2013, you cannot ignore the online job posts, but if you want to make sure you don't miss out any great job opportunity, you must check daily the vacancies posted on several different job boards. Or do you really have to?

What are job sites and job aggregators?

Traditional job sites function somewhat like printed classified ads. The companies and recruitment agencies post their job vacancies on these job boards for a fee. Then, you as a job seeker can search for jobs matching your skills and needs. But of course you will have the advantages of online search. You can use different filters to find exactly what you're looking for and the information provided will be always up-to-date.

Then what are the job aggregators? Job board aggregators are like job search engines. They gather job posts from different job boards, recruiting agencies and employing companies. Most of them do not publish new job ads but rather republish the existing ads at one place. However, some of them have job posts of their own as well. They function as any other search engine. When you look for a job, based on different criteria, they show you relevant results from different sources. When you click on an appealing job offer you are led to the source of the job ad. It can be either a job board or the site of a recruiting company or, in some cases, the employer's career site.

Comparing job sites to job aggregators

That is, what you can do on a job board is available to you on job aggregator sites as well and you will have the advantage of checking out all the jobs matching your criteria in one comprehensive search. It will help you to save time by not having to read the same ads again and again on different boards and you will be able to concentrate on other important issues such as composing an outstanding CV, preparing for the interviews and so on.

If you are looking for a new job you might want to check out my favourite ad-free job aggregator site: JoZoo. Good luck!