At Affirmative Portfolios, we believe Technology is embedded in our daily lives and should be an important part of your job search. The time spent learning how to use technology will result in powerful knowledge that will help you feel more in control of the resources available on the Internet. Simple changes in your utilisation of search engines like Google, corporate websites, and alerts by email can make searching for jobs much more streamlined and effective.
A corporate website can be a tremendously valuable resource for your job search in several ways. You’ll be able to conduct traditional research to help you find out more about the organisation when preparing for the interview. Another by-product of this is that you can often discover the name and title of the individual with whom you will be interviewing with you can help when tailoring your cover letter too.
In addition, company websites can be an excellent way to obtain job postings. Most companies will have a section of their website dedicated to “Employment” or “Jobs”. However, even if no obvious links are listed, you can use search engines like Google to uncover openings with companies of interest to you. Use the format below with search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing to expand your search.
- company name.co.za jobs
- company name.co.za careers
If uncertain about a specific company, you can also search by job title:
- (job title): jobs
- Property manager: jobs
To limit your search to a certain geographic region, simply add in the location:
- (job title): jobs Cape Town
- Architect: jobs Cape Town
If your initial search does not give you the results you were looking for, there might not be any job openings at this time or the company could be using a job sites like Indeed or Simply Hired to handle their job posting needs. If all else fails, you can obtain contact information through the corporate website and call the HR department to get the latest job openings.
Job Search Sites
Checking every job posting site can become really time consuming. Take advantage of available job search technology by using the major search engines to discover the open positions for you on specific job sites along with more obscure listings posted on social media sites like Twitter. Additionally, focusing your job search on a particular position or skill set, and you are likely to unearth listings that might be missed by your competition.
The search terms you choose will determine what results you get, for example:
- position title apply
- nurse administrator apply
In Part II of What You Should Know about Job Search Technology, we discuss efficient searches, email alerts, and job search services.
