Get a Job – There’s an App for That

There are so many tools out there today that are aimed at getting you gainful employment it’s amazing that there still are any job hunters left. As well as the Job Centres, recruitment agencies and specialist employment sites we now have the burgeoning app market joining in; so there is a whole new range of services to boost your employability and job-winning chances. So, if you’re looking for a job in the capital, for example, you can now stretch your texting thumb and seize the best that London recruitment has to offer.

If you’re an employer you may be thinking, ‘why should I bother with this?’ The thing is that job hunters are already using this technology and you could be losing prospective high flyers through a simple lack of keeping your business in touch with modern employment trends. Between January 2009 and April 2010 Jobsite saw a 390% increase in mobile traffic to its site.

Social networking and associated apps are also gaining audience share. Monster has created its own job hunting social network called BeKnown that the company says, ‘[showcases your] company’s recruitment brand and your open Monster positions. Passive and active professionals who ‘follow’ your company will receive automatic updates on your open Monster positions when they are on BeKnown’.

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Copytest

This is a popular tool with agencies in Germany and assists users who are searching for their first jobs. For people looking for a career in advertising this app links to their Facebook profile and then gives the user opportunity to show their talents by taking part in tasks such as recording voiceovers, inserting headlines into ads and even a claim into a TV spot. The app, created by Leagas Delaney, ‘provides a relevant, playful and fully interactive insight into the world of advertising’.

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CareerBuilder

This free app is for the iPad and it allows you to search for jobs using some standard parameters. You can create and edit your CV and use your phone’s GPS to commence a local job search. This app connects you to the States’ largest jobsite.

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 Job Search

This is a free Android version that uses the Indeed.com database with access to millions of jobs to help you find your next role.

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 Beyond Job

This iPad app builds on the previous two apps by offering more selling points. It uses push notifications that allow you to receive information on new vacancies before they reach the internet. It is packed with articles and videos that can help towards succeeding at interview through to building your career.

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 Monster Job

Freely downloadable on your iPad, this monster.co.uk app allows you to sync with your online account and gives you instant access to your CVs, covering letters and applications. You can also use it to send you job alerts for specific positions. As with all apps I’ve covered so far you can also use it to send emails and to save details for later.

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Job Centre Plus

By far the best known source of jobs is of course jobcentreplus. Part of DirectGov the agency now has an app of its very own with access to all the jobs in its database.

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PocketCV

It’s not all about finding jobs that are out there. You need to make your chances of winning the job as high as they can possibly be.  This is one of the reasons why developer Mani Ghasemlou created PocketCV. This app takes you step-by-step through a sequence to create a stunning CV.

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LinkedIn

This popular social networking site is targeted at professionals wanting to make contact and raise their profile among peers. There are now apps available that offer the essential features of the site such as profile browsing, calendars and contacts.

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And finally…

ScanBizCards

This is one of the more extraordinary tools out there. Available on both the iPhone and Android systems this app makes light work of collating details from multiple business cards. Using the camera, you scan the cards and it reads then stores all the information in a very quick and convenient way. This clever app syncs with the internet, Excel and Skype and supports 22 languages. The free version allows you to store two cards per week but if you pay £2.46 (Android) or £3.99 (iPhone) the number is unlimited.

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Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, writes for social media and career building websites. His own varied career is peppered with an unusual mix of jobs and opportunities that have resulted in a rich resumé.