By now you have heard of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the mass demonstration on Wall Street protesting financial greed and corruption. To organize something that large and far-reaching it takes a lot of time, effort and communication.
However, while in the past much of the work might have been conducted using telephones and face-to-face meetings, today’s protesters have a “whole new slew of mobile apps. " Moreover, these apps make organizing easier and more efficient, according to the October 14, 2011 Vault.com blog “The Best Apps in the Fight for the Economy.”
After reviewing the list, it seemed like a no-brainer to find out what other phone apps were available that might help job seekers hunt down and land their next job. Here are several ways you can utilize today’s mobile applications to help you with your job search.
Network with Foursquare
One app suggested for use by OWS protesters is Foursquare, a handy networking tool. For the protesters it lets them check-in and leave tips. For job seekers it could allow you to share ideas and information with others including leads on new employment opportunities.
While networking is a process best conducted face-to-face, especially during a professional association meeting, job club meet-up or informational interview, you might find occasions when you hear about a great opportunity and want to share it immediately with a group of friends. That’s when Foursquare comes in handy.
Find a Job Using Jobs
Now you can look for a job using Jobs from CareerBuilder.com, the largest job-posting site in the U.S. It is a FREE iPhone application that offers you the ability to search nearly two million openings. Here’s what you can do with this app:
- Search for jobs by things such as keyword, location, company and employment type;
- Apply to jobs;
- Use GPS to find jobs near you;
- Sync CareerBuilder account with your phone;
- Create accounts and resumes from your phone;
- Receive personalized job recommendations;
- See search results in map view; and
- Email jobs to yourself or to friends right from the phone.
Moreover, once you view a job, it is marked as “seen” so you can track your job search as well as save your favorite job postings.
Conduct a Video Job Interview with Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
Cisco WebEx Meeting Center allows you to tap into WebEx online meetings on your iPhone or iPad, wherever you are. That means if you need to schedule a video or webcam job interview, you have the ability to participate and get the complete meeting experience with native 3G or WiFi support. However, you must have a WebEx account to utilize this tool.
Features include zoom and pan for the best screen view so you can see who’s in the meeting and who’s talking. In addition, you have the option to chat one-on-one or with everyone and can even move the meeting from your iPhone to a PC with a flick of your wrist.
Organize Yourself and Your Job Interviews with ActionMethod
Never be late to a meeting (or job interview) again. ActionMethod is a free task management application that allows you to keep yourself organized. If you’re like most people these days and you’re juggling more than you can handle, here is a tool to keep you productive and on time. You can create unlimited tasks and organize them by project, due date, color and more.
An alternative to ActionMethod is the winner of the Best Mobile App Award from TechCrunch, Mashable and the Webbys. Evernote helps you track everything going on in your life using your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. You can keep notes, snapshots and recordings.
You also may want to consider Awesome Note Lite (+ToDo), awarded the 2011 Apple App Store Hall of Fame. This innovative note-taking application and to-do manager allows you to capture notes and track your daily schedule.
Share Your Achievements via DropBox
One of the most important parts of any job interview is communicating your achievements. Enter Dropbox.
Dropbox is a FREE service that lets you bring all your photos, docs and videos anywhere and allows you to sync and share your files online and across computers. Do you have a great example of a project that you want to share with a potential new employer? Show them; don’t just tell them about it. Moreover, when you use the app, you’ll demonstrate you’re techno-savvy.
An alternative to Dropbox is Box.net, a web-based service that lets you share, manage and access all your content from anywhere. Best of all, the account is FREE.
There are new apps popping up everyday; some improve on those currently in use, others are brand new ideas. Regardless, knowing how to use them to your advantage is just one more valuable tool to help you find a job.
Deborah S. Hildebrand - Deborah S. Hildebrand is a freelance writer & HR consultant with 20+ years in human resources & a Bachelor's degree in Business.
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