Your resume is updated. Your suit is pressed and ready to go. So if you think the next step is to buy a copy of the Sunday paper and flip to the “Help Wanted” section, then you would be absolutely correct, in 1985. Don’t get me wrong, the eighties were spectacular; they brought us parachute pants, Milli Vanilli, and the Flowbee. Do you remember the Flowbee? It was a vacuum cleaner attachment that you used to cut your hair. I repeat: It allowed you to cut your hair with your vacuum cleaner. As magnificent an invention as it was, The Flowbee pales in comparison to innovations such as the internet and all its wonders. Tools like LinkedIn, Monster, Facebook, and Twitter have all changed the way we network and communicate in relation to seeking employment. Changing economic times has produced thousands of job-seekers who haven’t had to “pound the pavement” in 20 or 30 years. If your job-searching approach hasn’t kept up with the times, you are missing out on some great opportunities. It’s time to lower the antenna on your flip phone, and slip it into the pocket of your Members Only jacket so you can focus on bringing your job-search methods into the new millennium.

Networking

Networking has always been a part of an effective job search, but social media has made it exponentially easier, and allowed for far greater reach. Making a few phone calls is not going to cut it anymore. Social media sites let you to connect with colleagues and friends who are part of your personal and professional circles. You can communicate with hundreds of people at once. Update your LinkedIn profile, send emails to colleagues, post a message on Facebook or Twitter that lets people know you’re looking for a job, specify the field you’re trying to get into, and what you have to offer. People who know you and like you will want to help you, but you have to reach out, and the more people you reach, the better your chances. Even go so far as to add social media links to your resume to convey the message to employers that you are tech savvy and in line with the times. As always, make sure anything you put out there publically is well presented and professional.

Bulls-Eye Searching

In the old days you’d have to screen every ad in the paper and circle the ones that vaguely fit your skills; today you can streamline searches very easily. Use key words that allow you to perform a very targeted or “bulls-eye” search, and filter out jobs that just don’t fit. For example, instead of running a search for “sales,” try searching “medical device sales” and the results will specifically pull jobs with that description, or placement agencies that specialize in that industry. Bulls-eye searching will also assist you if there’s a particular company that interests you. If you’ve heard that XYZ company is a great place to work, use a search engine to find their website, learn more about them, and see if they have any job postings – you may even see job opportunities that are advertised only on their website, and not public search sites.

Recruiting Firms

Recruiting firms were around in the eighties, too, but they’ve evolved into a powerful, modern-age, job-seeking missile. Many have exclusive access to jobs you can’t find on your own, and their sophisticated matrix of connections can truly benefit the individual job seeker. If you have fallen behind the times in terms of social media and technology, a recruiting firm can help plug you back in by offering access to their own professional networks. You may not have mastered the art of modern communication, but they have. Going it on your own is fine, but it can be very time consuming, and you will often end up chasing jobs that aren’t actually available. When a company contracts with a recruiting firm, they have specific positions they need to fill, and they know they will get quality candidates that have been pre-screened to meet their needs.

These are just a few ways job searching has evolved over the past few decades. Change and innovation are constants in today’s world, and keeping up with the times is essential. No disrespect to the trends and innovations of the 80’s. I’m not saying LinkedIn is better than the Flowbee, I’m just pointing out that LinkedIn is free and offers endless information and opportunities. The Flowbee was expensive, and offered a free instructional video and a year’s supply of loneliness. Sometimes change is good.