Job Boards: Why We Need Them

I talk to job seekers who think that job boards are useless.  I tell them that  for years I have had an automated job search running; whether I had a job or not. Why? Because:

- You never know when you might need a job OR help someone else find a job.

- You can learn a lot about a company from what they are posting and how they describe open positions.

- You might learn the name of a hiring manager or HR person who could help you with that company.

- If you see the same skills required for job postings; it could tell you that you need to update your skills.

So if you don’t have one, start an automated job search. I like Indeed.com as it aggregates jobs from other job boards.  By the way, if you post your resume on job boards you open yourself up to all kinds of spammers. They troll job boards looking for contacts to sell ‘stuff’ to. Just be careful out there.

For more tips on job hunting, check out “10 Smart Things Job Seekers Do.”

Photo credit: The Santa Clara City Library Blog  May 27, 2010 (thank you!)

Virtual Vocations–There’s No Place Like Home

For those who haven’t quite come to grips with the fact that work is changing (forever), perhaps this blog post will change your point of view.

Virtual Vocations has 2239 open positions posted.  This list consists of jobs that companies are hiring where employees will work from home:

• VP Engineering
• HL7 Integration/Interface Engineers
• Software Engineers
• Contract Administrators
• Instructional Designers
• Virtual Assistants
• Swimwear and Toy Designers
• Seamstresses

There are other openings for positions that are traditionally done remotely like technical recruiters, writers/bloggers/editors, animators/graphic designers, bookkeepers and translators.

As organizations look to be more nimble and respond to changing customer requirements quickly, virtual teams are needed to come together to meet these new and demanding schedules. How companies find, recruit, provide remote work tools for and pay the talent they need is going to be a big challenge. And for those of us who have the specialized skills that are needed, we will need to make ourselves known to these employers.

Flexibility, outstanding communication, updated skills and the ability to adapt are critical to being successful in the evolving world of work.  And the best news is; we’re more likely to be able to attend our kids ball games, concerts and parent teacher conferences.