Computer Classes

Friendly reminder to Capital Area District Library patrons, next week Friday is the Job Searching class from 10-12 at the Downtown Library Branch. Please register for class by calling 367-6356. In this class we will cover resume templates in Word 2007, online job searching strategies and tips and some of the key features of monster.com and careerbuilder.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has been mentioned once before on CADL’s Tech Corner, but today, we’re going to delve into a little more detail on the subject. Is it relevant? Should I bother? Is it safe? In short, the answer to all these questions is yes.

First of all, having a LinkedIn account is a good idea if you’re looking for a job these days. It’s a way of communicating to a potential employer that you’re computer-savvy, and it’s also a way for you to easily send an alternative form of your resume to them. I have been on LinkedIn for years and have found that it’s a great way to remain in contact with former co-workers.

 Creating an account is easy, all you have to do is visit www.linkedin.com, and follow the directions given on screen.

Once you have an account, you can add a photo, resume information, join alumni and work groups/networks, and connect with present and past co-workers and friends. More recently, LinkedIn has also added Facebook-style applications that allow you to connect your LinkedIn profile to certain blogging sites, Google Presentation, and others.

Job Searching part 2

Back to Simply Hired…

What else can you do with Simply Hired? There are a few useful tools available to help your job search.

Salaries link(top of page)ill give you a page with average salary information for the job you are searching for. Even better, you will see a list of related job titles. Just click on the title and see a new results list matching that title as a search. Very handy for trying to figure out what other terms to use.

Employment trends(top of page)Thiill give you a good indication of which job titles are seeing fewer or greater number of posts.

Tools(bottom of page):If you do not want to remember this website or bookmark it, go to the tools area and grab some apps or widgets for your social networks! Right now, you can get an app or widget for: Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, and your mobile device. You can also grab an RSS feed or send email alerts.

Job Searching part 1

Looking for jobs is hard. You may go check monster.com or careerbuilder.com and still have no luck. Well, do not give up! Try Simply Hired.  How do you use it?

Simply Hired

 

There are two search boxes. One for keywords and the other for location.  Or, you can click on one of the many categories below the search boxes. If you do not want to work in the U.S., you can click on one of the links at the bottom for jobs in other countries.

 

 

 

 

After completing a search, you have several options. You can use the left-side menu to filter your search by options such as: location, company, date posted, etc. Your search results page will look something like this:

 

Simply Hired

   

At the bottom of the left-side menu is a refine result search bar. Use this to narrow your completed search with more keywords. The refine your search bar is more user friendly than the filter list.  The results come from many different sources. Each result takes you to the actual job post, but the site can be a company, another job search engine, a non profit, etc.  Think of this site as an aggregator.

Stay tuned for part 2 to see what else you can do with this site. There is a lot more than just searching for jobs.

Learning Express Library

Need to brush-up on your job searching and resumes skills? If so, check out the Learning Express Library database. They recently added some new features. The look is new and more user friendly. Even better is the section on Job Searching and Workplace Skills. You will find topics such as:

• Writing resumes and cover letter
• Job searching techniques
• Networking
• Business writing