Friday, March 18, 2011

You Can Hunt For Jobs Using Facebook?


Found an article on Silicon Republic that's entitled "Job Hunting Goes Social." Here are some of the highlights from that article where multiple netizens have agreed that online channels have become a valid alternative medium for talent search and job searching. Traditional networking tools are no longer enough. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are now extended personal message boards that express social and professional persona.


Meeting in person still counts

And while social media will never replace your face-to-face meeting, she says it has enhanced that.

Declan Fitzgerald, international recruitment manager, LinkedIn, which itself is now recruiting heavily in Ireland, also argues that social media is swiftly changing the way people are looking for and applying for jobs.

“A lot of people have very quickly realised they can create their own online brand for themselves by creating a LinkedIn profile, having a Twitter feed, or a blog. Then there are those who are more traditionally orientated towards the paper CV. In many ways, the recruitment industry is rebooting and we are beginning to see a whole new variety of innovative recruitment channels.”

LinkedIn now counts more than 400,000 users in Ireland. “It’s growing incredibly quickly in Ireland,” says Fitzgerald. “It’s predominantly IT, sales and marketing-based professionals, which are the quicker adopters, but we’re beginning to see all types of professionals put their profile up there now.”

He says people are actually beginning to apply for jobs now using their LinkedIn profile.

“People are starting to spend time building their network on LinkedIn. From an employer point of view, it’s becoming increasingly important to see who are these people connected to, whether they are truly passionate about this area to the extent they are tweeting about it or if they have a blog.

“If you have a situation where two candidates are very similar, the one with the deeper social footprint is the one employers will go for, because they can see their connections.”

Campbell also agrees that LinkedIn is top dog for job seekers and recruiters. “As a platform, it is built around recruiters finding people. It is a massive CV database.”
Irish social media recruitment

The statistics speak for themselves. Irish Recruiters, a LinkedIn group formed in 2007 by Fitzgerald, carried out a survey last year on social media recruitment in Ireland, and 91pc of recruiters said they use social media to recruit, with 89pc indicating they have hired from LinkedIn.

So how can people who are looking for a job best use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to their advantage?

Campbell says graduates, for the most part, don’t know if they could find a job through LinkedIn or Facebook.

“For people, Facebook is not about finding a job. It’s about switching off, but it can be used by recruiters and it can be used by jobseekers.”

For jobseekers, Campbell has launched a series of webinars, showcasing what people should be doing on social media.

Jobseekers should start by filling in data – specifically in the employer and education sections – as well as changing privacy settings to allow others to see your Facebook profile so you can be found, he says.

And, of course, as with all social media, you should be careful about what you post and the type of language you use on Facebook when looking for a job, Campbell points out.

“I’ve always followed a policy of whatever I put up on Facebook, or write on a blog, I am always thinking, ‘Am I comfortable that any of my relatives can see this and that any employer or any prospective client can see this data’.”



How to job search using social media

With Facebook, you can also create your own webpage, he says, as is the case with LinkedIn and Twitter.

With LinkedIn, Fitzgerald says jobseekers should create their CV in a paper format and then map that data out onto their LinkedIn profile.

“Put up a photograph and list out, in detail, the bullet points of your responsibilities. Go so far as creating a PowerPoint presentation, giving a portfolio around some aspect of your work. Start quickly connecting. I strongly suggest joining groups within your profession and to start debating in some of the discussions.”

Kennedy, whose recruitment remit is IT professionals for the mid-west, advises people to look at the LinkedIn profile of a company if they are going for an interview with them.

“I believe any IT professional looking for work should have a LinkedIn account, as more and more employers are using it to source top talent. Facebook and Twitter are used by employers as a form of reference, but also they are advertising their jobs on Twitter."

She also anticipates things changing down the line in terms of Skype and webinars. “We're finding that there's a lot more interviews being set up via Skype. It's making the process move quite quickly.”

Getting involved online

And Twitter can also be used to jobseekers’ advantage, says Campbell.

“If you are graduate wishing to get into a particular sector, follow that sector on Twitter and Facebook. On LinkedIn, start engaging with executives in key areas you want to work in, asking incisive questions.

“There’s an onus on people to respond on social media and help people. That’s the part of social media people forget. You have to interact on pages, ask questions and be seen.”

The key, explains Campbell, is to use social media to then take your job search offline.

“It’s when you use social media with a combination of more traditional activities that it really becomes powerful. You can find out that a conference is happening and meet people in your industry and make connections. For employers, it’s really difficult to differentiate graduates, so network. People hire people, not CVs.”

Kennedy’s advice to jobseekers is to continuously look on job boards, check out recruitment websites and make sure they are on LinkedIn. “Call the companies that are hiring and get your details through.”

LinkedIn’s Fitzgerald adds: “We’re in a transition phase where we are moving away from CVs for the first port of call. Savvy technologically-centred professionals are shifting to this new way of building an online profile.”

Friday, March 11, 2011

Job Fairs in SM City Cebu Every Friday Until May 25, 2011

Got this from http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/enterprise/view/20110225-322136/547-firms-in-C-Visayas-to-hire-1200-workers

Will be very helpful for new graduates this year to take part. About 547 companies in the Central Visayas will be hiring more than a thousand applicants.

Thanks to the increasing number of investors coming to Cebu and there is a noted increase in available jobs in the province, Jobstreet.com will be continuing to host a job fair at SM City Cebu which started last Feb. 25, 2011 to fill in around 1,200 available jobs in 547 companies in Central Visayas.

Every Friday they will have instant job processing and hiring while every Saturday there will be seminars on how to get hired

Jobstreet marketing director Yoda Buyco said they are holding Cebu Career Hub in partnership with SM City Cebu until May 25.

Buyco said the Cebu Career Hub was held first in Cebu where they see a lot of job requirements from different industries and fields including the business process outsourcing, information technology, finance, manufacturing and engineering.

“This serves as an answer to DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapiliz-Baldoz when she said that we have to invest in our country's resource, our human resource to make us more competitive and employable. Cebu Career Hub is a way to help further empower our Cebuano job seekers,” Buyco said.

According to Buyco, there are 1,200 jobs from 547 employers in Central Visayas, mostly in Cebu, that job seekers can apply instantly every Friday or through their Job Board which they will also show at the booth located at the 2nd floor of SM City Cebu.

“In the whole of Vismin area, we have a total of 300,000 job seekers who can have access to the eight million jobs posted in our website which are located in all our areas including Malaysia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines,” she said.

Out of the eight million jobs, three million are located in the Philippines from 15,000 employers.

Buyco added that 40 percent of the total number of job postings in the country are from BPO companies which need a lot of agents to handle voice calls and some managerial and supervisory positions.

“In Cebu I could say that 40 percent of job postings are also from BPO companies,” she said.

Buyco said that Stream Global alone which is joining the event needs to hire 60 to 70 people every week for their contact center operations at their office in Asiatown IT Park in Lahug, Cebu City.

Buyco added they are targeting fresh graduates and those who seek another career.

“All they need to do is drop by our booth from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and bring their updated resume. They can come on a Friday to get instant processing as we will be featuring four companies every Friday which will then accept applications and hire on the spot. Every Saturday we will provide free career services to enhance overall appeal of Cebuano applicants. We will do mock interviews and give tips on how to make winning resumes,” Buyco said.